Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1868-08-05
DIVORCES. AND DIVORCE LEGIsLA-
TON In THE UNITED STATES


IN some of the States, especially some of the
Western states, Indiana and Illinois for in
stance, has attracted considerable comment,
but rather in tJne of levity than Otherwise.
The pilgrimage of Unmatched couples and
halves of couples, from all quarters to that
land of easy di- solution of hated ties has been
noted rather as topic to be treated insthe
Joker's column than as q serious question of
national morals. Until quite lately we do not
remember to have seen any attempt to take
into thoughtful consideration the growing dis
position in this country TO sever the marriage
tie. The fnghtful ease with which the wedding
yoke is shuffcd of ''out WEST has been Illus
trated by the story of the good old Indiana
couple. who alter living together without an
urkind word passed for fifty years, were horri-
fed on reading the morning paper to find
themselves, by some mistake or practic i Joke,
solemnly divorced by act of the State Legisla-
ture. 1t is related that the worthy old couple
wept on separate pillows that night, and the
Aext day trudgcd of TO the nearest magistrate,
and after fervently renewing their marriage
vows, took the earliest train for a State of
stricter divorce law, and where honest mar
ried folks could go to bed at night without risk of
breaking the commandments, by being divorced
before morning. 1t would appear, however,
from recent statistics that the West has re-
ceived rather more than its share of odium for
the facility of its divorce legislation.
The last number of the NeV Engl1nier has an
article on divorce Legislation in the United
States,'' bv President W0olsey, in which the
subject is treated with the grave consideration
which IL merits. The article is based on a care
full examination Of the statutes of twenty-three
States, including nearly all the older ones; and
the facts brought out are startling, and deserve
zens. The causes Of divorce are given in the
various reports prcsentc1 to the legislatures.
In Vermont, out of sci divorces in five years,
there Were for adultery, l6i: will desertion,
1os desertion, g.; Intolerable severity, l26; for
refusal to support Is; with 20 Others, in most of
which more causes than one are mentioned.
In Massachusetts,, out of ,294 divorces granted
IN about five years, there were for adultery,
$40, or AZ per cent; for desertion, $50, or 1876
per cent for cruelty, I22, 81 per cent; Is for
Intemperanee, and 81 miscellaneous. Here the
large ratio for adultery is startling. Can this
represent the real state of the easel In OHIO,
out of 2.6-l cases Of which the causes ave par
tcularly assigned, there were grant for
adultery, 935; for absence and elect, 1850; for
cruelty, AZ; Tor intemperance, 196.
OF the origin of the applicants for divorce
we have no items furnished TO us, save that in
Ohio the counties where the C.'holics form a
considerable part Of the population fell low
their ratio, While the :. Western Reserve coun.
ties have a much larger proportion of divorces
than the rest Of the STATE" These counties
constitute " New Come cticut," the settlers OF
which came from the old State. The fact is
significant, IS if appears from ne Statistics
presented under the heads of the ratio Of an
nual divorces 70 annual maria res that the
State of Connecticut figures mot conspieu-
ously. In looking about for an explanation
of this fact, il seems that TO the two original
causes Of divorce in Connecticut-aiultnrya and
desertion-there were added two others in
1Si3-" habitual intemperaIce and intolerable
cruelty and that in 1919 new batch of causes
was superaddsd, viz: sentence OF imprison-
ment for life, bee stiality, or any other infamous
crime involving a violation of conJusal duty
and punishable by Imprisop nent Ia the Stale
prison. and.what we have already spoken
of-any such misconduct of the other party as
permanently destroys the happiness Of the Pc
titioner and defeats the purpose OF the mar
riage relation This last is generally known
as the " omnibus clause" Itappears that after
each Of these advances in legi Station there was
an increase Of divorces; that the divorces in
Io6i were five times as many as in 1919, al
though the population had grown by the adj
dition of less than one halt, Of which one-half
Catholics, who did not swell the divorces,
formed not small part; and that the 's omni-
bus" clause, both directly and by its influence
when other causes were weak, aided the pc
tIticners for divorces not a little.
IL Vermont, the ratio of annual divorces to
annual marriages foots up tor seven years a
total of 80 divorces 1910 marriages, or ra-
no OF TO 81. In Massachu: etts, for a period
of tour years, there was total eff ,022 divorces
70 1912 marriages, a ratio OF 10 IL. In Ohio,
IN 1-66 the divorces We're l,l69; marriayeS,
30,i79; or a ratio OF 4 to 26. In Connecticut, in
period Of eight years, the divorces foot up
2,9lO: marriages, 5,2E; a ratio Of to- IL.
From Prussia we have ONE mat rails for in.
stitutlng a comparison between that country Of
loose divorce laws and the States named above.
cannot be done with accuracy in the States, and
thus the story the tables tell is unfairly in "a
yOr of the latter. For instance, in Connecticut
where the whole number ofmarriages was i9ls
IN 1866 the marriages, in which both par les
were of foreign birth, were 1,'OS. Now of
these ii is sac to say that two-thirds, say
eight hundred, were Catholics. who rarely Pc
ton for divorce in that State. Deducting them
We have the ratio of one divorce to less than
eight and hsf so called Prot tant or rather
-Ca-holic marriages. Prussia, in 1855.
Marriage of non- Catholics, Si,9Ii; divorces,
1887; ratio, I 10 %.
Thus Connecticut "the land of steady
habits" is al the bottom OF the list altogether
The ratio OF divorces TO marriages is there
double what il is in Vermont, nearly four-fold
that in Massachusetts, and much more than
double that in Prussia. There are absolutely
more divorces in Connecticut, on the average,
by les (yiz: ga every year, than in Massachu-
setis, State with two and q half times as many
Inhabitants. There were in 1s66 more than
half as many as in Ohio, a State with almost
i've times the population.
II is stated IN this connection that the divorces
IN several Of the States were unduly great in
the year l-6s- and have been SO since the war
The reason must be that many hasty marriages
were contracted by soldiers; the motive being,
on the woman's part to &c: q share Of the
bounty or the pension, If the husband should
be killed. But to counterbalance this, the
marriages, ~ always happens In similar cases
ate vet. have increased quite perceptibly, SO
that the ratio is not much affected.
WoxkN's RIGHTs.-A practical evidence OF
the advancement Of the womAn's rights doc
trine took place in England lately. At a
political meeting in London to make arrange
ments for the approaching general election,
Mrs. Law delivered q speech rom the plat