The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-10-02
DIVORCES MADE EASY.

A young and rural wife who elopes to
Europe with a lover who has clothed the pro-
testations of his passionj to her, in the pre-
sence of her legal incumbent, in the guise of
legal advice; who writes to her uncle, on the
eve of her departure, her belief that her
friends will have confidence in the rectitude
of her motives even while she is roaming
Europe with another than her lawful lord and
who exhibits withal a keen eye for business,
in the midst of her romantic fervors, by care
fully collecting all her available property,
preparatory to flight, is certainly entitled to
be classed as a female phenomenon. But
when she returns from the immoral felicities
of her pilgrimage, and Immediately instl-
tutes proceedings against her husband for
divorce, alleging his infdelity, the impudence
of her procedure, though it may make the
unthinking laugh, cannot but make the judi
cious grieve. And when it appears that she
succeeded in obtaining this divorce upon no
other capital than an unlimited capacity and
Willingness for fiction on the part of her legal
adviser, and an ardent desire upon her own
to fasten upon fresh lover the legal hold
which, with equal ardor she desired to loose
from a stale one, she gives rise to the most
serious reflections.
The manner wherein and the tools where
with she and the lover of her purse, if not
her person. worked to effect their noble aim
have been amply set forth in the report Of
the case. Whether the bonds of marriage
should be tightened or relaxed is a question
upon which the Presbyterian Synod and the
ReUOIutiOB would widely differ. But that
such cheap and easy evasion of the existing
laws as is there chronicled should be possible
may be safely pronounced, without expressing
any opinion at all upon that question, to be a
shameful, scandalous, and demoralizing
thing.
The blame for it lies primarily, of course,
upon the parties who are driven to such
shameful shifts, and who naturally avail them
selves of any means to continue and legalize a
union which it appears in this case that one
party found pleasant and the other found
profitable. But, with proper administration
of justice, there would be no means available
for such ends. That there are is the fault of
the courts in which sunh creatures as the
''divorce lawyers are permitted to practise.
The indecent haste with which tissue of per-
iuries so palpable that they would not have
stood an hours real scrutiny, was palmed off
upon referee-who seems to have been
thinking only of his fees-by the ''shyster'
| who seems to have been their author, so that
| in six days from the issue of an order of re-
| ference a decree of divorce could be awarded,
| would be simply impossible if referees did the
| duty they are sworn and paid to do, or If fla
| grant scoundrels were not allowed to cal
| themselves attorneys.
|
table newspapers to obtain divorces without
delay, publicity, or grounds, and whose only
possible advantage over decent lawyer is ii
their unscrupulousness, ought to be put ou
of court and branded by the bar. Some o.
them are said not to be lawyers at all, but tC
pay lawyers for the use of their names under
which to carry on their dirty trade. In this
case, the lawyers who permit their names t.
| be used for such purposes ought to be hell
| o1N1 ,l,n4f fs ,1a,.
This case suggests, also, that the system o.
references which has taken most domesti
cases out of open court needs overhauling
1t is true that under this system much dis
gusting matter is averted from the publ
nostril and pain is spared to many innocen
persons But there ought to be some qua
rantee against such loose and reckless trans
actions before referees as Judge Clerlle ha
decided the trial of the case of Nichols VS.
Nichols to be.