Bismarck weekly tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1943, 1892-02-19
"ZEZULA's"
Marriage and Divorce,

NV uASO1Co IL dA1 Ouo 6GdCo6
of the union, recently introduced in the
senate by Senator Kyle, is one Of the
most important of the social reform
measures, originating in the alliance
labor party, of which the eloquent sena-
tor from South Dakota is an earnest ad-
vocate.
To satisfy oneself of the necessity OF
such a measure, one has but to peruee
the various laws relative to these SUBJ
jects on the statute books of the different
states of the union. The impression
produced upon the non-prcfessioral
mind by such perusal is something like
what one would feel if introduced into
a family in which each child made rules
to govern its " conduct regardless of
the regulations previously adopted by
the old folks, and n naturally inc]ines
to the belief that Columbia's daughters
would have done better-if intead of ex-
ercising their ~prerogative Of estates
rights" and each one following the bent
of her " fancy in making or copying
from each other the laws on these all
important subjects, they had all adopted
the common law code that was Uncle
Sans best inheritance from his English
ancestry. To the common mind, COM
mon law appears like common sense,
and had 1t been universally practiced, it
would have been impossible for such a
state of affairs to exist as at present
when couples who are legally married in
n state, are not married at all, accord
ing to the laws of another. In some in
stances merely crossing the state line is
a practical divorce.
To show how great is che necessity of
reform in these matters I may adduce
two instances of the injustice wrought
by the conflicting laws upon the sub
jects. The one is of a lady who was
married years ago in New York state,
and who shortly after her marriage was
divorced, but soon after regretting her
mistake, was remarked to her husband.
The couple lived together happily,
raised a family and amassed a fortune.
Then the husband died, and it was then
discovered that the second marriage was
illegal, rs by the laws of the state he
might not marry again, and the poor
wife not only found that neither she nor
her children could inherit any Of the
property she had helped her
husband gain, but she was left
with a faint upon her name that was
worse than all the rest. Yet in nearly
all the other states of the union that
marriage would have been a strictly le-
gal one.
Tho other case is that in which a
western judge not long ago pronounced
void, alb initio, a marriage upon which
an eastern Judge had previously granted
q decree of superintendent unless a
third Solomon shall arise to decide
which of the other two we're right-the
unhappy lady in the case will probably
never know her exact legal status dur
ing that period of her life.
Other cases might be cited, ad lib
alum, but it is only necessary to contem-
plate the changeful and shifting charac-
ter of modern state laws to be convinced
of the necessity of a universal law gov
erning these matters. Especially Is this
true of the west, where the most aston
fishing people are elected to the state
legislatures, and they make and unmake
laws with astonishing rapidity, and these
laws when made are at the mercy of
many and diverse courts, who construe
them in many different ways, so that the
law nowadays is very like some of our
Indian dialects-whose meaning depends
entirely upon the interpreter. What is
law this year may be obsolete or out of
fashion next year-or the courts may be
differently constituted-and the inter-
prefers better natured. Hence it is that
our state laws do not partake of the ma
ture of fixed stars to serve as perpetual
beacon lights or safety lamps to per-
picked mortals, but too often, like a
will-o-the-wisp, lead unwary feet into
dismal swamps of litigation.
1t is not my purpose IN the limits Of
this article to discuss the absurd propo-
sition, that marriage is a failure" with
the millions of happy homes in all the
la nds throughout the earth, whose exis-
tence is its constant contradiction, such
discussion would be fertile. But if I
were called upon to give advice to young
people upon these matters, l would say
to the young men, marry by all means,
marry while you are young, because all
that is sweet and sacred in life, all that
makes life worth living is conferred III the
home and in the family relation. You
1un no risk at all in the matter, for a
womau'sS affections are always stronger
than her intellect and no matter what
estimate the world may place upon you,
if you are even half way good you will
always have one faithful friend at home