South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-07-29

There would have 20 be an elope-
ment there was no other way TO
gain the happiness which they
sought OF that much they were
certain. for because Esther's mother
objected TO the marriage. Bob's ia
Their. too. was unwilling. and there
fore some way TO circumvent the
edict OF the parents must be evolved.
Esther had talked IL all over. first
with herself and then with Bob, and
Bob had talked Il all over. too
first with Esther and then with him
self. as Is the way OF men and
women
Yes. they would have 70 run away.
That would make II all the more
romantic, and in later years. as they
sat around the fireplace in their cosy
little hOme-they had IL all pictured
how they could look back with
pleasure on their wedding day.
Esther was enthusiastic, and Bob.
since Esther had declared herself.
was enthusiastic too.
As Bob and Esther thought the
matter over. and compared notes.
there seemed 20 be a certain
strangeness about the fact that their
parents should object 20 the mar
riage when they had always been
such good friends. and had grown
up together That Robert Griffith
was an ideal young man was an in
disputable fact in Esther's mind, and
according 10 Bob the girls who
could compare at all favorably with
Esther Cullinane were so scarce
that it wasn't worth while looking
for them. And yet this admitted
ly ideal couple were not TO be mar
ried,-merely because their parents
thought they shouldn't! An elope-
ment there should be.
II was a simple matter 10 decide
on the elopement but goodness
knows the arrangement OF details
was hard. II you have ever planned
an elopement yourself you'll under
stand the situation. The best plan,
they decided would be 10 take out
the license the day before they ran
away. without saying anything to
anyone Then they could leave
quietly and be married. maybe In
some little town they should come
10. II would be necessary to get the
license at home, because the state
law provided that the license could
be issued only in the girls home
county if she were resident OF the
state.
Both Bob and Esther were OF age.
and so they experienced no difficulty
in getting the license. But. although
each had attained that age spoken
of as the majority" neither OF
them were very we'll versed In psy-
cology or in the wonderous COM
plexity OF that elusive abstract ar
ticle. human nature. While they
were in the clerks office getting the
license. IT happened that reporter
came in TO get the list OF licenses
issued. Bob. OF course. did not want
the fact that he and Esther were
about to be married TO he put in the
paper. and so he called the news
paper man aside. and asked him TO
keep the thing out OF the paper, Of
fering an incentive in the form of
gold piece.
the ordinary run OF journalists would
have Jumped az the offering, but this
particular man was new on the Job,
and had had II impressed upon him
that under no circumstances was he
to suppress news Of any kind. Then,
on the other hand, the families or
both parties were we'll known in the
town. and he felt that there was
story worth more TO him than the
Eve dollars. The two combined
were sufficient TO defeat the ends OF
the somewhat crestfallen Bob.
They would have 70 take their
chances. they decided. One con-
ISOLATION was theirs. that the mar
riage licenses were usually printed
in small type. under what is known
I'm newspaper vernacular as cap
head line Of small black type. no
larger than the body type OF the
paper. II was not unlikely that the
matter would escape observation
altogether A. any rate. there was
no help. Even $40 had failed TO