Stanford's Marriage Rate 



171 



is, however, lower than that of any of university to get advanced work. Alany 



the coeducational univ^ersities so far of these, at the time they came to 



studied,^ viz. : Stanford, had ])assed the age when 



Stanford. 1892 1900 -18.5 marriage is likely. 



Wisconsin, 1890-1900 55.1 But this statement hardly holds 



Oberlin, 1891-1900 56.9 good of the later classes here considered. 



Ohio State, 1890-1900 57.5 At that time it appears that there was 



Illinois, 1880-1900 63.6 ^^ot any extraordinary selection of the 



Iowa State,* 1892-1901. .. . 71.2 women students of the university; a 

 Kansas Agr., 1890-1900. ... 72.5 large j^roi^ortion of them came because 

 As far as generalizations mav 1:^2 j^ ^as fashionable to go to college, and 

 safelv drawn from the few cases avail- because it was generally reported that 

 able,'' it appears that the marriage rate S^^^^ ^^ vStanford where men were much 

 of college men is fairly high and con- \'^ excess, had a better time than at the 

 stant all over the country; that the University of California, 

 marriage rate of college women is on ^o what extent the alarmingly low 

 the average considerablv lower, but carnage rate of Stanford alumnae can 

 that it shows great variation. ^^ explamed by the selective nature of 

 This variation not onlv reflects differ- ^he group of girls admitted, and to 

 ences in the groups from which the '^}'^^ extent it is due to the one-sided 

 students come, but also, it seems cer- education they receive, cannot be de- 

 tain, differences in the nature of the cided without intensive studv. It is 

 education. At Kansas State Agricul- possible here only to analyze the prob- 

 tural College much attention is paid to '^m m a somewhat speculative way. 

 domestic science, and many girls go intra-college mating 

 there with the deliberate attention of 



fitting themselves for marriage. In Since there were, in the period under 



other words, the college (1) selects discussion, two or more men for every 



from the population, to some extent, woman in the university, why did not 



those girls who are likely to marry and the Stanford women find husbands 



then (2) aids them to marry. At among their fellow-students ? They did 



Stanford conditions are quite opposite, to some extent, but apparently not to 



Practical domestic science has never as great an extent as occurs at many 



been taught, the curriculum is on the other coeducational institutions. Their 



whole quite "traditional" in character, failure to do so might be (1) the fault 



and it is particularly in favor with of the men, due to a (a) their not being 



young women who intend to teach, allowed to mingle with the girls in 



As compared with Kansas, therefore, college, or (b) their not being "marrying 



Stanford tends in some degree (1) to men." But neither of these supposi- 



select from the population girls who tions has any basis. Social intercourse 



are less likely to marry, and then (2) is not unduly restricted at Stanford, 



to educate them in a way that makes and the figures shov/ that the men do 



their marriage still less likely. marry in large numbers and fairly 



early; onlv, they do not marrv Stanford 



GIRLS A SELECTED GROUP girls 



To some extent, the Stanford girls It might, of course, be alleged that 



of the early classes may have been the Stanford men are not good enough 



selected in an unusual way. These for the Stanford women; the ideals of 



early graduating classes are said to the latter might be supposed to be 



have contained some mature women exceptionally high. The objection can- 



who were already in careers, principally not be refuted, but is not convincing, 



teaching school, and who came to the If the failure of the women to marry 



' Figures extracted from Altman's data (Journ.vl of Heredity, viii, pp. 43-45) for periods 

 which will give a fair comparison with the Stanford figures. The rates are more complete, how- 

 ever, the status being that of about 1915. 



^ J. C. Blumer's data. 



