Has he failed to discharge the responsibilities of life in a legal, competent, conventional manner?
Has he any record of uncontrollable rages resulting in injuries to others?
Does his family physician question his sanity?
While it is possible that he might be sane though you answered yes to some of these questions, the odds are against it. You should keep in mind however that many boys discharged from this past war as neuropsychiatric cases are not insane and most of them will be able to settle down within a few months after their discharge and earn a livelihood and live a normal life.
Is Your Mate Law-Abiding, Does He Have a Record Free of Criminal Offenses and are His Parents Likewise Law-Abiding? Many employers, including the federal and state governments, hesitate to employ a person with a criminal record. The habitual criminal is not easily cured. Certainly three or more convictions for criminal offenses should indicate a personality pattern adverse to marriage happiness. In New York State, four convictions for criminal offenses automatically result in life imprisonment.
Is Your Mate in Fairly Good Physical Health Generally and Free from Venereal Disease? Most of the states have passed laws providing statutory protection against syphilis. These states contain about three-fourths of the total population of the country. It is interesting that about one person in a hundred taking premarriage blood tests is found infected with syphilis. In these days of the miracle sulfa drugs and penicillin, cures of venereal disease can be effected in a matter of weeks. Syphilis is a blighting disease which, if uncured, will wreck any marriage sooner or later. Anyone who is in chronic bad health due to other ailments adds a severe burden to any marriage.
Is Your Mate Free from Using Drugs Such as Morphine or Heroin or Marijuana? Addiction to the traditional drugs is not a serious problem in this country but a great many young people have been taking to marijuana for quick “jags” under the impression that such jags are not dangerous. Musicians particularly often use this drug. But it is a dope just as surely as opium is, its effect can be just as vicious, and it is used only by persons who are unstable emotionally and thus poor marriage risks to start with.