The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1895-03-28
TALMAGEON DIVORCE
Congress, lie Declares, Should Make One
Law for All States.
Remarkable Increase in the Num-
Der Seeking Relief from the
Bonds Of Matrimony.
From the New York Times.

Prom the New York Times.
"W&oleaale Divorces" vas yesterday
selected by the Rev T, De Witt Tai
mage as the Hubject OF his sermon ir
the Academy of Music. DR.. Talmagt
chose as his text Matthew xix, 6
"What therefore God hath joined to-
gether, letnot man put asunder," snC
preached to congregation that fillec
every available seat in the Academy
He said q
That there are hundreds aud thou.
sanas OF inielicitous homes in America
no one will DOUBT If there were only
one ekeleton in the closet, that might
te licked up and abandoned; but, in
many ii home, there is skeleton in
the hallway, and skeleton IN all the
apartments
"'Unhappily Married are two words
descriptive OF many homestead 1t
needs 10 orthodox minister to prove
to a badly mated pair that there is a
hell they are there now Some times
grand and gracious woman will thus
be iucnrcerated, and her life will be
n CrucifiXlnn, az was the case with
Mrs. Sigourney, the great poetess and
the great soul, Some times n conse
Grated man will be united TO fury,
AS was John Wesley, or united to a
vIXen,as was John Milton. Some times,
and generally, both parties are tc
blamc-Thomas Carlyle was an
intolerable scold and his wife smoked
and swore and Froude, the historian
pulled aside the curtain from the
}4ife long squabble at Craigenputtock
and Five Cheyne Row.
"Some say that for the alleviation oil
all these domestic disorders OF which
We hear easy divorce is a good pre-.
scription God some times authorizes
divorce as certainly as he authorizes
marriage Ihave just as much regard
for one lawfully divorced as have
for one lawfully married But
you know, and | know, that wholesale
divorce is one Of ournational scOurges
| am not surprised at this when think
OF the influences which have been
abroad initiating against the marriaae e
relation.
For many years the platforms Of
the country rang with talk about q
free-love millennium. There were
meetings OF this kind held ia the
Cooper Institute, New York fremont
temple, Boston and all over the land.
Popular themes for such occasions
we're the tyranny of man, the oppres.
sion Of the marriage relation, women's
rights, and the afIinilas
prominent speakers were women
with long tongues eyerlastingly at
war with God because they were ere.
ated women; while on the platform
1at meek men with soft accent and
cowed demeanor, r,apologetic for mascu-
Unity and holding the parasols while
the termagant orators went ON preach
ing the doctrine of free love.
DEVILS IN THE MARRIAGE RELATION
"That campaign of twenty years
ago sent more devils into the marriage
relation than will be exercised in the
next fifty Men and women went
home from such meetings 80 perma
nently confused as to who were thu il
wives and husbands that they never
got out of their perplexity, and the
criminal and civil courts tried to dis
entangle the Had of woes, and thi.
one got alim0ny, and that one got d
limited divorce and this mother kept
the children on condition that the
father could some times come and
look ut them, and these went into
poor houses, and those went into an
insane asylum, and those went into
dissolute public life, and all went into
destruction. The mightiest war ever
made against the marriage institution
Was that free love campaign, some
time. under one name and some times
under another
another influence that has warred
upon the marriage relation has been
polygamy ia Utah. That has ster
eotyped caricature OF the marriage re.
ation, and has poisoned the whole
land You might as we'll think tha
you can have an arm in state o
modification, and yet the whole body
not be sic1ened, as to have any
Territory polygamized and yet tbs
body of the nation not feel the putre
faction. Hear it, good men and wo
| Of A AZ Sh lg,.r a
1902 law was passed by Congress
iorbidding p,lygamy in the Territorie
and in ali the places where they hat
jurisdiction, Twentyfour years passet
aud five Admins rations before tht
first brick was knocked from tha
fortress Of libertinism.
Every new President in his inaug
; ural lbeled thst monster with the
straw OF condemnation, and every Con
gress stultifed itselfin proposing som,
plan that would not work. Polygam,
stood more intrenohed, and NOR
brazen, and more puissant, and NOR
braggart, AMI more internal,
"James Buchanan, much abuses
man of his day, did more for the ex
tirpaton OF this villainy than mes
OF the subsequent Administrations
Mr.. Buchanan sent out az army, an,
although it was halted in its work
still he accomplished more than som
of theAdministrations which did moth
; ing but talk, talk, talk! At last, bu
not until it had poisoned generation
polygamy has received its death blos
"Polygamy in Utah warred again'
4 the marriage relstion throughout th
land. It was impossible to have sue
= an awful sewer of iniquity sending u