The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1894-07-20
WASHINGTON WIDOWS.
The Haven Par Excellence for Di-
vorced People.
Census Figures Which Show That the Ma
tional Capital Carries on the Laurel
a. a Resort for Matrimonial
Unfortunates.

The funny writers will have to re-
wise their jokes il the figures of the
census office are correct. There Is a
good deal OF danger that the District
of Columbia will soon be pointed at
throughout the country and cartooned
in the comic papers as the haven par
excellence for divorced people For IT
i a fact. says the Washington News
that the figures of the latest census
bulletin given to the public show that
Washington city has more people IL it
per capita who have been through the
divorce court than has Chicago. that
hustling metropolis of the west which
has a worldwide reputation for the
cheapnesS and dispatch with which the
lawyers can render aSunder the bonds
of matrimony that were supposed to
be eternal when they were riveted at
the altar.
The figures that are reputed not To
lie are these: Chicago. with popula-
tion of I.Oy9. $50. has l.GI0 men and
women in its limits who have been un-
married that Is. one divorced person
To every G7O Of the population. The
District of Columbia, with population
of 23O. .392 has 4GO-l46 men and 3l4
women-divorced people. or one in
every sol of the inhabitants. so the
District carries off the laurelS. Still.
throughout the United States there is
one divorced person for every $50 of
population. But while this is start
ling statement. there are a number of
other communities that surpass the Dis
trict in this respect. The little puri-
tanical state of Vermont. for instance
with population of 376,5 has I.2GO
people who had to seek legal separation
in order to Ike peace in the family
Virginia evide-tly has climate better
adapted to domestic peace than has the
District, for while it has seven times
the number of inhabitants. it contains
slightly less than four times as many
divorced couples as does the capital.
Maryland shows up still more staid for
its population is four and half as large
as that of the District. though it has
less than twice the number of divorced
people as has the latter.
There is another peculiar thing about
the district-its percentage of married
people is less than that which prevails
throughout the country. Taking the
United States at large and nearly 80
per cent. of the inhabitants are
IldETltt III lIlt AllStTltI less Illdu ID
per cent. have ventured upon wedlock
But more alarming than any of these
figures is the presence of widows in
the District. There are actually 13, ,929
widows here-daShing or otherwise
or one for every l6Ja of the population.
This figure appears To be very large
when It is considered that throughout
the United States the number of both
h., l.
partners in life do not number more
than one to every twenty-one of the IN.
habitantS- Yet in the District the
widows alone move around in society
at the ratio of one to sixteen and one
half
An interesting study is brought uT
in the effort to discover why II is that
the District has more than its share OF
divorced people. widows and unmarried
inhabitants. 1t Is answered very easily
by the simple fact that one-half Of the
employees of the government are
women. There are great numbers OF
widows of soldiers who were killed in
the war who have sought this city and
been successful in securing lucrative
government appointments. Then there
are thousands of young ladies who get
BA$it'S III blAC anu con
clude that it is better to hold them
than to give their hearts To some feI-
low whose salary in their estimation Is
not more than enough to support
themselves The divorced people get
there in pretty much the same way
Women shorn of the protection and
support of their erstwhile husbands
have tried their fortunes in the capital
and in many instances been able t.
secure desks in the government work
shops