New-York tribune., 1921-04-24

the Army of Occupation. Perhaps as well as
any organization it is qualified to judge Of the
success of these foreign alliances.
In the opinion of Red Cross officials the per-
centage of separations in the first year among
these war marriages is little greater than the
average Of separations and divorces in the
hrst year among Americans who have married
normally under peace conditions. The men who
made hasty, ill-considered marriages overseas
and are now reaping the rewards would have
maze just the same mistake had they stayed
at home. In one case known to the Red Cross
doughboy asked English girl to marry
MIN half an hour after he had met her and
she Tipped coin to determine her answer
responsibility such as this is the real cause
of domestic difficulties
1t is not safe, however, to leap to the conclu-
sion that most of these war marriages were
contracted by the irresponsibles The files of
the war brides bureau hold MANY cases where
both man and woman appear to have given
themselves plenty of time to make sure of their
lnciinations. An illustration is the story of
doughty son of Ohio known to the Red Cross
who met "the girl' in Luxembourg, but returned
TO this country to be discharged without hav-
ing spoken his mind Ohio girls failed to. dim
the image of his Luxembourg sweetheart and he
hnally reenllsted in order to be sent overseas
again. There he sought out the girl and mar
rled her. And they lived happily ever after
deserves to be the ending of this romance.
In the large number of instances where the
men TOOK wives of somewhat similar nation
allty and background to their own the war
brides bureau has no hestancy in predict
ing happy outcome. More than sixteen hun
ored brides coming through Hoboken have been
English One hundred and sixty-seven have
been Czechs, married to Czecho-S -Sovak or Po-
l1sh-American husbands. And among numer
Gus small contingents from other European ma
lions have been twenty-five Russians, brides
OF Pollsh-American troops sent to Archangel.
For every instance of marital disilusion-
ment, however, the bureau can produce an j.
lustration to prove the opposite, which accounts
for the difficulty in making generalizations.
The Partisan milliner who married the Mon
tana rancher and is living blssfully happy
fifty miles from shop window is real per-
son. She was widow with two small chi
dren when this husky Irish American wooed
and won her. He it is who reports to the
bureau:
My wife and children are perfectly con-
tented with America and do not want to re-
turn to France. The children are learning
English fast. Well, you can Judge: A year
ago they could not speak word of English;
now the boy is in the fourth grade, reads the
fourth reader, studies arithmetic, geography
grammar, history and spelling, gets 100 IN
spelling every day, and the little girl is in the
third grade md is doing even better than he'
brother. They are Just wrapped up in schooi'
can't think anything else. sn sending them
to school every day that it is possible for them
to go. They have one and a half miles to CO.
but when it is stormy | hitch up team and
take them"
In some instances the French brides are sala
to be resentful because, according to the pros
dent fashion of their country, they brougns
their husbands dowries, while the men or their
side produced nothing with which TO start
the new home.