And our friend raved on in this vein:

"I'm telling you this state of affairs is intolerable. It is a terrible thing to be permitted in decent society. Why just a short while ago a little Greek girl married a man in a "Gretna Green" a little outside of Chicago. One Sunday she married him and the next Sunday she left him and returned to her home. Not one word was said about it. You would have thought that was the customary procedure. I ask you: Can our society survive under conditions like these? Can the family survive? Can the sanctity of the marriage ties remain in the face of such desecration? Such conduct is socially and morally detrimental."

This man had just cause for complaint. Today, in this blessed land we 2have as many different types of marriages as Heinz has "varieties" [Heinz fifty-seven varieties of canned foods which range from soup to nuts, and require only a can opener and a little heat before serving. All one has to do is make a choice of cans.] Marriage today is not the important mystery it used to be. Today, the menu is clearly designated for one to examine.

Marriage, in the days of our grandmothers meant that the man was the boss and the wage earner in the family. Women mended their husband's hose, sewed buttons on, and said, "Yes, darling." Today we have what is called the fifty-fifty type of marriage. According to this type both the husband and wife are breadwinners and both have the privilege of voting. The wife has equal voice with her husband in determining the affairs of the home.

However, this equality does not seem to have been sufficient and each sex has injected local anesthetics into various parts of the marriage code until 3it has ceased to mean anything at all. Marriage is reduced to a mere camouflage that hides a desire for undisturbed freedom. Not only has the meaty part of marriage been eliminated, but an effort is even being made to rob it of its spice and seasoning. Our philologists, sociologists, and psychiatrists have finally evolved a new type of marriage that will surely rob the institution of any of its restrictions. Now, one can be married and suffer no interference, trouble, worry, or argument.

According to this new marriage concoction a man and his wife may not live under the same roof. It is all right if they reside in the same city as long as they are not too close to each other. In this way one does not aggravate or depress the other one. The arrangement is identical with that of business partners who have separate desks and offices and meet in conferences. The best places for the two married people to meet seems to be at the golf links and the races.

This cannot possibly be known as marriage. It is something else--anything, but not marriage. Our conception of true marriage has always been one of common interests, common customs, mutual hopes, and mutual endeavors. No one can get married and retain all his faults, habits, and egoistic tendencies. People marry to get a partner with whom a secure, happy life can be experienced. They want someone to share with them their dreams, and joys, and sorrows, and doubts.

The important point is, that never can a man or a woman who live apart from each other create a home and a family--which, after all, are the primary objectives of marriage. The Greek girl who left her week-old husband is either too modern, or very thoughtless and scatterbrained.