Evening journal., 1915-03-24
..YYAR RRInES. ATTACKEn.

War Brides carries a great mes
sage. The power Of the play and that
OF Madame Nazimovas wonderful act
ing combine to thrill the message
home to the hearts of the audience.
Il has called out much praise and
some disparagement. One OF the crit
icisms comes from a source from
which we have expected better things.
The New York Independent in an
astonishing editorial, rejoices over the
fact that in the warning nations men
and women who would not have mar
ried each other for love are now
marrying out OF patriotism. I'm such
hasty and wholesale marriage there
will no doubt be many a sad mis-
mating. but this is not always avoid
ed in times OF more deliberation, :"
says the Independent. The whole ar
ticle is a grievous commentary upon
the way in which minds usually
straight and clear thinking may be
warped by war
n the editor OF the Independent
were asked, as an abstract PROPOSE
tion, is il right or wrong to marry
without love?" be would answer un-
hositatngly Wrong" Yet ne praises
the war brides who contract such
unions and showing true woman
hood" and fulfilling a most urgent
public duty
He grossly misrepresents the moral
of war Brides" calling il "a play
which teaches that il is better for a
girl to commit suicide than to marry
a soldier" II teaches no such thing.
Al he heroine OF the drama has married
soldier and does not regret it; but
she married him for love They had
been engaged before the war broke
out She warns the other girls
against marrying soldiers whom they
do not love and scarcely know. She
says love alone can make the cnsu-
ing griefs and hardships supportable
For that we viii go through fire
and water" IN the name of true love
and true marriage, she protests
/ against the wholesale mating Of mon
and women like so many cattle, for
the sole purpose of roplenishing the
population. She also protests TO OF
ficers Of the government against call
ing upon women TO furnish men fol
war. and yet giving the women nc
voice in deciding the question wheth-
I er there shall be war. These are tho
two great lessons of the play; and il
IS absurd to stigmatize either of then
as wholly false and immoral"
Az the end. the young widow shoot.
herself-not a wise act, but very
natural one. For months she has
been half mad with anxiety about
her husband: she is distracted with
grief for his death. and outraged b5
81 20 for Ia 1n|I
treason when her child is born. af
ter keeping her alive in prison mean
while, with the ayowed intention o
rearing the child for cannon fodder
She determines that the government
shall not have him for that purpose
b The Independent says There is, We
.. believe. less chance than ever before
in history that a child born nov
+ should fall a prey TO militarism." This
may be true, but it would hardly lool
so to young mother in Europe jus
now! The Independent continues:
"One of our reasons for believing
that a long il not permanent, peac
! will follow the Great War is tina
wOman's value TO the State is bocom
? ing recognized as never before, boil
by herself and by man. and when
becomes once accepted that her ser
vice i'm bearing children is fully th'
equivalent of his in bearing arml
and worthy Of more respect, thei
woman's voice will be heard on th'
question what shall become of he
children and his"
This is much to he desired, but th'
service of women as war brides doc
not bring it about. Such service &
nothing new. Napoleon Obliged hi
officers and soldiers TO marry whole
sale, with the least possible regarI
for their own inclinations or thos
Of their wives; but respect for wo
men was not visibly increased. I'm
, deed. Napoleon went further and ad
vocated polygamy; but the editor o
the Independent would doubles
draw the line at that. though Il is tn
, speediest way to multiply the race.
Value for woman as a child-produce
, may be coupled with a thorough lac
of respect for her apart from thai
Thus in certain European nations, II
the early centuries. the law punishe
, man severely for killing a woman @
child haa rim buf LOT him, pf