Evening star., 1926-11-23
THE BUSINESS OF GETTING
AHEAD.
Nest Egg for Marriage.


When economists attempt to formu'
late minimum financial requirements
for bridegrooms they get into dah-
gerous, If not ludicrous, ground.
Marriage, even in this Workaday
world, is the elimination of romance
and young people in the heat OF emo
ton are not likely to let their mInds
dwell too long on mere bookkeeping
details. Happiness is their quest, not
materialistic prosperity. And yet a
learned Ohio judge--Bradley HUI,
former chief of the Bureau of Domes.
tic Relations of Cleveland--remark
from the bench that more marriages
are wrecked because of Ignorance In
matters Of family finances than Tor
any other reason.
When the prospective brides 1atner
insolently asks ,he would-be bride.
groom How much have you got!
he is to some extent begging the
question. In Europe the girls father
recognizes a more direct personal re-
sponsibility and contributes to the
economy Of the new family dow1y
in proportion to his means. The
theory Of the dowry is that it both
brings nearer the time when mar
riage is economically feasible for
young folks, and also capitalizes IN a
lump sum the expenditures which the
father would have to make for his
daughters upkeep If she remained
unmarried. and dependent upon him.
The dowry has been traditiona1ly
repugnant to American MANHOOD.
The American has been unwilling TO
let his elders arrange matches ana mas
readily agreed to give up financial ala
as the price Of his independence. 1t
l14
net effect has been to postpone the
marrying age Of young men. A moral
equivalent of the dowry system has
been the increasing tendency OF
young wives to continue to work after
marriage to help finance the peak eX-
penditures Of the early years when
housekeeping is first set up. In more
affluent families, where the wife does
not work, her family frequently
finances the furnishing Of the home
as we'll as her personal trousseau.
Must Be a Worker.
It is more important for the bride.
groom to be capable producer than
for him to have a substantial reser-
voir Of capital at the time OF mar
riage. If he Is a normal man or some
capacity, his accumulation Is likely
to be mainly education, business ex-
perience, ambition and good pros
poets, which can be translated through
the years into the currency on which
homes are financed.
In addition to these qualities he
ought to have at least the modest be-
ginnings of a personal estate as an
evidence Of his thriftiness and provi-
dence. Exact statistics would only
be misleading, as they would neces-
Sarily vary greatly in accordance with
the age, salary, family circumstances
and place Of residence of the indi-
yidual, In most instances $1,000 in
the savings bank and a moderate
sized life insurance policy in strong
company should be considered an
irreducible minimum.
The married man should also pro-
tect himself with health and accident
insurance in order to assure the con-
tinuance of his earning power. which
is the chief economic factor deter
mining the marriageability of man.
After marriage the wife should play
a constructive role in allocating por-
ton of her husbands income to saw
ings.
Although two cannot live as cheap
as one, the married man is spurred
to greater efforts by additional in
centives. John J. Raskob, chief finan-
cial officer of the General Motors Cor
poration and father of the installment
plan in the automotive industry, once
remarked that by and large married
men are as we'll off as single men.
Men who take on added responsible
ties, he said, have tendency to work
harder and more effectively, turning
idle hours into productive hours.