Evening star., 1939-06-22
Of Stors, Men
And Atoms
Notebook Of Science Progress
In Field, Laboratory
And Study
By Thomas r. Henri.

By Thomas r. Henry.
MILWAUKEE. June 22.-Love has be-
come so complicated that colleges are
giving credits towards degrees for mas
tering the science.
Professors Of the erudite art-among
them an unwed lady of 40 who is now
giving one of the best courses-are at
odds as to whether it should be con-
sidered in the field Of psychology, sociol-
ogy or physiology.
They aired their views before the
American Association for the Advance
ment Of Science at Milwaukee yesterday
after Prof. Laird T. Hites of the Central
Y. M. c. A. College Of Chicago insisted
that love and marriage were subjects
for the psychologist. He told the scien-
lists how it is taught at the Chicago
institution. They start in by teaching
boy or girl how to pick scientifically,
then how to get the sort of person picked,
how to marry, and how to get along
after marriage
ut Is so easy to fall, so difficult to
fall wisely, in love-" Prof. Hites lamented
as he told how the students at his
college-initiated into the mysteries by
married man with a family of chill
dren-are instructed how to fall scien-
tif1cally.
I'VE study" he said, "a number of
problems involved in the selection of a
mate. A young man or woman has a
given personality pattern, a cultural
background, a philosophy of life, and
economic background and experience
and certain tendency, either native or
acquired, toward physique, health and
intelligence. We assume that the
personality in marriage should be COM
plemented by that of the partner. We
help young man discover what type
OF person he should marry. Having
determined the type Of person to seek
as possible mate we inquire as to
how one shall discover possible persons
and select lntelligently among the pos
sibilities."
It's really deep scientific problem.
DR.. Hites indicated. He dwelt upon
the dangers of romantic love" Only
about half the families founded upon
1t, he said, are permanently satisfactory,
one out of five ends in divorce. One
out OF fve degenerates into a merely
tolerated relationship. Three-fifths have
an ln-between status with nobody really
happy.
The essential factor in marriage, DR..
Hltes stressed, is psychological. Hence.
ne maintained, the competent psychol-
ogist should teach a good course, even
II she happens to be lady without anv
practical spoon.ng experience.
only incidentally" he declared. 'is
the marriage relationship an economic
establishment, social institution or a
rehglous ceremony. The course is needed
because 1t represents a social demand.
nowhere else can young man and a
young woman find an intelligent an
proach to the subject. 1t is either ignored
or taken for granted by public schools
and most churches"
college courses on love and matri-
mony In the past, he insisted, have
oeen impractical. Learned professors
nave lectured on the history of marriage
on the courtship practices among the
F1Jlans and the Aztecs, and family life
IN ancient Egypt. But they have failed
TO provide practical instruction for q
lonely maid seeking the right kind of
a boy friend.
While not absolutely necessary, he in
dlcated, 1t would be better if such
courses were taught by men or women
with certain minimum of experience
IN the ways Of man with a maid. al
though cold, objective science should
always be uppermost in the approach
to the problem.
A different viewpoint was represented
by Prof. Howard Becker of the Uni
versity Of Wisconsin. He insisted that
the science of love was not purely for
the psychologist, but that the other dis
ciplines-especially sociology and physi-
ology-should be given a hand in it.
After all, he insisted, marriage involves
somehow or other almost everything that
man has learned about life The pro-
fessor, he insisted, needs to be some
thlng OF an economist and give pros
pective brides and bridegrooms among
his students some idea of how scientifi-
cally to meet the bills after the honey
moon.
But all were agreed that falling in love
was not for the amateur.
Amateurs, after all, have been doing 1t
for a million years and, according to
scientific standards, made a very bad
mess of 1t.
At the Chicago Y. M c. A. College, by
the way, they give three points credit to-
wards an A. B. degree to those who
no {I,o ooyreo