The New York herald., 1870-01-14
Free Love, FREQ Divorces Cendicting State
Laws and General DomoralIxatios.

Free Love, FREQ Divorces Conflicting state
Laws and General Dcnoralizatios.
The Rev Horace Cook is the latest free love
sensation. A fine looking dashing fellow, it
appears that he has been gay divine, man
of fashion, ladies' man, given to flirtations
and addicted to opium. His wild and inco-
herent letter on his late escapade, which we
publish this morning, betrays q mind un-
hinged, brain dsordered, man driven to
yemorse and desperation by the crime which
he meditatcd, the folly of undertaking it and
by the hue and cry which has hunted him
down. He was not 80 far depraved as to carry
out his base design, and in resisting the temp
tation at the point when he had ruined himself
in order to rescue his deluded companion, he
challenges something of respect for his appa-
rent repentance, though passed beyond the
pale Of restoration to confidence, except
through long probation.
This unfortunate affair, however, we cannot
limit to the wicked Establishments Of the Rev.
Mr.. Cook and the weakness of the silly girl in
her encouraging firtations. In the extremity
Of his distress and despair he writes to the
New York Tribune q statement mainly in
tended to establish the innocence of the
misguided young lady In his late ad-
venture, and this little circumstance puts us
on the track which leads to the sources
of all these aggressions upon and departures
from the laws Of society touching the relations
between the two sexes In addressing his let
ter to the paper in question the happy thought
doubtless occurred to the discriminating writer,
in connection with the late Richardson
Mcfarland tragedy, that if sympathy could be
expected in any quarter for his fa,1r pas in
the way Of free love, he would get it at the
Tribune office. And here we strike the vein
Of Fourierism, passional attraction, spiritual
affnities and free love in all their glaring
manifestations. Here, too, we enter upon
broad highway Of modern reform in morals and
religion which leads to Plymouth church on
the one hand and to Sing Sing on the other.
The fascinations of the gospel Of Plymouth
church, where Mr.. James Fisk, Jr., as one Of
the highest bidders for a pew, has learned the
easy way to salvation, are cheap at any price.
The Rev. Mr.. rockingham, in the deathbed
marriage Of poor Richardson, has told us what
these destinations are in this, eve thank
Thee for what these two have been to each
other;" and his Brother Beecher has endorsed
it on proclaiming that by the authority of his
Church ''these two are husband and wife,
While from some of our fashionable churches
the seeds Of social Generalization are thus
scattered abroad, we find under our con-
venient State laws and courts of Justice
that divorces can and are procured in num-
bers that aps appalling, without publicity and
without the knowledge of the wife or husband
who has become an inconvenience to the other
party. Here we have the degraded lawyer
ready for the work, the convenient referee,
the obscure newspaper for the required notice
to the other side, and perjured witnesses who
these agencies honest and trusting wives are
disgraced and left desolate, often with helpless
children upon their hands, and unsuspecting
husbands are separated from their wives and
outlawed before they have any knowledge Of
such proceedings. Mcfarland, when he killed
his ntolerable tormentor, had learned that
there was a divorce in the case-an Indiana
divorce-but it only exasperated him because
of the secrecy through which it had been pro-
cured.
disoraanization free love elopements, free
love copartnerships and free and easy divorces
have become so common that the crimes in
volyed have almost ceased to be regarded as
crimes, or only criminal when SO bunglingly
managed as to be found out too soon. At the
same time our sensational papers, in order to
supply what they suppose to be a morbid
public appetite for scan. mag, in order to give
pungency to an elopement or divorce, resort
to invention where the facts are deficient, as
Mr.. Cook. What is to be the end of
all *, these causes and active agents of
social disorder and destruction? They
are leading the country rapidly to the old free
love system Of the Australian savages, where
the wife was secured by capture and dismissed
at pleasure. As we are, does the one wife law
of, Chicago or New York exhibit to-day q
higher standard Of practical morality than the
! polygamy Of Great Salt Lake City2 And
what is the remedy for all this chain Of evils,
so destructive Of peace of the family and 80
!, ,perilous to the very existence of society?
A whole chain Of reforms is needed in our
laws relating to marriage and divorce, and
first Of all, we think, we want a new amend
hent to the constitution Of the United States
whereby from Congress we may have a uni
form and general law Of marriage and divorce
operating over all the length and breadth OF
the land alike. 1t has come to this necessity
OFF general law Of Congress for the regulation
of railroads and telegraphs, for which Congress
has the power, and it has come to this neces-
sity of general law touching marriage and
divorce, for which Congress ought to have the