Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1906-12-21
Old Ideals Haze Departed.


whole world. are inwoven in feminine
character. Yet women do not eften
marry for convenience, or that they
may change their names from Miss
Priscilla Jones to Mrs. Jonathan Rob-
bins. or that they may attain brevet
rank in the community by being mar.
ried. Women are largely self-support
ing. 1t is to-day almost an unheard
of thing that man shall remain
single to support his unmarried sis.
tiers. Before the civil war, an epoch
which materially changed other social
conditions in this country, for all time,
1t was a frequent occurrence that
man quietly and unselfishly gave up
his own preference for marriage that
he might toll for the maintenance Of
his sisters.
The war-cloud that broke in terrific
storm over the states in 1861, swept
away from north and south into low
ly graves, vast host of bread-win.
ners. 1t spared and sent home to their
womenkind another host of invalids
and cripples. Women undertook as
they had not done before, tasks of
wage-earning beyond their doors. All
great wars in modern times, In every
country under the sun, are followed
by this result Women are forced into
the open and learn to take care of
themselves and of those who depend
upon them.
A girl who pays her own way, who
buys her own clothing and has her
own bank account seldom marries in
the first flush of girlhood. She grows
fastidious, too, sets a high value on
herself, is unwilling to marry unless
she meets her ideal lover, and then
she counts the cost. Is he likely to be
able to give her the comforts she now
possesses, or with their combined ef-
forts can they establish the sort of
home that she Graves? The questions
are seriously considered in her own
mind.
College training for both sexes has
become general and it likewise defers
marriage until a late period. A stu
dent enters college between IS and 20
and spends four years in it's compare
! tive seclusion. If a profession is to
| follow that means from three to five
additional years absorbed in getting
ready for life. The young doctor, the
! young lawyer. the young journalist
| cannot leap into success "a bound /;
several more years are occupied in
the endeavor to gain clients or prac-
tice or to find a job that is both agree
able and remunerative.
At least half the giri-graduates OF
our colleges undertake advanced
studies after they receive their diplo
mas. or prepare for a profession Oh
engage in business. At a glance it is
evident that they cannot marry until
they have reached a certain maturity
At present, the girl who marries al
30 is much oftener met than she who
is bride at 20, and the man who
marries at 40 is not now exceptions
or looked upon as in the least an ole
fellow who is out of date. The man o.
40 may perhaps have bride 10 years
his junior. The man who marries a.
IS is quite likely to choose as a mate
girl some years older than himself
Here enters the intangible law o
averages.
Whether or not the present custom
IS one for congratulation or regret, l
IL little difficult to determine. O
one thing we may be sure and that il
that the old. sweet and exquisite idea
OF the simple home suffers from tn,
undue discretion and excessive eau
ton of twentieth century young pee
pie. A home to be beautiful need no
be extravagant Childless couples ar
less exceptional than of old. Peopl
who marry late have small families
and they have. though sometimes the
do not dream it. lost much of the har
piness that might have been their
) had they been content to settle dow
} early, and enjoy the trials and tr
, umphs of the day of small things.
Copyright. 1906. by Joseph b. Bowles)