MAN SHORTAGE

Thames Star, Volume LII, Issue 13934, 12 July 1919, Page 6

MAN SHORTAGE

STARTLING MAN SHORTAGE

Some curious fact® aYe revealed 1^ the Britdsh. Reg)is'tlr«r-Gr«n'erai's re-poa-t, issued recently, of births, deiajtihs, and marriiafgeisi' in 1917. Iti is estdmaited, for imsttainicie, thait ther* are 19 woonen to every 14 mien, the» figuaies being 19,626,700 and 14,085,----300. Beitweein the ageis of 15 and 40* there are 9,542,655 womiem and only 4,492,927 men.. The figures, itshould be (pointed out, are the esitimiaited civiliani porp'tilaitaoin. , ■

Widows ro-maffried mi gjreait ■numbera. Altihioiugh- young war wido^vs affected tihe figures, k. is cleiar tihait the war is not wholly responsible for tha totial began to ■increase in» 1912. Widowers too, show an inciraasinig tendenwyj- ifca take 'sieicioind wives. About half of the divorced people married «ag<aa<hi.

The: youngeisiti bachelor to mairry wag 15, and the youxxgesfc spiisoeder 14. Not feiwecr tihani 29' males marx-ied! aib the age of 16, and. 389 ait the age of 17, two of thei laitta* marrying; widows.. TwemitiyHeix. spmsitte'rs- manried a* the age of 15, omo of them tjot' a mdonvei 11; \ 187 women were 16 when 1 they mairried'; staid ■ of 1201 tmtvyiiig arfi 17 yeairs, I's married wddowers- The earldesfe second mianriaige of males was 'aiti ftihe. <agia of 19, and tihifeei widows ret-raarried ait the agei of 18. Of 39 men, inra^ryinig! when tlhey were tanned 80, only oin©, aged 81, had never tasted' thei joy® of mialfcrimio)nii,al blisis pa-evioiusly, the rest /being widowers; but out of aline women miai'iryting' beyomd' itlxat iage two were spdnisitems. The oldesiti man tk> ba man Tied 1 wais a widlotwer of 82, and. the two womieini weir-e aged 85,. t»iw a widow and ooe a spd<nstiea\ A g^ai of 15 married a main 1 of 40; ooiie wife o£ 66 mlaiiiried a' hiisband aged 24; 'amdijhei- ag^d 24 took a husband of I' 6. A man of' 70 miaa'rieid o> girl of 20'; others, aged 68 aoid 66, wed with sweat 17, and 146 couples married when itihey, were patet 70.