SHOULD WOMEN PROPOSE?

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 2236, 8 February 1921, Page 4

SHOULD WOMEN PROPOSE?

AN EX-JUDGE SAYS “YES.”

ADVICE OX HOW TO MARRY

Convinced that the drop in marriages in Baltimore during the'last few- months is due to the high cost of living, a former judge, Jacob M. Moses, says definitely that women should propose, and he feels certain that they would make a better selection of husbands than men do of wives.

Mr Moses, who formerly presided over the juvenile court, and is a well-known economist and sociologist, puts forward this plea, because men refrain from getting married on account of their inability to support their wives, whereas if the girls “popped the question” and continued at work until the cost of living became normal, the slump in marriages with its disadvantages socially would be ended. THE JOINT WAGE. Youth is the time to marry, Mr Moses points out, and the £5 a week which he considers the fair estimate of the average weekly wage of the salaried man is sufficient to keep two people. In purchasing power, however, this sum is less than half what it was in 1013, but the £5 a week to-day, plus the £2 to £6 a week which girls and wombri earn in shops, factories and •offices, would support a couple very nicely during the present time of stress. Mr Moses thinks this a far better way of solving the problem from the standpoint of the welfare ot: society than for the young people to prolong their period of courtship, spending their money and their evenings in a mad endeavour to perpetuate the ardours of first love, which should find expression in a mutual purpose worked up in close comradeship by the fireside. WHY NOT, INDEED ?

Oil the question of the women actually proposing, Mr Moses asks: “Why not? When a woman knows a man loves her, but is afraid to ask her to marry on account of financial conditions, she is justified in letting him know that she is willing to be- a real helpmeet, which virtually means help meet expenses. A man would naturally hesitate to make such a proposition, but a woman who is sure of the man she loves will have little difficulty in finding jui opportune moment to suggest that conventionality should give way to common sense, and that their future happiness should not be frustrated because of a mere matter of form or tradition. “As to the wisdom of the women s choice,” he said, “I think women will make a much better job of it than men do. ['believe there would be more happy marriages if women proposed. No woman would propose unless she was sure she loved the man; loved him enough to work in order to maintain a home. “Tim! is a much better way than id say ‘Yes’ without feeling sure she* really loves him, but simply in’order not to miss an opportunity or for convenience, a> is frequently tlie case. On the other hand, a man would probably not consent to marry a woman who proposed unless he really loved her, because he cun usually support himself, and there is little inducement for him to marry a woman he does not love.”