The Washington times., 1919-11-29
NAN and his wife have writ

- ten me a JOINT icNtca III
which they do not detail any
trials or troubles of their own, out
deal exclusively with the romantic
difficulties of neighbor.
This is the case as they present
ft: A young widower of such ex-
ceptional eligibility that the writer's
proclaim him an ideal character has
fallen in love with a charming girl
who fully returns his affection.
So far, the course Of true love Is
as smooth as cream AS / read,
/ could almost hear the chime Of
wedding bells. but Immediately they
became tangled and discor6ant
Enters the obstructing force in the
shape OF the girls mother. She is
determined to prevent the match and
her only reason is that the Alitor is
q widower.
In her opposition she is not only
passively, but actively hostile, aud
with q determination to quash the
affair she has picked out a young
man who Is perfectly willing to
play the part OF rival and insists
that her daughter shall see no more
OF suitor No. 1, but, devoting all
her time and attention to suitor No.
., shall niaanediately begin the
preparation of her trousseau.
The girlis between two fires. She
Is In love with Number One and
detests Number Two, but she has
been brought up in the belief that
the Hrst duty of all children is to
obey their parents implicitly, and
her mother has seen to Ii that she
lives UP to this law.
Right to
Individual JUDGMENT.
1t Is very wise thing for girls
to take counsel of their mothers.
when considering such an import
ant step as marriage, but 1t Is still
more important that they preserve
their common sense and right to in
dividual judgment
This girl is twenty-four years old.
She Is presumably of good intellf-
gence- 1t Is hardly likely then, that
she could have lived with her
mother all these years and not have
a pretty clear idea of that lady's
Character and disposition. She must
Know how far her parent is gov
erned by a desire to do what is best
for her daughter and how far she is
swayed by mere prejudice.
After all, it is the girls future
which Is in question. 1t Is she ana
not her mother who will have to
spend the rest of her days with
which ever man she finally decides
to marry. II her heart was set
on some perfectly worthless per
son, the mother would have the
right to protest She would then
be trying to save her daughter
from future unhappiness, and sns
would also be protecting herself;
for foolish marriage is apt to in
vofve others besides those contract
ing IT. She would have justifiable
apprehension that il would not be
long Before her daughter would
come wailing back to the parental
roof, protesting that IL she had lis
tened to older andSfwiser heads she
would not now be ID such a plight,
and she might also bring with her
two or three children for the mother
to look after
But u this ease the obdura.e
parent seemszactuated solely By
caprice- Tho friends OF the family
who write OF the circumstance say
that when she Is asked to state
some objection to her daughter
ehoice, she merely repeats over anG
over again He is a widower and
I don't want my daughter to marry
Q secondhand man"
Widows Usually
Regarded n Prizes.
y Is the first time I have ever
heard of widowers coming under
thSs4an. They are usually regarded
as desirable, housebroken crea-