The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1940-02-02
By KATHLEEN NORRIS
tBell syndicate-wNU service.)


IT HAVE a crop of letters from
1895 June brides and l wish all
u the fathers and mothers of the
brides and bridegrooms could read
them.
Apparently young man and girls
step into matrimony nowadays as
entirely untitled for the obligations
of the new life as they were at the
respective ages of five and three
years.
Strangely enough, they are all
well-informed on the physical side.
Forty years ago girls knew moth
ing of that. They dreamed bashful
dreams of the realities of wifehood,
but nobody told them anything;
mothers and teachers shrank away
from the simple biological truth and
babies were born in cabbage leaves.
It is different today. In high
school and college everything of that
sort is discussed, diagrammed, ana
lyzed. Not infrequently actual ex-
detrimental love-making goes on.
Old-fashioned mothers frequently
appeal to me, sending me the text
books upon which small girls and
boys batten in our schools, but all
educational boards are for open and
frank dealing in the matter, Victori-
an reticence is sprurience," and in
fancy babbles lightheartedly upon
subjects once reserved for the spe-
cialists.
In all other ways the marriages
of our young people are left to
chance. There are no moral rules,
no ethical rules to hamper them.
The new wife expects to do always
and in everything exactly what she
likes; the young husband has never
been crossed or disciplined in his
life. When the first shock of their
contending wills occurs it staggers
them. They can't believe it. They
often decide to end their marriage
then and there. Hundreds of di-
vorces ensue. It would be interest
ing to know exactly how many take
place in the first year; it is an ap-
palling number.
A Few samples.
From these letters aforementioned
/ offer few quotations. They are
typical of hundreds; some are de-
spairing, some humorous, some puz-
zled.
Mother never talked to me about
how selfish and childish men are,"
says one. ''Not knowing a thing
about budgets, homework, cooking,
and marrying the dearest man in
the world on an income of 81, 1000
year, I'm in horrible troubled" con-
fesses a second. A third wife is
thoroughly discouraged, not because
he is mean or drinks or doesn't
hand over his pay check, she writes,
but he is so dumb"
Hell let me set the table, clear
the table, pull back the chairs, brush
up the floor, clean the kitchen, wash
the dishes and put them away" she
says, without ever offering so much
as to wipe spoon. If I hand him
a towel he does one plate, wiping
round and round it, and apparently
not thinking at all what he's doing.
He'll sit backwards on chair, chat
tering with me, moving when my
broom comes his way, but he never
helps. In our room dirty linen goes
on the floor, camera and films, ra-
dio, records, letters, books are all
over everything. He'll let me carry
the picnic out to the car and up the
hill; he never thanks or tips a wait
er; at gas stations he'll say, Wash
these windows, will your and sit
smoking and talking with me while
some nice fellow works for us, not
even saying Thank you as we drive
away. He's always good-natured
enough if pointedly ask him to do
something, but half the time he
doesn't do it.. This morning gave
{ him his white shoes and mine and
asked him to clean them, and when
I went out on the porch he was