The Washington times., 1928-04-27
Famous Author
On a Timely
Subject.
BY Beatrice Fairfax
An Authority on the Problems Of
Love and Marriage

Love and Marriage
"I am contemplating suicide"
Bill wrote me the other day. 81
am madly in love with a girl 1S
months my senior. I am 10.
For her I would do anything.
She vowed that IL left her she
would kill herself. I tested this
and saved her life by seconds
WHAT Contemplating suicide,
Bill, in spring of the year. when
you love and are loved?
Usually, there is a love affair
back of gloomy and despairing
moods Of a young man or woman.
But sometimes parental misunder-
standings are the cause. And the
strain of college or swift city life
IN not infreQuently factor.
!. Bill explains his hard breaks"
He is planning to enter college
next fall. He has learned the
State college exams are to be
even sitter than he thought.
He fears he will fail. This worries
him, because of his affection for
his parents, who have done so
much for him and expect so
much from him.
Then there is the girl. He cant
afford to marry until he finishes
college. Bills parents object TO
her, because she is cider than he
is, because they wish him to go
through college, and because as
he explains, they have heard
things about her which are ut
terly untrue"
a wave of youthful suicides
has swept over our land. This
may be due lin part to the fact
that emotion is catching. Author
tiles agree that the idea Of sui
eide is passed from one person
to another, until occasionally
there are epidemics Of self-destruc-
ton.
At first thought it seems mex
plicable that in the Ioveliest sea-
son suicides should be most fire.
quent, and that in youth, when
ardent and hopeful, despair ever
: should enter and take control.
Some authorities claim that sui
cides are common in spring be-
cause of imperfect physical adj
justment to the sudden warmth Of
the weather. leading to physical
and mental let-down and discour-
agement.
1T is interesting to note that
suicide is and always has been,
according to statistics, much less
frequent among the Irish than
among any other nationality OF
Europe. Certainly this is not be-
cause the Irish as a nation or in
dfviduals have had little trouble.
May it not be because the
blessed Irish sense Of humor re-
lakes over-tenseness, gives a sane
prospective, and saves the situa-
ton?
Suicide is only resorted to by
those who believe it the least pain
full way out of a situation. There
is no better tonic and inspiration
to courage and endurance than
wholesome kindly laughter. Do
not take yourself, life and love
too solemnIy, is my suggestion to
Bill.
Laugh it off" You can.
Do your best, but be prepared
for failure. Success is built out
Of beautiful failures, and can be
built enduring1y on no other foun-
dalton.
Love OF athletics and sports is
a salvation to youth. Girls who
hike, swim and play tennis and
basketball, and live natural.
healthy lives, and young men, who
play baseball, don't commit sui
eide, no matter how unfortunate
they are in love.
'Heart-Broken" also sends me a
suicide letter. She had a mis-
taken love affair with a married
man. An old friend married her
to give her baby a name. He was
husband to her in name only and
died two months after the mar
riage. The mother of Heart
Broken hates her because of this
mis-step. She tells me she has
only her baby. and life is not
worth living.
Dear Heart Broken, how rich
you are to have your baby to
love and care for! Give it all the
wealth of wise, tender mother love
that has been denied you.
, Both you and Bill would be
towards if you killed yourselves.
Every life has black moments.
Do not let them decide your fate.