The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-11-20
The Marriage and Divorce Question

ON6I tic SUI 1dAC VI lllC NtNlBAlIs
The Marriage and Divorce Question.
The current number of the North ADleri-
can RerielC contains triangular discussion
of the perennial marriage and divorce
question. The disputants are Cardinal
GIBBONS of the catholic church, Bishop
PoTTER OF the episcopal church, and Pope
BOB INeERsoLL of the church at large. This
discussion, following closely upon the re-
cent meeting of the National reform asso-
ciation at Philadelphia, at which the di-
vorce question was extensively discussed,
has naturally brought this subject again
into prominence in the press.
As was to be expected, Cardinal G1B-
IRONS, Bishop POTTER and Col. INGERsoLL
take radically diverse views ofthe marriage
question The great cardinal is against
divorces, whatever be the ground. He
holdsthatthe scripture forbids divorce and,
that this being so, there isnoroom for argu-
Inent upon the subject. The catholic doct-
Prime is that marriage once entered upon is
6ndissoluble- When the cardinal is asked
why, he answers: Thus saith the LORD"
and that for him is enough. Bishop PoT-
TER explains that the episcopal church in
terprets the scriptural law as permitting
divorces in some cases and as allowing re-
marriage in the case of the innocent party
40 divorce for adultery. Col. INGERsoLL
throws scripture and all authority to the
winds and argues the question from the
point OF view OF social utility. He holds
that liberal divorce laws, laws which per-
nit an easy escape from marriages which
have proved intolerable, are rather
conducive to public virtue and
j4he well-being OF society, than a
rigid system OF once married always
married. The Philadelphia reformers be-
lieve that the evils resulting from our pres
ent marriage and divorce system, or rather
from our multiplicity Of marriage and
divorce systems-each commonwealth in
the republic having distinct One-are Of
the gravest character, and that the only
remedy is federal divorce law. They
would have congress take jurisdiction Of
the whole question of marriage and
divorce, to the end that absolute uniformity
In the laws and practices may prevail
throughout the country.
OF course this divorce question is an i'm
portant one and worthy OF serious consid-
Grafton from statesmen and moral teachers.
The statistics show that during the twenty
wears from 1867 to 1886. 32S,716 divorces
were granted in the United States. The
increase in the number of divorces during
that period was more than double the in
crease OF the population. As will be seen,
divorces are steadily increasing. and In the
not distant future, ifthe present ratio of in
crease is maintained, we shall all Of US be
divorced.
But we should take care, in seeking rem
edies for the divorce evil, that we do not
get one that is worse than the disease.
Divorce laws which are too rigid, which
are not sustained by public sentiment,
defeat their own purpose and tend only 10
eggravate the evils they are designed to
remedy. As Col. INeERsoLL shows in his
Reriev paper, in those counties in which
divorce is forbidden there is a
lower tone Of public morality and
more lax relations between the sexes
than in countries having what are known
as free and easy" divorce systems. So
we should take care in reforming our di-
vorce laws that we do not 90 too far. We
should remove so far as practicable the
opportunities for hasty and ill-considered
marriages, and the temptations to them.