The Washington times., 1937-02-12

SymPdIuyI ana ueI SOVu u00U
81 embarrassed our minister,
considerably, by asking him this
question the other night at an in
formal church gathering, but ne
was unable to give me satisfac
tory answer. WIDOW"
The only reason I can think Of
for the absence OF any reference
to widowers in the Bible, and that
consolation is withheld fro m
them, is that they don't stay
single long enough for spiritual
solace.
AS soon as a decent period Of
mourning is over, and oftener be
fore, your widower puts on his
brightest necktie and goes court
ing.
EXCUSE FOR HASTE
During the many years I have
answered letters in this column,
instances have been related to me
of widowers deciding on next"
on the way home from the fu'
neral. The excuse offered for
these hasty nuptials is that the
widower, having grown so depend
ent on the care taken of him by
his late wife, can't get used to the
routine Of q life unmanaged by a
woman.
People are a good deal like
horses; those used to pulling in
double harness can't manage to
pull the load singly until they're
taught all over again. You've
probaly noticed this if you've had
any experience with team round
a farm.
Whatever disadvantages may be
laid to the door of marriage, 1t
certainly unfits people for living
alone, even if their first or second
attempt has been unsuccessful.
A week or two ago quoted a
letter in this column from man
who had been thrice divorced. He
was considering another marriage.
and you knew from the text OF
his letter that if he married a
dozen times he would never make
a go of it.
ERRONEOUS IDEA
His idea of a perfect wife was
to have a mute unpaid servant in
his house, who would do every
thing his way and look up to him
as if he were a god.
He objected to one wife's main
tanning friendly relations with her
family, and to another Of the poor.
down-trodden creature he hao
married trying to keep sane by 60
ing to church affairs.
The third, unable to stand the
loneliness any longer, wanted to
adopt child, but he thought he
was enough of an object of devo,
ton for any woman. So the third
wife followed in the wake of the
other two and went back to her
own family, later diVorcing him.
He seemed to wonder what it
was all about. He had never
starved or beaten any of the three.
The roof didn't leak. Why weren't
the women he had married happy?
DEATH RATIO
It has often been pointed out
by people who gather statistics
that the death ratio between
widows and widoWers is far higher
in the case of the men.
This may have been true in
biblical days, as well as at present.
and may account for the fact that
the Bible hands out no conSola
ton to WidowerS, as our CORES
pondent says.
Those who did not have addi
tional, and did not put an end to
widowerhood by another marriage,
probably died.
The question of a frail little
woman surviving a husky man is
one of those puzzles the medical
hierarchy has never been able to
explain.
It can't be because she works
less, for no one works harder thar
the housewife who cooks, washes
irons and sews for her family
without assistance, and practically
has no time off.
In addition to this she has the
handicap of child-bearing, which
takes such a tremendous toll o.
lives in these United States.
Is it because women have mort
patience, and are more inuret
to disappointment than men? Ok
they, for that reason, stand thu
strain Of mere living better?