Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-06


there were eighty two boys and 500
Elrls listed as widowed at the tender
age 6f fifteen.
THE Census Bureau tells us that
q people are marrying younger these
days than they did ten years ago. in
spite of the high cost OF living. If
We we're European peasants. getting
married at m early age nigh. not
seem so strange. for standards Of
living are not SO high In Europe. and
workers In fields can snbsiSt on a
bare pittance. They have no out
idle interests. but raise a family on
u few cents a day and till the soil.
But today in America--think of the
"ost of clothes and the necessity" for
'notion pictures. and fancy ice cream
ilk stockings and French .heeled slip
ers. How does the boy manage 1t?
lake rents alone-Romeo and Juliet
IRE said to have been extremely young.
lut they lived in tropical country and
lad ancestral castles TO fall back on.
doubtless. had they not met with so
rpeedy and tragic a death. and had
ne Montagues and the Capulets re-
fused to forgive them, they would have
ad terrible time trying TO meet
.ousehold expenses.
JHVEN at sixteen there are 1923 boys
~ and 1926 girls in welded bliss.
and when il comes TO seventeen. why
,iere are over 10000 girls-and at
eighteen there are 1S8,64o. SO when
o talk of modern young folks not
going under the yoke early. we do
not know what we are talking about.
To offset this, America claims
j ,arly 800 900 bachelors over fifty, and
fD6.OO0 spinsters. Were they cow
q -dly or unattractive or just the sport
O. fate? Did they fear TO tempt the
cpds and enter the nuptial state, or
we're they less fascinating and beautiful
an those who were early snapped UP,
aving them as remnants on LIES bar
ain counter? Or did they pine on far
Western ranches or in gloomy city ten
e.nents, unloved, unhonored and IN
sIng?
Sometimes one sees very young moth
IS with tiny mites which seem like
& Ills. 1t is a pretty sight. but We Won
r IL the girl has wisdom and under 4,
anding to take the little life through
q crises of sickness and all the ills
! lat infants are heir to. 1t is huge
'sponsibil!ty.
:ylHEN. too, the girl is defrauded of
K the legitimate fun of youth, the
Z irtations and uncertainties, tho little
.ves and quarrels and pests. the de-
lopmcnt Of earning money, the
,t;ucation that broadens her mind for
f'ture problems. the tratnin. in self ,
.ntrol. and the experience Of meet
iig various people. One who waits
-ldom weds the person who seems at ,
active In his teens. One cannot .
!, loose wisely If one has no assortment
Z, admirers from which to choose and .
IL fifteen a girl has met but few. !
II ones marriage turns out ideal, !
Z; en- 1t does not make much difference .
hlw young one has welded. But how
!. any bitter regrets come In the thou
/, inds Of cases in which young folks
,iarried In haste and repented at lei
sire! When we recall our own salad
lays and the inexperience and self-as-
irance, the fancies we had for impos-
sble people. we shudder at the posi- !
,lity Of having tied up for life to any
q, them.
FLOW blindly and foolishly the in
Il stincts guide us when we are in our
{; ems. How wholly without edpca-
on and poiss We are. how unfortu-
ate are our snapshot judgments. It
claimed that it is unfortunate II,
eople wait too long to marry; but
nrely it is unwise and suicidal to
,ap into state called eternal, with
20 knowledge Of human nature. even
ur own. The children in their teens
ientioned by the cold blooded census
ray have been impetuous and rushed
where angels fear to tread, but
aey will surely pay~a penalty Of RASH
less and regret and lead rather drab
pxistence. .