Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-05
YOUTHS MARRIAGE PLATFORM
INDORSED BY FAMOUS AUTHOR
Henry Havelock Ellis Approves Easy Divorce Plan
and Predicts End of Present Woman's
Rule i'm United States

wrong side of the Thames. Trans
pass near the modest apartment
house where he has chambers; there
are aspidistras, green flags of British
commonplaceness, in the windows of
some of the nearby houses; and there
are other signs of ordinary and un.
fashionable life in the neighborhood.
There was no reply when I first
knocked at his door. But as walked
away saw approaching a rather tall,
white-haired. white-bearded, old gen.
tleman who was obviously a philoso-
pher. He wore soft brown tweed
suit carelessly, and had a too large
package stuffed into a pocket of his
coat. Since there was not likely to be
more than one philosopher living in
the neighborhood, when I saw him
turn into the "Dover Mansions" I
waited few minutes and followed.
The same gentleman answered my
knock and invited me into his study
when I explained that I had come to
get his views on the future of mar
riage.
Sitting there to be cross-exam mined
Havelock Ellis seemed strikingly like
George Bernard Shaw. He is just
three years younger than Shaw and
both OF them rose to prominence
about the same period. Ellis has the
same lean body. long intellectual face,
white hair, white beard and healthy
pink complexion as Shaw, but he is a
bit more robust and handsome. His
personality Is more detached and
mystical than that Of the sage Of
Adelphi Terrace. He smiles as easily
and speaks as pleasantly as Shaw.
but his smile Is less provocative and
his speech less tantaliZing.
Visit to u. 8. Rejected.
In fact, there is no doubt that
Ellis does not like to talk. He con-
fessed that one of the reasons he has
never visited America is that he can
not lecture and he felt there was
nothing else for him to do in the
United States. That admission may
be a clue to his modesty.
The author of Studies in Psychol-
ogy Of Sex" Little Essays of Love
and Virtue" and the dance Of Life"
who was once a school teacher in Aus
tralia and later a qualified medical
nan, was disposed to be philosophical
about the much abused contemporary
love story.
1--WE are witnessing everywhere a
great movement for the legal facilita-
ton of divorce he declared. 1.-THE
companionate marriages among the
present generation are becoming COM
mon. 1 think they are the result Of
natural evolution. but the newer
sexual code of such marriages should
be made more wholesome by legisla.
ton.
mo, companionate marriages are
not an artificial product OF modern
civilization. With birth control and
new attitude toward divorce, they
have developed naturally.
Endorses Easy Divorce.
IT am very much in favor of
making divorce easier" he went on.
II even think that we may eventu-
ally reach divorce by mutual consent.
That is the natural goal. believe.
provided that no rights Of the parties
themselves, or Of their children, are
injured"
When the criticism was mentioned
that the 'companionate" idea was not
likely to keep many marriages from
going on the rocks, and that any trial
and error method seemed like waste
full way of seeking happiness, Have
lock Ellis replied:
All marriages are likely to do that.
1t Is not an easy thing to settle. Every
one has to find out for himself. We
will never invent a system removing
the difficulties 0E marriage.
when / say we cannot abolish all
difiiculties do not mean that we can't
CONTINUED Jon Sixteenth Page)
III