The young man is often modest, almost always sensitive, and he prefers to
bear dispraise rather than to tell the real reason he hesitates. His ear
is closer to the ground, he feels even if he cannot express the doubt of
the disinterestedness of the land-scheme promoter, of the wisdom of his
father. He knows better than his elders the uncertainties of salaried men,
young men with a way to make in the unstable conditions of to-day.
The effect of this well-meant advice is not to hasten his marriage, but to
put it off because he is not allowed to take the course he feels safest.
Or if he is willing, the parents of his prospective bride are not, and so
young people do not marry on $1000 a year, for fear of the elder
generation and their supposed wisdom.
The young people are not justified by present-day conditions in owning a
house on an income of $2000 a year _unless_
(1) They have money to put into it which it will not cripple them for life
to lose;
(2) They care so much for the idea of ownership that they are willing to
take the risk of losing one half the investment should they be compelled
to move;
(3) They possess the fortitude to give it up at the call of duty after all
they have lavished on it;
(4) They care enough for the real education and the real fun they will get
out of it to save in other ways what the running and repairs will cost
_over and above the amount estimated_.
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