The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1917-04-27
They Are Very Likely to be Misun-
derstood According to
Writer in an East
ern Paper.
MAY HAVE BAD EFFECT
Hope Is Expressed However That
Legitimate Market VIII Not
Suffer Because of
Slurs Cast.

! In some parts Of the country they
are making a great ado over the war
brides. or rather they are throwing a
| lot of bricks at the war grooms. NO
doubt. these cases are rare. There
have been none such in Iowa. And
| there will be none such in Iowa. me
fact is, that there has been rather
poor business at the marriage license
counter in Iowa court houses LOT
some time. And it is sincerely hoped
that the campaign against war grooms
is not going to have the result of still
farther depressing business OF this
kind. In Iowa, it is noted, that there
are many married men in the militia,
and many others enrolled before the
order was given out that all married
men be dropped from the rolls. AND
there has been no increased demand
for licenses since that order went IN
to effect. Iowa's young men are all
patriotic and what is said about wa.
grooms in other parts OF the country
does not apply here.
The Springfield CMass.) RepuDllcan
had the following:
"Eyery young man undertaking
matrimony at this time Is in danger
OF being misunderstood, since Uncle
Sam has decided that military and
naval service must first be rendered
by the unmarried. The present temp
tation to be suspicious of many men
who marry is manifest, and the TACT
that the demand for marriage licenses
has broken the record in many cities
| is suggestive.
But it will not do to presume that
all these young people are unpat-
riotic, lest injustice be done. Archie
Roos eyelt, for example, who asks that
| the legal regulations touching this
matter be waived in two cities, is not
of the Stacker kind. He comes OF
fighting blood and is in line for mill
| tary service A Chicago youth re-
vealed the motive that may be NOV
ing MANY when he said: 4 am going
to get married because the govern
ment will look after my wife when it
| would pay no attention to my sweet
heart He added that right after the
ceremony he proposed to enlist. But
after making allowance for all such,
many are rushing into matrimony be-
cause they believe that with wife
on their hands they cannot be called
| to the colors. Unprecedented lines Of
seekers for marriage licenses are re-
ported in New York and Chicago, and
young girls interested in applications
are quoted as blushingly admitting
! that they begged their Fellows" TO
take out licenses and marry them to
avoid war duty. An answer to that
point of view has appeared at the
| license bureau in Pittsburgh in
sign printed In black on a yellow
| background, reading: A man who
| marries a girl to shirk his duty to
! his country, is not going to think
very much of Sinking his duty to his
wife. Girls, beware
| Belief that the desire to escape
military service inspired the major
! part of the applicants for licenses, led
| New York city's commissioner OF
weights and measures, Mr.. Hartigan,
! to say to a reporter: Somebody
ought to buy % cents worth of white
| feathers and distribute them among
these fellows. Then the city clerk,
the rabbis, priests and ministers. the
! justices and everybody else who has
authority to perform marriage cere-
monies. should refuse to marry these
slackers. They ought to marry no
one whose obvious purpose In want
ing to marry Is to escape serving the
country In Chicago recruiting Of
ficers passing along the line Of ap-
plicants found fifteen men who adj,
mitted that they were seeking to
eyade military service, and proceed
ed to decorate them with the RIB
Ibon of dishonor' by pinning on each a
broad band of yellow ribbon.
at is to be hoped that the legiti-
mate marriage market is not to be