Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-08-19

heart desires, they seek the people's
friend, the metropolitan newspaper. BY
camoufaging their names and hiding
behind postofHce fictitious name or box
number, 1t Is possible for them to sft
out the illiterate or crude or imperti-
nent replies and perhaps arrange
meeting with the few that sound allur-
ing.
How dramatic md embarrassing must
be the first meetings.! 1t Is impossible
to conjure the opening conversations
Setting aside the naive young foreign
workingmen, who advertise frankly and
openly for working girl wife, without
any false modesty, because they assume
that IL is not good for man to live ulone
there must be some more sophisticated
ones who are Mortified at their own te-
merity.
A dapper, ultra respectable, rather
religious widower Of fifty confessed to
me that he made one Of these dubious
experiments. OF course, he insisted
that 1t was done through curiosity, al
most amounting to research work in
human psychology, and that he was ac-
tuated by a vast sense of humor. Doubt
less, he was pretending these motives
to conceal real wish for wife, but
I pretended to believe him as to his mo-
ives because L Wanteu 10 neur the
story.
Wording his I'D attractively, in dig
nified language, he received more than
seventy replies Eliminating the crude,
ignorant letters, he selected eight from
"refned, well do widows" chiefly
and sailed forth to meet these aspirants
to his heart and hard. After cxchang-
ing letters, arrangements were made for
the initial call. In nearly every case
the woman was living, homeless. at Il
hotel, and always was respectable. In
not one case was she an adventures or
Sporty" but most of them were be-
tween forty and fifty, very lonely. their
friends all married and middle aged,
and themselves weary of homelessness
and the single state.
Much camoufaging and sidestepping
was necessary. but after the first plunge
into conversation they proceeded along
much the same lines of talk as are
usually INDUCED in among persons just
| introduced at reception. The Wild
over may have been hard to suit. but
he never called the second time on any
| of them! One case was that of girl
about thirty, whose sister and brother
in-law, apparently not knowing any
eligible men, egscd her on, to the EN-.
bnrrassing eXpedient Of advertising !!
/ She received the strange man in the
parlor of their little fiat. The rela-
tives made him effusively welcome. They
related her domestic virtues shamelessly.
To edd the final touch Of embarrass-
ment, they departed and left him alone
with the girl!
She was growing toward spinster-
hood. She was weary Of the monotony
of teaching. In the great city she had
not intimate friends and beaux and
social life. He took her to n theatre.
He gave her a gold handled umbrella
for Christmas. The sister and brother
in-law were delighted and must have
whispered to each other that modern
maxim, "It pays to advertise ~ but
oh masculine ickleness--he finally
| dropped her!
In the few examples given. you have
noted. Of course. that there was the
sportivc one. thi"ly veiled by the requi-
site respectable suggestion of marriage.
Doubtless, g.y men sometimes take ad =
vantage Of the columns to seek compan-
ions for automobile tours. But every
effort is made to keep the lads" legiti-
mate. The advertiser Is absolutely
fcrccd to pay for the two concluding
words, "Objcct matrimony" or Mat
rimony possible" To be sure, matri :
mony always is possible whenever any
two human men and women not legally
tied meet together, but what more can
! the poor advertising manager do, in the
interest of morality, than insist on the
| interesting suggestion!