The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1892-01-15
TOBACCO AND DIVORCE.
How Smoking by Newly Made Hus-
band Broke Up His Home.
from the Buffalo Express

DAbN Ii OAV - - his LULU
From the Buffalo Express.
This is little story of how tobacco de-
stroyed home. If any of the anti-tobacco
moralists can find an illustration In it, they
are welcome to it.
Before James Whitcomb married be was
an enthusiastic smoker. lie smoked regu-
larly, but not immoderately, believed it did
him good, and recommended all his friends
to try it. He always kept the choicest
cigars and an assortment of artistic pipes
which was the envy Of all his friends.
But one day he fell IN love with a pretty g.,
rather self-willed young woman and
married her. She belonged to several
grades of temperance and other social-re>
form societies and had some high notions
about smoking. She said 1t was an ex-
pensive habit; worse than that, it was
filthy habit; worse still, it was a wicked
habit. Men smoked in saloons and such
sinful places. 1t was in reason that any
thing which was done in saloon must be
inspired by Satan. So she told poor James
he must promise that he would give up
smoking, and be was so much IN love that
he said be would.
He gave away his pipes and for six months
after his wedding he never touched the
weed. It came hard, especially as he
couldn't agree with his wife's ideas as to the
sinfulness of the habit. He didn't much
care IL ii was wicked, but then he had given
his word. Honeymoon swear-offs, how ever,
don't often outlast the honeymoon. One daY
an old friend pressed one of his favorite
brands Of cigars on him. He vainly ex-
planned that he had promised his wife to re-
form. His wife laughed at him. "You should
educate your wife to like smoke" he
said. That's the way did. / sit down
in my parlor every evening now and hav-
a nice smoke" That was tempting pict-
ure to James. He wished he could do 1t.
he determined to try. SO he began smoke
ing again But his wife was of different
stamp from his friends wife. She scolded
and wept and upbraided him for breaking
his promise. He swore off again, but this
time it only lasted a week. He began smok-
ing on the sly. His wife caught him at
it, of course. At least, if he must be a
slave to such a vile habit he should not
smoke in the house and scent her nice
furniture. James regarded this az
tacit permission TO smoke out OF the house
Before long he stayed out Of the house as
much as possible. At first he would hurry
away after dinner 80 as TO enjoy his smoke.
Then he began TO stop going home to dinner
at all. 1t was so much more pleasant to sit
tn a restaurant where he could smoke when
he was through eating. His wife scolded
more and became more devoted to her anti
tobacco societies. She wished she had never
married. So did he. Sharp words
began to pass between them.
James became defiant and actually
began lighting his cigars IN the
house when he put on his overcoat. That
was too much. His wife took the baby and
went home to her mother. James sold his
house and furniture and went to South Da-
kota, where he is now trying to get di-
vorce.
That was how tobacco broke up the homo,
and yet there are some of James friends
who still say that there Is nothing wrong In
smoking, and that If his wife had been SEN
sible aud had not let him smoke at home
they might have lived together happily all
their lives; that it was her crankiness, not
his habit, which caused the trouble. Some
people will look on the unreasonable side of
thinQsl