Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1906-12-13
EARLY MARRIAGES ARE NO
LONGER POPULAR.
Attractions Of Bachelor Life In Large
Measure Responsible for Changed
Conditions - Excessive eau.
tIon Among Young Folks.
~ MARGARET e. sANesTER.

"DU0Ru6u e 0AN00 EN-
II somebody who lived on this planet
100 years ago could return and walk,
an unsupported observer, through our
modern cities, one Of the first notes
he would make in his tablets would be
to the effect that people no longer
married in their early twenties. In
his day he would remember, with q
puzzled shake of spectral head, that
the wedding bells rang for girls of 16
and boys OF 10 respectively, and that
such marriages we're common and a
matter Of course.
Except in primitive communities,
apart from the beaten tracks Of civili-
cation, girls and boys do not now mar
ry and take on themselves the respon-
sibilities OF bringing up large families.
Marriage is more ana more postponed
until wOmen have gone beyond rs, and
men 33 and "a years OF age. What is
the occasion Of the change?
Life in the great cities is extremely
easy for the bachelor whether he be
q man Of large or Of compare.
lively limited income. When bachelor
apartment houses became the fashion.
they took the place with many men
that was once filed by the home ideal.
A man used to fancy that he needed
Q wife to look after his domestic com.
fort. to sit at his dinner table. to pour
his tea. to mend his stockings and
help him entertain his friends. These
were . few OF the prosaic details in
cluded In his theory Of married life.
AS things are now managed, a single
man may live in~expensivcly and very
comfortably in rooms for which he
nays a monthly or weekly rental. His
meals arc obtained at a restaurant In
the building or in the neighborhood:
cumbrance.
His visiting list may ne long or
short. He may spend much money
or little; live simply or luxuriously.
as he may choose. His independence
Is absolute and at al i~nstant's notice
he may give his landlord warning.
store his furniture or resign the key
of his furnished room and go to the
end of the earth. He is n welcome
guest In the homes OF married friends,
and II he be gallant and debonaire he
IL a favOrlte in society and. ON the
whole. has a very good time.
The shadows OF a lonely future do
not project themselves across the path
OF the man under 40. He declares that
he cannot afford to marry. and very
possibly the fact that the cost OF living
Is constantly on the increase has much
to do with his contented and some.
what selfish bachelor state. There
are people who for a small remunera.
ton will keep his clothing In order,
and his linen immaculate. His din.
ners are apt to be good. and he may
know, II he like. to a fraction, the
amount he must spend annually to
maintain his position. and the amount
he may save for a rainy day.
With women the reasons for the
postponement OF marriage are more
complex. The love OF home, the love
Of children and the need to be dear
and precious to some one out OF the
whole world, are inwoven In feminine
character. Yet women do not often
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