Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-11-27
The new ENGLAND DIVORCE MIL.


A Remarkable Thanksgiving sermon
beardins the Social Tiger inA
The Methodists of Fall River held q
union service On Thursday, the Rev. Jas.
H. Nutting, A. NJ the pastor, preaching
some honest blows, straight from the
ters which affect social life. His text was
from Psalms xviii 6: "God setteth the
solitary in families He began by saying
that he should depart from the usual style
of complimentary Thanksgiving sermons.
There was in the air chilliness that FORE
bOded coming sorrow to the people. The
great questions now before us, pressing
itself into every avenue Of thought and
feeling, was labor. Rumor suppianted
actual knowledge, and strike of all the
trades of the city was threatened. He
could not now depart from his chosen line
Of thought to deal with this subject as he
should ON Sunday evening next. \ gross
injustice was pending; an evil Of the
greatest magnitude threatened the peace
and comfort, even to the necessities OF our
homes. 1t was unnecessary; it was un-
just. 1t would bring sorrow, only sorrow.
The strong hand of power would be raised
y u
amp right would triumph.
Suddenly changing his theme the speak
er entered upon what astOnished his audi
| ence and spoke some of the braycst words
ever uttered in Fall River pulpit. After
pleasantly referring to Thanksgiving, its
origin and observance, he said l regard
all these blessings to which have referred
as emanating from and attributable to the
home. Whatever strikes at the home
| strikes at the church and through that at
the government. Destroy these and there
is no government. Few of us realize to
what extent the divorce business has
grown i'll this country, particularly when
| We remember the fact that Roman CathO-
lies and foreigners generally but rarely Sc
cure divorces. After making allowance
for Roman Catholic marriages, the ratio
Of divorces to marriages, in Massachu-
sets in 1868 was 1 to 10; Vermont, to
| 13; Rhode Island, to 8; and Connecti'
cut to s. The Western Reserve counties
Of Ohio, which are more purely New Eng
land as to their population than any other
! section of the country, New England not
excepted, make even q worse exhibl-
tion, the ratio being here double that OF
the rest of the state, Lake county being
worst Of all, furnishing divorce for every
& marriages, the same county being more
thoroughly Yankee than any other in
Ohio. COshocton has only l to Al, and
Gallia to 50, the population being foreign
and Southern, with hardly a Yankee. lie
then proceeded to charge the Yankee pco'
pie, wherever located, with the Offense OF
seeking to destroy the American family
through divorce and worse crimes, and
vindicated the foreign element among us,
saying divorces are of rare occurrence
among our foreign population. During
the past twenty-five years tho birth rate
has decreased about rs fast as the di'
vorcc rate has increased, aud where
the birth rate is lOwcst-which is
where Yankees most abound-the
divorce rate is highest. There is a close
connection between a low birth rate and q
high divorce ratc,' expressing his belief
that 'the relation between the two is that
of cause and effect, the former being the
cause and the latter the effect. In the his
tory of nations there never has but three
times occurred such 4 breaking up of the
family as is now taking place among the
people of New England blood-when the
Greek and Roman empires were about to
fall, and durin. the French Revolution o.
the last century. when 10000 divorce:
were obtained in France III one and Il hall
years. Bad as this is, when population il
compared it is not equal to what is true O
Rhode Island and Connecticut Of late
| years