The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-04-07
HAPPY MARRIAGES ARE
FOUNDED UPON LOVE

JVUUUIU VI VII LUVL
Haphaxard Undertaking with Chance
About Breaking Even with
| ont Christ.
Marriage is a lottery. 90 uncertain is
the venture. wa the declaration last
night of Rev. william Hedley. pastor
OF Ginter Park Baptist church. who
preached the fourth of a series OF SER
mons on 1.-THE House." The preacher
took as his subject. rs Marriage a
Failureg"
Marriage, he said, is a ~haphazard un-
~dertaking, a leap in the dark, as it
were. You canno guarantee mar
rage" he said. That's the beauty of
1t. Marriage is the greatest evidence
of faith. The only thing the girl has
, to go by is her intended husbands par
Tor manners"
In some instances, declared the
speaker. marriage is a failure-as re-
spects some people. 1t unquestionably
Is. Prevalency of divorces. he said. is
ample proof that a good man mar
riages are failures. People who are
happy. he said. do not resort to the
divorce court The great prevalency
OF divorce, he declared. Ia a calamity.
He asked his hearers IL they regarded
Japan as a civilized nation. 'If it is
not" he said. then America leads the
world in the number of divorces. II
Japan is to be regarded as civilized,
then the United States Is second"
The speaker cited figures to show tho
relative Der of divorces per thou
sand marriages in the several countries
just prior to the world war. They fol-
low: japan. ais; United States. ~:
France. 2S; Germany. Is; Scotland, a:
Italy. 2; England. 2.
The number of divorces In this coun-
try is growing at an enormous rate. he
said. Further Westward one goes
greater one finds the increase. The di-
vorce rate Is far greater In this u
try than 1t Is In Canada, according to
the speaker.
His solution OF the divorce evil is
to maxi divorce more difficult. He
recommends a uniform divorce law and
a more rigid divorce law. IF the
constitution or a theory Is in the way"
he said, amend the constitution and
sidetrack the theory"
Another solution of the problem, he
said. is. better living conditions after
marriage. we need more of the re-
ligion of Jesus Christ In our homes"
he said. Religion, he said. is the
greatest preventive of divorce. Dr.
NoARNs At FaNs h'ahtF " IIt ~
tegration of the home.
when marriage is a faiIure.~ he
said. at Is evident that one or the other
Is at fault. Sometimes. and too often.
both are at fault. Marriage without
love. he said. invariably invites catas-
trophe.
Both the man and the wife. he said,
marriage is a matter of concessions
and compromises
Seldshness oftentfmes Is at the bot
tom OF unsuccessful marriages.. he
said. both wan TO have their ewn
way. A marriage based on selfshness
cannot be happy
The nagging man or woman, he said.
also spells trouble.
He declared that he does not believe
In divorce on general principles. but
admitted that in some instances con-
ditiohs or circumstances make divorce
necessary or advisable.
Drunkenness. he said. is another
cause OF divorce. He said he does not
blame a wife for leaving "a drunkard or
even a drinking man.
fFfvcrr~ often can be traced to ex-
t~rawaSance. he said. TWO OF this great
eat evils. ne said. ara woman's hove Of
dry goods and mans love Of v ct goods.
Some women. he said. are too free
with their husbands money and keen
\ N |SF ~ kHt N Nh IA
other hand. a man car be extravarsnt
when Ii comes to his clubs.
Again. he said. temper. plain. mean.
ornery. ordinary. everyday bad tenn
per-" often is to blame for resort to
the divorce court.
What he characterized as "morev
rreediness' often Is the cause of trou-
hle--the man who doles out money to
hts wife In driblets and wants to know
what she did with the quarter he gave
her the day before yesterday.
In instances of this kind. though,
he eianes the wife as much as he does
the husband. She does the housework.
.sees that her husband is fed three
times a day.. has somewhere to rest
his head at night and does other things
for hts comfort. She is his partner
and Is entitled TO and should demand a
portion OF his income.
"In-laws'-father and mother and
brother and sister-in-laws-too. often
are at the bottom of marital unhap-
s~pfness. If a man asks you to marry
him and tells you that he has no in
laws that's a claim worth consider
ing. Ana 1t works both ways" he
added
The divorce court, he said. should be
theA last resort. Apply a little COM
nssn sense" he advised. TOO MANY
married people fail to realize that mar
rage Is = series of concessions and
compromises"
Another remedy. he said. is recourse
to religion. Two souls that are loyal
to Christ are hound to be loyal to each
other" he said. Religion. he commended.
IL the kay TO the situation.
He defended the successful marriage.
All marriages, he said. are not failures.
Some are successful.
The only successful marriage. herald.
Is founded on love. Unless husba nd
and wife have q genuine regard one for
another. there are bound to be clashes.
II you Low your wife. tell her so, and
keep on telling her so. Don't give up
the old counting days just because
you're married"
He dweft briefly on woman's surrag &c.
EQUAL suffrage. he said. lis coming.
"Whether It's an adyaniacn a r. not l.