Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-10-26
H0OsIER EDITORS.
They Enter the City and Take
Complete Possession.
A ROUGH RACKET EN- ROUTE.
A Gainesville Man Has 4 Rather Tough Ex-
perience-Dr. IiOyd's Articie-The
Weeds of the Hour-Goes Up for
Two Tears-Iast Nights Fire.
DIR. LLOYD'S ARTICLES.
The F,;nily-Its Importance and Its Peril.
ReIies Measurss-The MarrIiSe Kite.

The Fa,niiy-Its Importance and Its Peril.
Relief Measurss-The Marriage Kite.
! writer in the North American Review
for January. 1890, says: at is the very
highest function of the man and woman to
raise and train a family. Indeed, civiliza-
lion has put this end in view-the perpet-
uation and improvement OF the race. The
establishment of homes, of rearing OF fam
lies. the founding o. schools and colleges,
the planting Of institutions, the maintain
ing OF Governments, all are but means to an
end. Marriage, therefore, being necessary
L. the existence Of the family, is the most
important and most sacred institution
Known 10 humanity. II is older than the
state, and ranks higher in Importance, for
the home makes the everlasting granite on
which civil government rests, and II IS sta
b.. aud right ooGS III proportion as homes
are pure. When we arraign the public life
as low and corrupt in moral tone, we are
making sad confession of the corruption of
private life and of the low moral standard
of the nome. And 30 reform the public life
the publication must begin at the hearth
stone
Tie family is the Oldest and most i'm
portmt of institutions. 1T is more than
human arrangement or alliance-it is a di
Nmc institution. 1t was God who said:
For this cause shall man leave his father
and his mother and cicave unto his wife;
ard they IVAN shall be one flesh; so then
they are no more twain, but one flesh.
WHAT. therefore God hath Joined together
let no man put asunder.' Mark \, %
Il WIS the same God who spoke by his
prophet and said The Lord hath been
WtEess between thee and the wife of thy
youth, against whom thou hast dealt treach
crously; yet is she thy companion, and the
wife of'thy covenant. And did he not make
one, Te, had he the residue of the spirit
And wherefore one! That he might seek
4 cody seed Therefore, take heed to your
spirit and let none deal treacherously
against the wife of his youth (AIal. i,
2-ljJ
These quotations shows that not only was
marriage diviucly ordained, but that the
family was likewise 4 part of the divine
plan, "that he might seek gOdly or right
cous seed .; That is, God saw that the in
sttution of the family would furnish the
besl restraints and safeguards for the rear
ing of children In no other way could they
be properly trained in the fear of the Lord
and thus "gOdly seed" be secured. Thus,
whatever hurts the family, whatever dis
members il, destroys 1t or weakens Its
power for doing ITS divinely specified and
ordained work, is positive and direct in
jury TO society at large, and consequently
10 the state as well. But all this we charge
on the divorce evil. The divorce evil as
low existing in this country IS Injurious to
the parties divorced, to their offspring, to
guurd of public prosperity is fast gnawlng
away at the root of the tree, ana already
there are signs of whitening and decay.
VIII we arrest the destroyer now while we
can, or will we refuse to see our danger I'M
til like hapless Jonah, we discover our ruin
when it is too late to apply the remedy
There fiS q remedy; 1t can be applied.
There needs to be improvement in three
particulars. First, there must be quick
Cning of the public conscience and the
creation of better public sentiment on the
subject. Secondly there must be more
legal safeguards thrown around the mar
riage celebration. so as to prevent so many
haSty and ill-adyised marriages. Thirdly,
there must be better and stricter laws con-
rcrning the granting of divorces. If public
lentiment, or better, the public conscience,
can be aroused, IL will be Tong stride in
the right direction, and there would follow
much relief, even under our present lax
laws. Then, in due course, there would
come better laws, and so the remedy would
be applied
But how shall we arouse public septi-
mcnt2 How stir the public conscience, ]
answer, there are two classes of men that
can arouse our people. and that speedily, if
they themselves can see the danger we are
in. refer 10 our preachers and our editors
the pulpit and the press. Neither of these
working alone could, perhaps, DO much, but
combine their strength and they are ire
siStible. Let the preachers and editors of
this country unite on any given issue, and
II viii take but short time 10 arouse the
masses of the people TO 4 like conviction.
In addition, every good man and woman
ought 10 speak out plainly and boldly, and
seek in every possible WAY 10 show where
oGr nation tand our statc) is drifting.
~ part Of the effort made in these papers
to quicken the public conSs fence, ii will be
our ann 10 show that the evil Of divorce is
largely due to haSty and unfortunate mar
llageS, contracted without due care by the
parties themselves, and frequently in the
face Of opposition by parents o. guardians.
These hasty marriages are, in many in
stances. due 10 AK laws or almost no law
at al, concerning the celebration OF mar
rage. The states of this great nation have
nearly all refrigerated to fearful extent
IL the character of the laws concerning
marriage. They are far behind their own
record when they existed as colonies. and
much farther behind the laws that obtain
in nearly all the countries of Europe.
Frank Gaylord Cook. in the Atlantic
Monthly Tor February, March, April ard
MAY. lSSN, has Il series OF articles on the
marriage celebration in Europe and
America. They are comprehensive and eX-
hint much careful research into the history
and nature of marriage laws. We hereby
acknowledge indebtedness to him for many
OF The facts 10 be introduced into this phase
of our subject.
The integrity of the family is as much de-
pendent upon its legal inception as upon Its
legal terminatlOn--as much upon the cele-
hrGtion OF marriage as lpon divorce; and 10
the former far too little attention has been
given Mr. Cook quotes an eminent Scotch
lawyer as follows: 1.-The law makes clear
and full provision for contracts affecting
the sale of houses and lands, horses and
dogs. aud goods and chattes of every de-
scrption: and why marriage, the most i'm
portaut of ali human contracts, should not
b, IS anxlouSiy defined and provided for,
and thus placed beyond the reach of both
fraud and doubt. appears to me to be one of
he greatest anomalies in the laws of a
Christian nation" Continuing, Mr. Cook
SAYS. But our common law is a heritage |
from the past. 1t has descended from nation |