Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 138, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 June 1920 — TO ASSIST CUPID [ARTICLE]

TO ASSIST CUPID

Movement for “Mixed Clubs” in City of London. , J ' ■ ■■—■ ■■ .■■■■ । Method Has Been Suggested to Check Decline in Marriage Rate, Which Is Viewed With Considerable Alarm. Social reformers, bishops, clergymen and physicians are continually reminding us that in England we need “more marriage and earlier marriage.” The postponement of the age of marriage among men until thirty or the beginning of middle age is not a healthy social sign. “ IrUre middle class this deferment of wedlock is attributed chiefly to the increased difficulty in earning a sufficient income to support the family. The same factor comes into play among the skilled craftsmen who wish to attain a fair financial position before they undertake the responsibilities of parentage. We find, therefore, that early marriage is the custom chiefly of the unskilled workers, casual laborers and the very poor. The economic question Is not the only barrier to early marriage and more marriage in the great middle class. Strange as it may appear, a vast numTierof men and women who wish to marry cannot find mates. Even in these days there are a multitude of men who have very few women acquaintances, and a still larger host of women who rarely enjoy the society of men. We are apt to forget that a large proportion of the Inhabitants of the big cities are practically in the gates." Their “homes” are a bedroom in the suburbs, a boarding house or a little lock-up flat. They are country immigrants to the large towns, and in many instances they have not a single acquaintance in the place. If we are really in earnest about the decline of the marriage rate and the deferment of matrinnury, we should set about facilitating social Intercourse between the sexes. The first practical step is the - provision of “mixed clubs” under municipal control. Clubs, as they exist now, are simply internment camps for men or women, and there is no doubt that they tend to a further segregation of the sexes. It is true that there are clubs in London where men and women can meet. But we require a very much larger number In the metropolis and in all parts of the provinces. My own experience of mixed clubs is that they undoubtedly promote matrimony. They are a pleasant meeting place for young men and women after the days’ work. It is appalling that thousands of youths and maidens should have nowhere to foregather in the evenings and no choice between the lonely lodging and the streets. I would suggest also that every municipality should establish a marriage bureau and provide candidates for wedlock with Introductions. —From Continental Edition of London Mail.