The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1883-03-13
THE REV. DIR. DIX on DIVORCE.
A scATaIEa DENuNcIATToN or ran SERIAL
PoIsYeAsGY AND LAX MORALS OF
NEW ENGLAND.
DANGERS TO soDIETY OF THE MODERN
IDEA THAT MARRIAGE Is A CIVIL
CONTRACT AND NOT A d.
VINE ORDINANCE.
Nsw YORK worle.


The Rev. DIR. Morgan Dix continued
his series of lectures upon women at
Trinity chapel. in Twenty street,
near Broadway Long before 8 o'clock,
the hour for beginning the service. the
church was crowded in every part, and
many persons were unable to get within
the doors. DIR. Dix, after reading the
10th chapter of Mark, said: 81 am at q
loss, brethren, in beginning this lecture
at q loss and in doubt. IL has been said,
and truly said, that il is impossible TO use
too strong language in speaking of
divorce, and am at loss and in doubt
at a loss for remarks adeqaste to state the
kind and degree of this social curse, or
how to arouse men to a sense of the dan
ger and necessity of checking this sin of
the age; for we all know that an evil may
gain such Roadway that to stop It is be
vond human strength. This is one evil
that strikes at the very corner stone OF
ciyilization-the home. This chapel has
in its basement five furnace registers,
one at each corner and one in the
center; il, now. by some magician's
art sulphurous fumes should be made to
pour out of these. shereof this whole
congregation should languish and die, no
worse harm would be done to them than
that which is now to society by the loose
and easy way of divorce. which dries up
from the roots love of chastity, virtue
and honor. / am not alone in speaking
thus of this evil. I do but repeat the
words of men much higher in the church
than /, and of much more experience and
learning. Bishop Williams, of Connect
icut, in 1881 said that In 1878 there were
in the state of Maine 478 couples di-
vorced; in New Hampshire, cat; in Yer
mont, 1917 In Massachusetts, GOO; in
Connecticut, dol; in Rhode Island, 196,
or in all of the New England states
together, 2, 1f8 divorces. larger ratio In
proportion to the population than there
was IN France in the days after the rev
e.ution In Maine there was one divorce
to every 1857; of the population; in New
Ham sahire, one 70 every aap; in N...,z
sets. one x, every 2 ,e7i In Rhode Island.
| one to every 1,411. Listen TO some more
statistics taken from the disgracefnl
! record of Tire New England states. In
| 1865 there were five causes for
which divorce could be obtained and
there was one divorce to every d mar
riages In 1873 the number oil causes
had advanced 10 nine and the ratio 20
/ divorce to every 30 marriages in Maine,
and i'm other New England states IL was
1 worse. In Rhode Island is was ] to
every IL; in Connecticut, to every ii,
and in New Hampshire about the same
proportion But that does not tell the
whole story for from the total OF mar
RACES these solemniEed by Roman catho-
/ lies must be deducted, for they and all
honor-to them for it---allow no divorce,
and the Protestant divorces run up as
high rs to every IA marriages III Massa-
clusetts and in Connecticut 10 ever 2.
There are from two to four Applications 70,
i for divorce to every one granted The
.sract;cal result Is that in the New Eng
I land states 1000 homes are broken u
4 eyery wear and 4, 900 persons are divorced.
/ While the laws protecting marriage nave
.lla.se1. GRADUALLY weakened, the crimes