Waco evening news. (Waco, Tex.) 1888-1889, 1889-03-09
us Marriage q Failure"

comment, and more descrveuly 30,
than that Of Mr.. Carroll Wright. Com
missioner of Labor, on the subject Of
divorce. The Newspapers have dis
cussed this matter before and fire.
quently expressed the opinion that
divorces were getting far too frequent
in this country; but they were ham
pered in their discussion by the fact
that they did not have sufficient data.
They knew that divorces had increased,
but as to what the increase was they
did not have the slightest idea. Mr..
Wright supplies the missing informa-
ton and gives the figures as to divor-
ces from 1867 to 1886.
This report shows a very bad con-
dition of affairs. Divorces are in
creasing instead Of falling of, and to-
day one out of every twenty marriages
winds up in divorce court. In some
of the States and Territories it is
even worse. In Idaho, one in ten mar
riages is failure; in Maine, Rhode
Island and Vermont one in eight; in
Nevada and Wyoming one in six. The
question, "Is Marriage Failure?"
might we'll be asked in these States and
Territories, and the situation is grow
ing more serions every day. In New
Hampshire and several other States,
divorces doubled during the decade be-
tween 1870 and 1880.
Viewing the matter geographically
it is seen that the South makes far
better showing than the rest Of the
country. South Carolina is first, Della
ware second, North Carolina third,
then follow New Mexico, Virginia and
Louisiana in the frequency of divorce.
We notice, with some regret, that d.
vorces are becoming more fashionable
in this section than formerly, and that
three times more people are separated
in Louisiana to-day than in 1870.
The West, and particularly Illinois
and Indiana, was regarded Of old as
the home Of the divorce, but New En-
gland now enjoys that distinction, and
it is in "the land of steady habits
that husbands and wives find the great.
est difficulty in living together.
The subject is a serious one. In
nineteen years, tho number Of divorces
has increased 157 per cent, or twice
as fast as the number of marriages.
If this rate Of progression is kept up =
and the indications are that it will be
the coming century will see major
ity Of marriages prematurely ended.
It is scarcely to be wondered at in
view Of these facts that the New York
Herald and other papers should be
calling for q Federal law on this sub
ject. The better course, however,
would be to induce the several states
to pass more stringent laws. The
world recognizes the necessity for d.
vorce, and nearly all countries grant
these separations. The danger is that
they may be made too easy, and thus
aid to break up marriages instead Of
affording the relief they are intended
to grant.
As things stand now, this is one of
the greatest national evils, the most
destructive to home life in America.
We are worse, infinitely worse, in d.
vorces, than any country on the globe;
and no other nation looks with so little
respect upon the sanctity of marriage.
Germany comes next to us in this
matter, but all Germany gives but
twice as many divorces as the single
state of Illinois. Chicago alone sep
arated more couples than are separat-
ed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy,
Sweden and Canada; and the United
States exceeds all Europe in this mat
ter. 1t is time to call halt.
One Of the more encouraging fea-
lures Of Mr.. Wright's report, viewed
from one standpoint, is the fact that
an immense proportion of these divor-
ces are granted for trivial reasons-in-
compatibility of temper, quarrels,
etc. While it il TO be
that trivialltics should de-
stroy so many marriages, 1t is some
to know that greater evils
are not at the bottom of this trouble,
and that crimes and social demoralixa.
ton are not helping to break up the
American home. Times Democrat