Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-08-03
PARENTS SHARE BURDEN
OF HAPPY LOVE MATCHES
Mother Should Sec That Daughter
Becomes Useful Woman i'll
Society.
OUGHT TO ACQUIRE OCCUPATION
Don't Believe in "FiNcd" Marriages,
but I'm EQuippinu Girl So She Will
Attract TO Herself Eligible Young
Men.

OF course YOU hone that your daush-
ter will marry.
Every unscltsh mother wishes her
own girl to have a. wide and full
life as possible, TO become some day
a happy wife and AN ccStatic mother.
But which Kind Of parent arc you
bility 10 marry of" her daughter. to
provide her With an agreeable hack
ground. to sec that she meets eligible
young men 10 stay conscientious on
the maternal Jon until the Wedding
bells have actually runG? or the hind
that feels that marriage aud the Sclcc-
Lion of husband arc girls own
affair and that-with the exception OF
shooirg the rest Of the family off the
front porch or out of the rarlor when
Dorothy has a callcr--hcr own part -
purely that OF a passive, II rather nut
terry. spectator"
portant Of All maternal duties. 10
:'marry Off the charming young
eighteen ycar-old@ or is any cffor,
of this sor, an odious and almost yu-
gar interference. which a sir! Of deli
cacy and high spirit mishi properly
resent.
If finding husband for Your dauch-
ter really is a duty. We have to admit
that it's n duty that's less and less
observed. Win every Year that passes
girls and women take their own lives,
careers, romance and all more thor
oughly in their own hands. Is this a
60 "ArrnnEcd" Marriages.
of course American parents have
never arranged" marriages in what
seems TO us the cold bloodcd European
way. The American mother has never
Eone any further than inviting mar
then artlessly looking the other way
as though she had no understanding
OF what she had done or of what might
result from it
And today i, is only in society"
that the business Of providing girl
done with any thorouGhness So that
sometimes YOU hear harsh criticism Of
parents who have allowed tho good old
system to decay. And At other times
you hear quiet comments 20 the effect
that the marrying oft system never
worked with any precision anyway and
that quite as many girls marry nova
days on their own initiative as ever
cnts' choosing.
Not long aeo. in magazine article
on this subject. the writer gave an
entertaining instance or well-;o-do
take very SERIOUSLY the future of his
two baby girls He believed they
should MARY And ne believed that
as they had m mother /, devoved upon
him TO bring about this desirable end
TO set the necessary machinery in mo-
tion - early as ne could
But he had totally new theory
OF how This should be done No com
ing out parties. no iebutau,a frivoli-
ties, = o dilirenr. 6ay-af-er-day ensnar-
ing OF guarded, indifferent youths
when these little girls should grow
up
On the contrary. this father rad de-
terminea that they should both hecone
trained nurses. and this was his arCu-
ment:
Where 10 Find Husbands.
The kind OF young men they ought
10 maTrE-earn"st energetic successful
young men--don't 20 10 teas and balls
They're too busy. In fact they're so
busy that they overwork And so af-
ter Whil" they break down and fam
III. So the girl their convalascent eyes
frst fall on, tho girl their convalcsccnt
hearts first throb for isn't tho chiffon
clad dehutanIe but the sturdy. Young
creature IN Low heels and a white mus
lin cap. who spends her whole time in
eSpertlE doing tho most delightful
things for their comfort.
They promptly succumb. ~ course
and marry their nurses as soon as thew
are able 10 stagger TO tho marriage
Incense bureau. And tho willy parents
In the background. heave deep signs
OF triumph and relief
II isn't necessary 20 take this father
with entire seriousness II isn't ncCes-
sary to protest against the possible
unfatrness OF shifting a man when he's