78 Hattie Plum Williams 
risen. Both changes are largely due to industry, and the differ- 
ence in result depends upon the type of service entered. Girls 
who go into the unskilled industries are thrown with crowds of 
other irresponsible girls whose thoughts and conversation are 
largely confined to the “making of dates.” They are thrown 
with men either in their work or on the streets; and with no 
interest except their daily monotonous grind, they seek excitement 
in association with them. Soon beyond the control of parents, 
they marry early either against the latter’s consent or with their 
reluctant approval. 
Aside from these facts, the normal tendency would be for the 
marriage age to rise, for in the German colonies in Russia the two 
factors of military service and the patriarchal family system tend 
to push the age downward. There the young men must go to the 
army at 21, and they are encouraged to marry early and establish 
a family before the lots are drawn, for if this is not done, from 
five to nine years’ service delays marriage beyond the desired 
time.®’ It is the feeling of parents that their sons will be steadier, 
while away from home, if they are married. Besides, it will be 
a bar to their contracting alliances while off on garrison duty with 
Polish, Russian, or other foreign women whom to deceive is 
cruel; but to marry, involves religious complications. The 
parents of sons are especially anxious to contract marriages for 
them. The more well-to-do classes reason that they will have to 
hire help anyway, and that the son’s wife will save money to them 
and be a financial asset to the son. If a male child is born, it 
will mean one more dusch or land share for the family and thus 
help to compensate for the economic loss to the family of the 
recruit. The parents of daughters, on the other hand, would 
resist this tendency if they could, but since there is no way of 
telling who will be drawn and since the marriage age is much 
below 21 years, their wishes in the matter count for little. The 
patriarchal family system places a premium upon marriage by 
bringing into the family an extra worker without any expense 
except board and clothes. The teachings of the church have had 
67 This service is now reduced to three years for the army and five for 
the navy. . 
204 
La a 
