The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-12-08
"COURTING TIME" A
 LOST INSTITUTION

In the good old. days "courttn tlIfle was recognized as part Of the family institution. says the New Haven Reg ister
 When the oldest daughter of the family arrived at an age when the young men Of the community began casting sheepss eyes at her, mother and father retired to. the sitting room OF the kitchen, after seeing that younger members of the family were in bed or otherwise disposed of where they could work no mischief and Che best room was held sacred to Jane and her beau.
 Also when the oldest son began taking notice Of any particular elrl, father and mother didn't begin pick ing on her. nor demandtng to knoW what he did with his evenings. They knew he was holding her hand in proper form and screwing up his cour- age to put the momentous question
 And both families were ready to do their level best to- help the young them a start in life no matter how humble.
 Those were the days when old maids and bachelors were pointed out as horrible examples of left-oYers that nobody wanted. They were the days of fairly happy marriages too, be- cause everybody was too busy to hatch up. soul-yearnings or run around after affinities Pa and ma grew to think alike. and the children proved wonderfully loyal to them ia their old age.
 But today we 9alze no account of tsco1urtin time" We turn up our noses at such a pIebian practice We dis courage it In our home life. We have no best room for daughter to enter a secluded corner where they can whisper intimate little things to each other. and exchange warm Elances outside the zone of the table lamp
 No, indeedl If any young man comes a-courtin' our daughter these days he's got to come with theatre tickets in his hand and the price of a taxi in his pocket. And he doesn' 't' propose any more. There's no place to propose. He just drifts Into sort Of understanding wtthrthe girl he goes around with most, and by and by. fl naents, ne inti1nates that they might as well get married and be done with it.
 Tn the family where there Is son arrived at the time when he begins to be interested in one particular girl What a disasteri The girl is never good enough for him, of course 1 Mother has objections The father advises against marriage And what are they going to live on2 What does  Why court trouble
 No wonder the marriage rate is fall ing off. No wonder the divorce rate mounts. We discourage marriage sheer at it, and give our young people no chance, to become really acquaint- ed with each other. We've taken away I.their '.courtin' time'' and the best room. dedicated to them in the old days, and we're raising a lot of lonely spinsters and selfish bachelors in con sequence
 .tCourtin' time''-it's the high lift in life; a time when even father and mother should for a while retire into the Background, albeit with Watchfuf eye and alert ear. It belongs to every budding man and woman But many a age that might have been hap py f4-s CT comes to pass because a girl fears. with a cynical family looking on, to give to the one man the look that's in her heart, and the young Esl- low who chokes up with his emotions can't get out the words he wants to say when he knows that there are lis 1ening ears on the other side of the portieres and that little Bobby is wait Ing up for him to go because the dav- export upon which he sits serves as Bokbyss bed