The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-02-19
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE LAWS.

THE CALL has received the annual re-
port of the Divorce League for the year
ending December 81, 1892. This body is
not. as might be inferred from the title,
league of persons who want to divorce
every body in order to cure the ills Of matrl-
monlal life. 1t appears to be select party
of amateur sociologists who 90 round find
ing faults with State statutes on marriage
and divorce, and in a meek and respectful
way suggest such reforms as their notions
inspire. II can hardly be said that the
leaguers are likely TO upturn the fOunda-
zion stone OF society; but they have col
lected some curious facts in the course Of
their peregrinations.
There are now eight States. to wit Della
ware, Georgia. Massachusetts,. Michigan.
Mississippi. New Jersey, New York and
Pennsylvania. which have appointed COM
missions on uniform laws of marriage and
divorce. Ii will be remarked that the
States in which divorces are most frequent
namely, Connecticut, Indiana, Illinois and
CalifoTnia-haye taken no steps on the sub
ject. II we are ever to have uniform laws
of marriage and divorce for the whole coun-
try. a consensus of opinion must be reached
between the States which adhere to the old
church rule regarding the indiss0lubility OF
marriage and the States which, regarding
marriage as mere civil contract hold that
it may be dissolved like other contracts.
New Y0rk's opinion on the subject will
carry no weight in Illinois, nor can 1t be ex-
Dected that Virginia VIII take lesson from
Connecticut. If any practical step toward
uniformity is TO be taken, some middle
ground must be discovered on which parti-
sans of the two extremes can stand. 1t was
because no progress has been made toward
the discovery of such a ground that the
Judiciary Committee of the House OF Repre-
sentatives reported adversely on a cOnstitu-
tonal amendment providing for a uniform
law of marriage.
The State commissions met in conference
a! Saratoga. \. Y. last August. They pro-
posed no startling reforms. They recon-
mended the recording of all marriages
sOlemniZed by a minister or magistrate.
That is now done in all the Western States.
They asked that consent marriages be GER
tilted by some paper or writing, the same to
be duly recorded. There is a bill before the
State Legislature at Sacramento to abolish
consent marriages altogether. They pro-
posed that where a consent marriage was
not so recorded neither party should have
any right or interest in the property Of the
other. This would amount to the same
thing as the abolition of such marriages.
On the subject of divorce the commissions
adhere pretty closely in their recommends
tons to the law OF California, and they
specifically insist that all divorces shall be
bilateTal, which is not the law in New York.
In support of this contention they refer to
divorce statistics, which show that only one
third OF the persons divorced married again
within two years THIS figure may be open
to question. Divorces are generally sued
out by people who have another marriage
in their eve. In nineteen States which
have divorce laws restrictions are set upon
the time which must intervene between
divorce and remarriage.
1t is perhaps unfortunate that the league
did not devote some attention TO the bill
which is now before the Legislature OF
Illinois. requiring marriage license bureaus
to assure themselves of the intelligence.
of the male to support a wife before issuing
a license. This novelty in legislation was
imported from Germany, but it has of late
commanded good deal Of attention at social
science meetings in England. A Swiss soci-
ologist. who has been collecting statistics on
the subject, presented figures TO late meet
ing of the Social Science Association which
show that something might benetcially be
done TO prevent reckless marriages. The
arguments, pro and con. will occur to every