The Oregon daily journal., August 16, 1908, Page 33, Image 33

f
I
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING. AUGUST f6, 1908
THIS
Remarkable Falling
Off in the Number of
Marriage Licenses the
Country Over
TpjCEPT for a handful of localities,
hi chiefly in the South, marriages in the
large cities everywhere this sum
mer have fallen of in numbers to such an ex
tent that where, normally, the marriage month
of June, for instance, ought to show at least
some increase this year, over last, recreancy
to the altar has ranged from 5 per cent, in
Minneapolis to 33 per cent, in New York
city.
By the time summer flirtations were
scheduled to begin it looked, as though the
real, reliable brand of love, as registered in
the census returns, was not available in quanti
ties sufficient for fall delivery, much less for
the elopements the country ought to be reading
about.
Reports from marriage license clerks
show a similarity not often in evidence. "Yes,"
the chorus goes up from those officials, "the
marriage month of June made a markedly less
demand for orange blossoms."
Why this dearth of summer brides?
We do not know, but venture the shrewd
guess that a new line might be incorporated
into the "Waiting at the Church" song "
canAot' get away to marry you today ; my sal
ary won't let me." ,
Dpar
--ft NY ' i ' .vx.V-V
if , ry-'t ffe?-'lf-r i x-v ( H. ' "
Bil'' if lzykt-jlr If v
th op Brides-?
e-
HOW JUNE'S DEMAND FOR MARRIAGE
LICENSES TOOK A DROP.
City.
New York ..
Boston ,
Philadelphia
Chicago ....
Cincinnati ...
1907.
6.7.4
1.022
l.S-2
S.30S
et 1
St. Loui
Baltimore 7"S
Buffalo jf
Mlnnaapolii 4d2
I,ouivlll 23
Washington
19011.
J.03
43
1,427
2.068
630
94S
24
4R1
43
237
469
H A
i: . ' ' ' M Sf-"
r-4i .4.? t 7. y s ' j I J i
( '
fc1)LrtjAy. ti ,4 V" -'---....-A.,1.w..n. ,m 1 M,"'U-4'.'-M-,-ty,.. .EM.,,,-, ., flft, -k-- iy!
SALARY '
"OUT iTT Mt.-
1
t- - j"X
' . . - . . ' ' . . ' ,
. j-' j- , .' , .. ' ..x...-r--r-N
-
" ' i1
" 1 ( i i 1 f
,v 1 1 is
r ''' v ' , I
' :"?.'. -. . ' ..- x ;?.y
i ?
' i . ' t h
' J ' " - "
' ' i
4e" v' " .c '
i v N
is H
" j , " e"
swifWwfc. ss'v"l
. t , 1 ,. ' 9
'l , . r." 1
Report unfler new llcenae law probably not all In yet.
All lovera swear more performance than they are able,
and yet rerve an ability that they never perform: vowing
more than the perfection of ten. and discharging less than
the tenth part of one Shakespeare.
THE beach, dotted with bathers, looked partic
ularly lonely under the shelter of the pier,
where a stark-naked little sinner agralnst all
tho rules and regulations dabbled pink toes
In a pool forgotten by the sea, and cried as though
he had lost everything In the world.
"Why. of all things!" exclaimed one of three en
trancing girls, In the sweetly soft drawl that fills the
South with the caress of romance, "If It Isn't Cupid,
crying!"
"Yessum," rejoined Cupid, with a blinking gulp
at sight q their loveliness.
"What'ara you crying about, Cupid, dear?" asked
another of them. "Tell us. honey, do. I'm from
Washington; and Lou. here, Is frfcm Atlanta and
Adele's from New Orleans, We all love you."
."Me to get busy!" shouted Cupid, his tear-brlmmed
eyes flashing all his habitual, mischievous Impudence,
while he ran for his bow and quiver beside the pier.
"You're the only ones, outside of Kansas City and
Milwaukee, that seem to care whether I'm still on
the earth or simply a classic has-been."
The trio turned to flee, but their feminine curios
ity lnthralled them, despite the dangir.
"Cupid, boy, what Is the matter?" called Adele,
her dark Creole eyes following his rosy form.
"Why,, nobody's getting married, all over the
whole United States, except you peaches In the South
and 10ml I recently captured out West- But" and
be adjusted the fateful shaft 'Til get you, anyway."
With that, the little wretch let fly.
It was at the beginning of July that Cupid became
downhearted, disgusted and so miserable that he lost
even the spunk to attend to his usual rushing busi
ness of vacatlosengagements.
Of course, like any other boy of his Imaginative
type, he did exaggerate a little. But in the main
nd by the light of those statistics which are as dis
comforting to him as they are appalling to humanity
he told the truth.
The month of June, ordinarily the month that
crowns, with the Joy of wedding, betrothals which
have been In warm storage all winter, showed such a
lump all over the country except in some few spots
where Love found peculiarly happy hunting that
marriage license clerks began to worry whether their
Jobs would hold over until fall.
NEW YORK'S POOR SHOWING
For all the backslidings of, humanity, Cupid's
clerks were as loyal to blm as any servitors he has
had aince poor, faithful Psyche followed him to
the very throne of Venus. It is almost pitiful to
listen to the evasions, condonements and excuses
they manage to find for the poorness of his aim this
year, and for the failure of his barbs to rankle the
normal number into marrlag and heartease.
Take the most conspicuous among them, loyal Dr.
William H. Quilfoy, registrar of records for New
York city. He writes. In response to inquiries:
"The number of marriages reported In June. 1I0.
was 6733; in June. 1907. 74, and in June, 1908. 3903.
As the new marriage license law went into effect
upon the first of January. 190$. comparative figures
- as to licenses are not obtainable for other years.
"In June, 1908, the number of marriages reported
to this department presents a falling off due to two
causes. One. the severe financial twist of last Novem
ber; secondly, there was the putting into effect of the
new marriage license law of New York, ao that per
sons who perform the ceremony are compelled to re
port not only to the marriage license clerk, but also
to the Department of Health.
"There have been some violations of the law com
pelling the filing of -report with the Department of
Health. Th matter will probably be straightened out
by th fall, so that the decrease of marriage re.
ported will not be so extensive as shown In th Cg
tirea I har quoted.
Xd to June it). 1908, 1S.S00 marrlare licenses w4-
Issued In th eounty of New Tork. This department
has received reports of 11.071 marriage for th first
'is months ef 1901. During th first six month of
197, Lb number of marriage reported to this de
partment was 11,191. a falling off of almoat loo eer
tlftcatMi so that. In round numbers, toer vim not
fewer inarrtaira solemnised during th first six
snonth of this year than there were during th same
pertc-d In, IM1."
la Boston th registrar will submit the following:
Marrtsg licenses issued daring Jane. 19C4. 94!; dur
ing Js. mi,, tit; daring Jan. lt. 1911; taring
June, 1907, 1022; during June, 1908, 943. Total num
ber of licenses Issued from January 1, 1907, to June
20, 1907, Inclusive, 4175; total number from January
1. 1908, to June 80, Inclusive, 3709. a decrease of 466.
Philadelphia also experienced the slump. "Hard
times," says Chief Goebel, of the marriage license
bureau, "seems to have put June wedding bells on the
dumb. June last year started 1826 couples enjoying
heaven and yielr honeymoons. June tills year fur
nished bliss for only 1427,. And" mournfully "we'd
been counting so on June!
"April dropped 8!. behind the record, and flowery
May quit 400 to the bad. They're afraid to get mar
ried until business has picked up and tho money
saved. Sirloin steak at 2S and 80 cents lets love
down to bread and cheese and kisses."
240 FEWER IN CHICAGO
Chicago s county clerk observes, more in Borrow
than resentment;
"Since this office was established the number of
licenses issued during the month of June has steadily
Increased from year to year until 1908, when 240 fewer
were Issued than In 1907. We attribute the change
to unsettled business conditions and lack of employ
ment generally."
The flgurss make this statement clear: June, 1908,
3068 weddings; June, 1907. 3308; June, 1906, 3103;
June, 1905, 2907.
It is pretty nearly the same celibate story every-
where. "Too many men out of work." remarked Jaco'b
Falk, the license clerk of good, old, warm-hearted inS. for they swear they can't perceive anything very
Cincinnati. "We had 661 marriages in June of last dismaying in the discrepancy of 12a per cent, appar-
year and only 530 during June of this." e"t between the 948 marriages of last June and the
In St. Louis, where they selected a recorder of 1080 of tne Jun8 of 1907.
deeds to register the marriages, they were careful to . ,"i cannot attribute the Blight falling off," Joy's
get one named Joy; and It is the special privilege chief deputy in St. Louis hastens to observe, "to
of St. Louis bridegrooms to call on him and rub in anything In particular except financial stringency or
grateful Jokes on his name that belong In London's 'hard times'; but I do not like to believe this, because
Punch. The very deputies of Joy, from the chief June. 1908, exceeded June. 1907. by far as to real es-
down. are stfll trying to believe Cupid is only fool- tat. tr"sfers by recorded deeds.'
, Adam Deupert, the clerk of Common Pleas in
Baltimore, Md., had the same kind of a hunch, only
better. Baltimore it's hard to believe, but ilgures
don't lie. outside of government reports Baltimore
hit the toboggan nearly as hard at St. Louis, falling
from 708 licenses In June last year to only 624 for
this year. It took true Southern chivalry to explain
it on the score of shyness all around; but Deupert
did it:
"It is pretty hot for a fellow to dress himself up
In a boiled shirt and high collar to face critical ones
who are always on hand at the ceremony. Perhaps
The Gambling -Fever fc:Oeean Voyage
-Z1 J
up to the extent of I. O. U.'s from the victims.
Then the innocents grew wise, and one flung
a whole brandy and soda into the face of a slick
opponerit. The Englishmen emerg-ed from the
fracas with faces badly battered, and the pretty
lady of the deck, who had helped acquaint them
and some others with the cxptrts, continued to be
sweetly indifferent.
She went away demurely when Xew York was
reached, and the gambling eoterio, after being ac
cused of all sorts of villainous things before a
police judge, followed with equal nonchalance, for
the Englishmen, ready enough to tight, refused to
testify.
And so, in the usual fizzlf of justice, the latest
little sensation in ocean gambling pas.?d into the
long record of the game.
T
T
illE turbines of the great ocftn liner wer
racing her ecrewg they had not raced
before; the) leviathan was retching
through the hetve of the ee- like of arrow
toward tea port of Xew York- Th, ra9enceri
were betting, with joyous enthusiasm, on her day's
raa, for that Ti lia (Lay whea th jru creating a
new record for berelf.
On the deck a rery pretty w-omaa eat, sweetly
indifferent to the pulsing of the hip. aroused to
interest only when seme one emerged from the
smokeroom. Below, three expert American gam
tkrt were eving at poker a couple f florid
"EngMirTTTica. Ihe eecig tm said to 1 thorough,
IHEP.E was a sequel, although a trivial one. A
very old gentleman, whose capacity for enter
taining others had aroused during the voyage
as much admiration as was accorded his
snow-white moustache and Imperial, observed, with
the faintest soupcon of a drawl:
"I used to play kyards a little myself on the old
Mississippi, when a real gentleman didn t condescend
tp anything meaner than a Derringer. Seems to me
"m kind of glad I became a common stock broker."
These be . degenerate days. Indeed, by comparison
with those-golden, daj's of the' wide sidewheeler.
vi hen the must dashing gamMers the Soutn and West
could boast pitted their skil. against the profits of
tne p'.anteis. and risked their lives as coolly as they
flipped their aces
Sot even a black eye. nowadays, figures as the
usual penalty for '"ringing in the cold dek" on tn
ocean liners. The fleeced ones are so chary of no
toriety that they prefer to pocket the.r losses rather
than attempt to recover their cash, and the police
court fills them with greater terror than the court of
bankruptcy.
So tntf icertieman gambler-the ger line rentleman
rambler of that cider day who depenled on his sci
ence for his living, and made a rich living at that,
has whollv van sh1 from our ken.
His successor, the primitive card sharp, whose re
ance was jugglery of the pasteboards snd the ap
rearance of & gent." has gone the way of flesh, ac
re, e-ated bv alcch'1. and sometimes, a rope In their
fteai have ih gang of crooks, who may bj no
tetter than burgtars, reforming themselves from
erlrre by easy, by very easy, stages.
The true li-berlwrs of th Mississippi gamblln;
r the lake steamers, scores of floating paune On
the Great Lakes, that carry their thousand of "flush
rassergers dur-.rg n.ne months of th year, and fur
rih the rapP'est of hunting ground for th srambior '
if the present generation
Games, for som fairly larg tak- ara aarly
ajsraa tn progress n many ef those steamer, foe
with th approach of so early and hot a summsr th
boys balked and decided to wait for another Urn,
especially as some of the girls are afraid e( bolnf
called leap-year bride. Of course, you can't kesp)
them all away, no matter whether It I hot or eool,
and I know a few who were not afraid of evon the
financial stringency." . .
In 1906, the Buffalo record was 37 for Jun; la.
1907, It was 667; but thin year It was down to 411,
City Clerk HallW a has it all JUureJ out. ao that
nobody' to blame and everybody's happy:
"Canadians who formerly cunm to Huffulo because
ws had no license system no longc come over. Many
of our people go to Canada to avoid the publicity of
licenses under the new law. Some go lo Pennsy)
vanla, and Pennsyl vanians do not come hero as they
did formerly. Then the financial depression probably
has something to do with It; and, further, we And
that while couples obtaining licenses at Niagara Fall
and some other places are married here, the record ;
Is made in the city or town where they obtain th '
license. Hut the new lnw Iskworklng well, and, Wa f
think It is u good thing." V
In Minneapolis the merry marriage month of
June drops from 4G2 to 436 ; down In fond old Louis
vlllo It drop Trorn 329 to 237, and the official of nls
ther city will rlxk trying to understand it
But In Kansas City, with greaj. .sura,of. JfjIfH. cssbj
In th" bank vaults throughout Missouri,3 th June
wadding hiw gun,, up from 402 to 435. In Mtlwau
kee. where t lie Wisconsin grain money kept th pop-" '
illation loi.iv KilnnlnR at the rest of the country last, :
winter, the Increase was from 522 to 539, a gain of 17 '
for tula June. And In Washington, where the ffOV
ernment keeps most everybody working at good
wages year In an, I y. u out, this June scored 48 .
against 474 for 190T'.s June, a fair average showing. : ,
Farther south one goes, the more desperately d-
termlned Cupid seems to have been upon maintaining
his record. In Atlanta, there were only two fewer
In 190S than In 19UT. And as for New Orleans, for all
the hard times and business depret ;on uud' th rt,
there were 382 brides this June, eighteen mor than -June
saw. last year ; i
Kven In Washington, where so man' persons are :
happily intrenched behind Uncle Sam's ; i; roll; where
It Is "sure money," in good times or poor, there'
was a falling off In the number, of weddings. A
small decrease, to be sure only five yet a decrease
none the less. ,
In June, 1907. there were demands for 474 mar
riage licenses, but only 469 were called for last Jun.
Clerk John R. Young thinks Cupid has been as
diligent as usual in that vicinity. Perhaps be has,
but
Curious Facts
IT Is not a hundred years ago since stays for women
were composed not of whalebone or hardened
leather, but of bars 'of Iron and steel from 3 Inches
to 4 Inches broad and 18- Inches long. Again, during
the reign of George III the top of the steel stay
busk had a long stocking needle attached to It to
prevent girls from spoiling their shape by stooping
too much over their work. In the days of Catherine
de' Medici 13 inches was the fashionable size for the
waist, and to achieve this an over-corset of very,
thin steel plate was worn. It was made In two pieces
opened longitudinally by hinges, and was secured
when closed by a sort of hasp and pin, much Ilka an
ordinary bqx fastening. The best corsets today are made
on a foundation of Greenland whalebone, which has
teadlly rlsert in price during the last twenty-five years
from J35O0 to $15,000 a ton. Cheap whalebone can be.
bought for J150 and J200 a ton, but it soon dries and be
comes brittle, thus spoiling the corset as well as the
figure.
To keep a racehorse tn eve moiierater comliHonr
England, with proper attendants, costs $1575 a year.
Slgnor Koeltlcker, an Italian zoologist, states that by
means of a microphonograph his hypothesis that fish
have a language of their own. has been fully confirmed.
He has heard them carry on a sort of murmuring on
versation, which ho does not, however, claim to have
understood.
Many old houses in Holland have a special door which.
Is never opened save on two occasions when there Is a
marriage or a death in the family. The bride and bride
groom enter by this door; and it is then nailed or barred
up until a death occurs, when It Is opened and the body
is removed by this exit.
The inscription on a large white marble tombstone In
Hampstead Cemetery, London, Is written in Pitman's re
porting style of phonography. It appears that a young
wife, who lies burled there, had taken up the study of
shorthand, while ill from consumption, to pass away the
long days, and had also taught her husband the system. '
She died soon after he gained a speed certificate. .
"The American woman is the most awkward of walk
ers," said a man who recently arrived in New York attar
a trip around the world. "I was struck with this fact as
soon as I landed in New York. It is the exception that
one sees a graceful woman on the street, as they are
exceedingly awkward. I have seen women with pretty
faces and neat figures who spoil their looks, in my eyes,
by strutting along as though pursued by a demon."
Out of every 100,000 girls and boys In England and
Wales 6820 are called Mary and 6590 William.
Germany's colonies are five times as big as herself,
those of France eighteen times, and Britain's ninety
seven times bigger than herself.
Americans from the West, and Canadians who have
done well In the North, are sure to be on board, eager,
to taste the thrill of the fast life, whose delights
thej" have been working for during years of poverty
or abnegation.
No faro layout Is permitted the lake captains see :
to that. But it is practically Impossible to prevent
any group of acquaintances from Indulging in a
friendly game In a stateroom, and the groups form .
themselves by natural gravitation early In the 1100 :
mile voyage. '
Poker is the game but a poker so facile for fraud
that any veteran of the Mississippi would be ashamed
to take the money. From the West has been adopted
the use of two decks in the game, with the Joker a
a fifth ace for Ailing of flushes and straights. v
A pair of coal heavers could skin a "sucker" In a
game like that. It has so smoothed the tortuous path
of the gambler that, with the police of a waxing clV- '
lllxatloii relieving him of the necessity for carrying a
gun. the double deck has emancipated him from the
now obsolete "hold out" contrivance, that had a
gooseneck running down the sleeve and was operated :
by the knees.
He even disdains taking the bottom card, using a
cold deck, dealing seconds and various other anti
quated tricks, whicn are as needless as they are wall
known. The double deck an 1 the Joker cover the
whole multitude of poker's sins.
PLAYING FOR LARGE STAKES
On the ocean liners the large stakes sr. as rule,
played for only among moo who know one another
perfectly well, and begin the!- game purely as a
pastime, but becorn so absorbed that they threw eft
the limit and stick to the table during th entire run.
Such was the famous gam played by five finan
ciers on a well-known vessel three years ago, when
$100,000 was said to hav changed hand by th nl
of the voyage.
A gentleman gambler of the modern type le aim
ply a gentleman of means, who plays for stakes as
high a his mean will allow and sometimes higttr.
Such men regard th steamship professional a a
pitiful "piker." which, by th way. he la. Te him, a
couple of thousand, which the gentleman player w-
or lose with equal sang frold, mean e hluicg ti I
Jubilation.
Even then, he le afraid ef his rich. f-e t
"sucker" may yet aqvoal. and vn thovaa tr.rs -no
riot, a notoriety ensue that make tb ea t.i -
face tea well known for swindling amanar x.a t, .
lore. th traaaatlaatlo card crook, Is
learning to mark eowa hi prey en V.rV .i 1 t
than skia him la London.
Somehow, th gambling fsver 1 t ,
the blood as aaea as th trat!ant a ,.r i-
Maa te fcreetk the inre an i f-i in , . ,
.th eeaaa. Mea av aiXMrft te sr - t a.
the entire tlma ef a ra la t .. , i
playing card and keepiag th ! -'..
tht propensity for "gettiag 1t t-. g ' !-.,
the average eteamship a. prom'a v f 1 i t i ,
fesleBai. aad aiasiy of tba.ni ti-4 ti i . t ;
ef the year era,ng and mctc s-
t-