San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-04-13

Things as Dau or worse, In many cuSes
with far less occasion, than the Next
cans do, yet, being sure the editorial
in question was equally innocent of
any evil intention against the Next
cans, and in spite Of Reverend SUI
cranes assertions, i am sure anyone
well conversant with Mexico will
agree with me that the facts set out
by the editorial had at least a firm
basis of truth. Whether they may
have been expressed .ambiguously,
controverted somewhat, or had erron-
eous deductions drawn from them l
cannot say, as l did not read the
editorial but gathered its gist from
Reverend Sugranes' quotations from
it in his letter published March ..
As the reverend father so aptly OBJ
serves, the Catholic church lin COM
mon with all others, he might have
added believes marriage is not of
human but of divine origin and in
stitution," and therefore, the Catholic
church does not recognize as valid
the civil marriage. Upon the other
hand, the Mexican government, from
other notions as to the aforesaid
"origin and institution" from lack of
higher religious sensibilities, or, per-
chance. from mere gross and earthly
desire for the pccuniary gain accruing
from the incidental fees (of which OF
course, the church could never be ac-
cused in accepting the humble stipend
extracted from the hardworking bride
groom for the ecclesiastical services
in Joining him in the bonds of Heaven
ly union with his bride), considers
their own civil wedding as the one
and only becoming method of marriage
and the subsequent religious ceremony
as mere additional luxury of no par
ticular significance in itself. With
ont taking into consideration the rel
alive merits of either contention, 1t
seems clear that while taken by and
large this amounts to much the same
thing ms our own custom OF obtain
ING n civil marriage license before the
church wedding, nevertheless it ac-
tuallv does leave the Mexican con-
fronted by the alternative OF having
two ceremonies or of finding himself
still unmarried in the eyes OF either
church of state, which would be dis
couraging. -, A. =,
baters on both sides-l mean the
editorial writer and Rev. Sugranes
have missed the real crux OF
Mexican wedding. Both the civi!
and ecclesiastical expenses are OF
minor import after all in comparison
10 the other expenses incident to tine
customary celebration accompanying
n wedding. No man who couid scrape
together the cash would forego the
excitement and glory to be gained
by wedding properly ceieDrated )
but il he can't afford to do it in
style-why, then, have it at all? A
wedding ceremony is not that import
ant. And, inasmuch, as. whether it
be n divine institution or a mere
earthly one. it seems to make so little
difference in so many cases, maybe
they are right after all. -.
| Now my Mexican friends, who Will
probably want to kill me after they
read this, remember l am talking
of the miners, farm and ranch hands,
and the like. / know you boys who
have shaved behind the desks OF I'll
Orc, Parral, Nacozari and, Cananea
Nave been hit harder than the CON
tratistas" of the mines by the mgh
cost of marriage, but that doesn /.
mean you have not always been most
properly married when the time came
for you most certainly were, even
though it put gray nairs in your head
and wrinkles on your forehead get
ting it all lined up and figuring, how
Won were going to pay back the loans
You negotiated beforehand. -.
But it is amongst the lower classes
that the question of dispensing win
the wedding ceremony arises, and
whether the expense is the dominat'
ing factor or merely Discrimination on
the part of the contracting parties TO
bother with the ceremony, there arc
plenty of couples-not the majority,
probably. but not a few, who are
living together rs husband and wife
and who will tell you as unaffectedly
that they have never been married