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SUFFRAGIST SENTIMENT OR WAR
TO BLAME FOR FEW MARRIAGES?
South Georgia Minister Reviews Record and Describes Unusu
al Incidents—Farmer Groom Values Bride “50c Worth.”
By ALEX W. BEALER
In The Macon Telegraph
JL T ST AT this time a dreath of mar
riages is prevailing in South Geor
gia. This is true with me 1 know and
from a careful reading in the papers
I am led to believe it is true with most
of. the South (jeorgia preachers. J have
come to this conclusion from an ex
amination of my marriage record for
the last ten years. I don’t know the
cause of it. It may be due to the ad
vancing suffragist sentiment for that
has little use for marriage relation.
Bachelor girls shine most resplendent
in the ranks of this order. It may be
due to the agitation along the line of
eugenics. It may be due to the war, to
the high cost of living, and the low
plane on which salaries are pitched.
Anyway, my records show that mar
riages are fewer in number than they
were some years ago. Then it was
not uncommon to join twelve or fifteen
couples in marriage in the year, but
now half that number is considered
good.
Some interesting facts are brought
to light from an examination of m>
record book covering' a period of ten
years. During that time 1 have married
eighty-one couples. For this service. I
have received fees amounting to five
hundred and nine dollars. It may be
news to the general public, when I state
that the marriage fees always goes to
the preacher's wife. From it she gets
her pin money.
The highest fee I received during
these ten years was twenty-five dol
lars. The lowest was what the boys
call a goose egg. During this time !
married six couples for which 1 re
ceived no fee. The failure to fee the
preacher is due in most cases to ignor
ance, not to meanness. The man o
dense ignorance never thinks of pay
ing the preacher and he would be sur
prised if you told him he should do so.
He thinks the preacher, like the police
man is to be called on for anything
for which he may be needed.
The smallest cash fee I have ever re
ceived was fifty cents. I heard the door
bell ring one clay and on answering it
1 found a big boned young countryman
there with a maria ge license in bin
hand. At the gate was a burp;. U! n;.,
an awkward looking young woman. At
tached to the buggy' was a lazy look
ing sun-burned mule. At my invitation
tile young man brought the girl in and
in the presence of the family I per
formed the ceremony. After the con
gratulations which were awkwardly
received, the groom drew me off to
one side and said, “Parson, how much
do you charge me?’’ I told him we
never made a fixed charge for these
services but left the amount to be paid
v ;th the groom. I suggested that those
vho got good girls generally paid a
K'. and pi de, and the same was true if
i girl was loved much, but those who
g t sorry girls and who did not love
tuem paid only a small price.
“Oh! I loves Jter a lots. Parson,’ he'
said, while a smile played across bis
face. He rattled some silver around in
his pocket and handing me a silver half
dollar asked me if that would do. 1 '
replied in the affirmative, invited him ;
to come to church when he could and
gave the ma hearty God speed as they
lelt the house. Evidently well pleased!
with the bargain he had made, he and
his w ife entered the buggy and drove j
off to their new homy.
U regret to say that an examination j
"of my record dissipates some poetic and
popular ideas about marriage. You read
much about June being the bride month
—the banner month for all marriages—
but the facts do not bear this out. De
cember takes the palm for marriages
among all other months of the year.
J tux-pose the young people, fearing
*hey will get no Christmas presents,
?sel that they Will each in the other get
one that will last a long time. In the
past ten years I have married nine
teen coui>les in ihe month of Decem
ber. October comes next with twelve
and Sept ember with nine; November,
January and February each furnished
seven; March, April and June, five;
May and August, two, and July, one.
During the ten years there were a
mong the brides only three widows and
four widowers. Only one widower was
married to a widow.
The matter of fees presents an in
teresting study. The lawyers, doctors
and bankers, unless they are very
young, pay from ten to twenty dollars,
and occasionally one will go up to
twenty-five. The clerks will generally
pay five and the farmer boys with few
exceptions pay from a dollar to two
and a half. I have had several to pay
five dollars and one gave me ten. For
the benefit of the uninitiated let me
sjugest that you always put the fee
in the envelope containing the marriage
license. You r~ry not fear dr: the
preacher will Ltd to find it.
An Unustal Ceramc ry
The a.cs, ua -uual marring* ' f"e.
THE TRIBUNE-NEWi, CARTERSVILLE. GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 6, 1919
performed was one where both the
bride and the groom were deaf mutes.
They had invited a number of their
deaf and dumb friends to be present.
I did not talk the sign language and I
was a little at a loss how to proceed.
A sister of the bride who could talk
both ways volunteered to help me. I
[hade a few remarks on the solemnity
of the marriage and waited for her to
spell them off on her fingers. They
both nodded their heads to show that
they understood. Then I asked the
questions of the man first and the in
teriireter spelled them out. She did the
same for the woman. Both answered
by nodding their heads.
| Then came the hardest part of the
service, the closing prayer. 1 said, “.Let
us pray.” The girl spelled it off on her
fingers and the couple nodded. I clos
ed my eyes and began. Then I remem
bered that I could not tell when the
interpreter was ready for me to go on
if X kept my eyes closed. I opened them
but found it to be the hardest job I
ever undertook to make a public prayer
with my eyes open. If you have never
made a prayer with your eyes open,
you’ll find it almost an impossible
task. After I got started it came easier
and I was in good trim by the time the
“amen” was reached. I congratulated
the couide and they seemed hapxy as
any I ever joined.
! During the ten years r have married
two colored couples. One night as i was
coming away from prayer meeting the
sexton told me that a negro man was
waiting to see me. 1 called him and
when he came up he said, “Cap’n, does
you ever marry colored folks?” I told
him I would and asked him where the
woman was. "She an' de man over yon
der on de corner.”
“Have they ever been married be
fore?”
“De man ain’t, but de 'oman is.”
“Where’s her husband?”
“He done daid.”
“Do you know lies dead?”
“Yasser, lie’s my brudder an’ I shet
his eyes when he died.”
Darkey Groom Impressed
J showed them the way to the study,
and that couple’s eyes popped out with
reverence when I told them what God's
Word said about marriage. I preached
ihem both a regular sermon, arid when
I concluded the sweat was standing out
in great beads on tlie forehead of the
man. He gave me a dollar, arid both
were much pleased to receive the con
gratulations of the white folks.
On another occasion a young school
teacher, a bright mulatto, came around
to the Pastorium accompanied by one
of her pupils, a mulatto girl, who look
ed like an Indian, and she was as grace
ful in apxiearance. Fie informed me he
wanted me to marry them. 1 soon per
formed the ceremony and he almost
took my breath away when, in a non
chalant manner, he handed me a twen
ty-dollar bill. I fingered it for a mo
ment and then feeling satisfied that
lie did not want to give me all of it, 1
said, “How much of this do you want
me to take?”
“Oh, about five dollars, I reckon.”
With well expressed thanks he took
his departure, followed by his happ.v
looking wife.
This most unique couple came to me
j 1 rora <i circus thta was in town. The
I man, a foreign looking fellow, kept in
i the background. The woman. I noticed,
had the most brilliant and beautiful
i eyes 1 had ever seen. It was leap year.
; There was a wierd expression on her
face and now and then I caught a
wicked gleam from her eyes that re
minded me of a soriient. She informed
me she was a snake charmer in the
circus, and there was about her walk
something that suggested the undula
tions of a rattlesnake. The groom had
been charmed all right and lie seemed
to be in a sort of dream, an atmosphere
of delight. She managed” the affair and
asked me to give her an official cer -
tificate of the marriage, which 1 did.
She held a brief conference with the
man she had charmed and then, upon
a nod from her, he came over and paid
me a fee of ten dollars for my ser
vices.
The most liberal fees are paid by old
men who get young wives, that is. if
they happen to have any money. A
few years ago, 1 made two appoint
ments for marriages on the same day,
whit h was Saturday. One was made by
telephone. The couple was to meet me
at my home at 3 o’clock that afternoon.
The other appointment was made by
the prospective groom, a young man.
He was to carry me fifteen miles In
the country on Sunday afternoon.
The couple met me on Saturday af
ternoon. The man was a prosperous
fanner about 60 years old). His bride
was less than half that age. It re
quired about five minutes to perform
the ceremony. The groom was radiant
ly happy- and informed me that l had
done him the greatest service that had
ever been rendered him. He showed his
appreciation by enclosing three five
dollar bills in the envelope with the
license.
The young man the nox; day was
none the less happy, but he did not
happen to have much money, it re
quired three hours and a half to make
the trip and to perform the ceremony
and the fee was a dollar and a half. I
give this to show that marriage fees
are very elastic.
I once performed an unusual mar
riage. The man was a widow in mid
dle life. He had just been elected to a
high office in an adjoining county. He
wrote me he was coming over to my
home for the ceremony. On the ap
pointed day he came bringing his bride
to-be, a handsome widow', and a small
company of friends. At the conclusion
of the ceremony, with quite a flourish, i
he borrowed my* fountain pen and
made out a sight draft on a bank in
his town for five dollars. In a .few days
the draft came back endorsed with
these words, "Says he has sent check.”
I wrote him, expressing my- surprise
and asking him to send me a check.
This de did. with a brief letter, ask
ing me to pardon his delay', i deposited
the check and it came back marked.
"No funds.” I yvrote him again and he
replied that he would see me in a fete
days and make the matter all right.
The few days have lengthened into
many, but alas, the check has never
j e; ! rr f* got <1
'talk with mod any preacher and he
| rill give you some interesting facts
i ibout the capers of Cupid and you will
1 yam ih;.t tl '- e are many ?’-uct':at;ons
j;> . :f, vi :. market.
“THAI GOVERNMENT CAR”
Uncle Sam tried it and found it Good. In fact,
Uncle Sam found it so good that he
took the entire output —
DODGE
♦
Ask any soldier who drove cars for Uncle Sam.
If you want more power and flexability, try
a six-cylinder, the
“OLD RELIABLE”
Buick
The Best Ever
The best four-cylinder and six-cylinder cars on
the market for the money. Ask any Buick or
Dodge owner.
Price - Dodge $1185.00
Buick $1675,00
Dodge and Buick Accessories
And parts and Service Station, with first class,
reliable, experienced mechanics. Prices reason
able. Work first class.
Cartersviile Buick Cos.
J. G. Toff, Manager Cartersviile, Oa.
A PREDICTION AND
AN ANSWER
Secretaire IVilson, of the Department
of Labor, -jays:
“The prssent period of readjustment
is the critical time. If we can' pass,
through isa fetly, we have before u*
from eight to ten years of industrial
activity e*ual to any wave of tpmsfxs--
ity we eves have had. But if there fe
any serious unemployment, Mere wall
be a periwdi of industrial unrest which
’ may lead! as to a petition of cßa Fremch
or the Russian revolution.
Secretary Lane, of the Department
of Interior, says:
"If will appropriate the
relatively small sum which l have ask
ed for the construction of soldier-set
tlements In every state is. the Lnion. I
can offer jobs almost immediately to
lOd.hOO of our returned fighting men,
thus helping to stem the tide of indus
trial unrest predicted by Secretary W il
son: provide farm homes for 25.000 of
these men. thus mitigating the evals of
tenatry; and bring into cultivation i.-
' 500.000 acres of at present
t.vc irnd Urns helping to make up the
deficiency’ in tlie rate of rowtsti of cul- i
livated land as compared with the rate
of growth of population. There can be
no surer insurance for the Jyvtion than
to put its men upon the;, soil!”
PHYSICAL DEPART
MENT
f BY DR. WELLS9SAN
Cleaning the System a# Poisons
Life is not merely to- li to, but to live
j well, eat well;, digest, well, w’ork well,
; sleep well, and finally—--and to most
I people essentially—to look well. What
fa glorious aonditipir attain and yet
j how very easy it is. if one will only
adopt thv morning iaside bath.
Folks who are accustomed to feci,
dull an# heavy wh*;n the arise,
beadarhe, stuffy with cold, foal
breath, nasty league, acid stomach,
caiv instead, feel as fresh as a daisy by
| opening the shicies of the system each
! morning and flushing out the whole of
! tho internal poisonous stagnant matter.
A glass of hot water each morning
' with one-half tablet la Maria. tablet
with it. before breakfast, keeps ua
looking and feeling fit.
Everyone, wbelhet ailing, sick or
well, should, each morning, before
breakfast .dank a glass of real hce
water, and t ike one-half or one whoite
laxcarin with it, to wash from the sto
mach, liver, kidneys and bowels ishe
previous •itjr's indigestible waste, sour
bild and poisonous toxins; thus demis
ing, swe*tihg and purifying the eatire
elimenutttv- canal before putting- more
food the stomach. The action of
hot wutfea and laxcarin is wos-barfully
invigorating. It cleans out alt the sour
fermanifisrtoHS. gases, waste and acidity
and gives one a splendid appetite for
bsealifast. While nejoying your break
fast the hot water and the. laxcarin is
quietly extracting a lasgso, volume of
! water from the blood arjd getting ready
: for a thorough flushing of all the in
side. organs.
The millions of people who are both)-,
ered with constipation, biliousness,
stomach trouble*, h-heumatism;
who have shrHWw skins, blood
dered and sickly complexions are wged
to get a box of laxcarin, which eosts
almost nothing. or if desired i$ boxes,
which * the majarity of eases is
enough for the whole treatment, is suf
ficient to make anyone a yronounced
crank on the subject qf internal sani
tation.
Laxcarin is sold by the Laxcasia Pro
ducts Company., Dept E-212, Pittsburg,
Pa. Price, per box, one do'dat’; full
treatment, six boxes, five dollars, will
be sent post-paid upon reedyt of cash,
money order or stamps. Substitutes
must be refused. —adv. *
ENTRENCHSaJ-i
Oh yes,
My soldier husban-d tf*
H-ype.
Yju’ll find him i-n the
Cellar. ?
tie's dug a deep, hole
tn the floor.
And filled it tftjt with water;
He's got a nusss of wire j
And ropes, '
And boards, >nd shovels
Floating.
He’s eurled, himself up on a
! f
A smudgy pipe a-going,
i When I ring the chimes tor |j
Dinner W
Ho holers up and says,
' Thing me down a doughnut. *
And a eu.p of coffee, girlie,
And I’d feel veal swt and
Hup; £.l ike.”
- -Cartoons Magazine,