Evening star., 1927-12-06

The "companionate marriage" idea
is greeted with satire by most of the
editorial writer's Of the country. The
young couple whose recent entry into
such an experiment received exten.
sive publicity. are pretty generally
pitied as a boy and girl at school
whose parents have permitted them to
wed without assuming the RESPONSE
bilities of home and with eyes turned
in advance toward the divorce court.
Nothing has ever been invented.
and nothing can be invented, which
will take the place of the home," de-
clares the Charleston Daily Mail,
which insists that 1.-The problem of the
children, innocent and perhaps unwill-
ing victims Of a situation they had
no part whatever in bringing about,
appeals strongly for the preservation
Of the marital union of two persons"
The Pasadena Star.News. feeling that
'it would be far better to urge a
higher conception of marriage, stress.
ing it's spiritual aspects. and to move
for perpetuated marriages. rather than
for civil unions transient in charac-
ter" urges that "the evils that would
grow out Of such changes would much
more than offset any benefits"
Fancy phrases aside" observes the
New York Sun. "the couple have de.
cided to get a divorce il love fails
them. So they start with neither the
thrill of confidence nor the joy of
struggle, of making their way unas-
sisted. And we have been told that
the new. flaming youth is as original,
bold and defiant as Lucifer. This syn
thetic 'companionate' stuff is as dar.
ing as a kitten drinking a saucer of
milk under it's mothers guidance. I"
The Flint Journal deplores the fact
that modern parents, In their desire
to protect their children from the re.
sponsibilities of life, are providing for
them dangerous plaything in mar
rIage without the safeguards custom.
tradition and experience have placed
about it,"
Similarly the Ithaca Journal News
points out that lit differs from family
marriage in that there is no risk or
liability" and the Louisville Times
suggests that "after the fog had lifted
there stood revealed merely the wed.
ding of a young couple not yet able
to support themselves and willing for
their parents to do it while they COM
plete their schooling" Says the
Omaha World-H Herald: 'They are mar.
ried fast enough under the Kansas
statutes and will have to resort to
the customary routine, just as other
folks, in case the marriage does not
go well. Outwardly the chief differ.
ence between this and the ordinary
marriage lies in the fact that they
accept it as entailing no economic re-
sponsibility on the part of the one for
the other"
Much Of the real meaning of the
word marriage is being overlooked or
has never been fully understood by
those using 1t so glibly," says the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette. while the
Fort Wayne News-Sentinel describes
the sentiment behind the new institu.
tion as being the fault of what we
fail to do in teaching children duties
and obligations preparatory to the
time when they take their positions
in adult society,""
That paper holds that "if Chris.
tianity must be thrown out, at least
something should be substituted' !;
that "Confucianism with its teachings
that man has duties and Responsible.
ties to his fellow man is better than
a spiritual vacuum where there Is
neither philosophy nor religion"
The Lincoln Star fears destruction
of the foundations of the home," and
the Mankato Free Press insists that
children are too precious to be made
the subjects of biological expert.
ments." The Syracuse Herald be.
lieves "Nevada's monopoly of divorces
while you wait is doomed to early de-
structiOn." and the Wichita Beacon.
noticing that the marriage Is in the
regular form, with the privilege of
divorce, adds that lin these days Of
easy come, easy. go in marriage and
divorce that Is about all that large
proportion Of marital unions are"
X
1.-THE outcome will be watched with
interest, although 1t is not likely that
1t will disturb the ancient custom Of