The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-03-20

now.
have looked over the laws of all
the states, and find that, while i'll
some states it is easier than in others,
in every state it is easy. The state of
Illinois, through it's legislature, recites
a long list of proper causes for divorce,
and then closes up by giving to the
court the right to make decree of
divorce in case where they deem it ex-
pedient. After that you are not sur
prised at the announcement that in
one county of the state of Illinois, in
one year, there were s33 divorces. If
you want to know how easy it is you
have only to look over the records of
the states. In the city of San Francisco
333 divorces in one year, and in twenty
years in New England 10000. Is that
not easy enough?
If the same ratio continue-the ra-
ito of multiplied divorce and multi
piled causes of divorce-we are not far
from the time when our courts will
have to set apart whole days for appli-
cation. and all you will have to prove
against man will be that he left his
newspaper in the middle of the floor,
and all that you will have to prove
against a woman is that her husbands
overcoat is buttonless. Causes of di-
vorce double in few years--double in,
France double in England and double
in the United States. To show how.
very easy it is, have to tell you that
in Western Reserve, o., the proportion
of divorces to marriages celebrated is
one TO eleven; in Rhode Island is one
to thirteen; in Vermont one to four
teen. Is not that easy enough?
want you to notice that frequency
of divorce always goes along with the
dissoluteness Of society. Rome for five
hundred years had not one case of di-
vorce. Those were her days of glory
and virtue. Then the reign of vice be-
%an, and diyjroe became epidemic. If
you want to know how rapidly the EN-
pire went down, ask Gibbon
What we want in this country and in
all lands is that divorce be made more
and more difficult. Then people before
they enter that relation will be per-
suaded that there will probably be no
escape from it except through the door
o. the scpulcher. Then they will pause
on the verge of that relation until
fully satisfied that it is best, and that it
is right, and that it is happiest. Then
we shall have no more marriage in fun.
Then men and women shall not enter
the relation with the idea it is only a
trial trip, and if they do not like it
they can get out at the first landing.
Then this whole question will be taken
out of the frivolous into the tremend-
GUS, and there will be no more joking
aboust the blossoms in the brides hair
than about the cypress on coffin.
What we want is that the congress
of the United States change the nation
al constitution so that law can be
passed which shall be uniform all over
the country, and what shall be right in
one state shall be right in all the states,
and what is wrong in one state will
be wrong in all the states.
How is it now? If a party in the
marriage relation gets dissatisfied it is
only necessary to move to another
state to achieve liberation from the
domestic tie, and divorce is affected so
easy that the first one party knows of
it is by seeing it in the newspaper that
Rev. DR.. Somebody on March II, 1895,
introduced in new marriage relation.
a member of the household uwho went
off on a pleasure excursion to Newport
or business excursion to Chicago.
Married at the brides house. No cards.
There are states in the Union which
practically put a premium upon the
disintegration of the marriage rela-
tion, while there are other states, like
our own New York state, that had for
long time the pre-eminent idiocy of
making marriage lawful at twelve and
fourteen years of age.
The congress of the United States
needs to move for change of the ma
tional constitution, and then to APP
point committeeman made up of
single gentlemen, but of men of fam
lilies, and their families in Washing
ton-who shall prepare good, honest,
righteous, comprehensive, uniform law
that will control everything from
Sandy Hook to the Golden Horn. That
will put an end to brokerages in mar
riages. That will send divorce law
yers into decent business. That will
set people agitated for many years on
the question of how shall they get
away from each other to planning how
they can adjust themselves to the more
or less unfavorable circumstances.
More difficult divorce will put an es-
toppel to great extent upon marriage
as financial speculation. There are
men who go into the relation just as
they 60 into Wall street to purchase
shares. The female to be invited into
the partnership of wedlock is utterly
unattractive, and in disposition sup
pressed Vesuvius. Everybody knows
it, but this masculine candidate of
matrimonial orders, through the COM
mercial agency or through the county
records, finds out how much estate is
to be inherited, and he calculates 1t.
He thinks out how long it will be be-
fore the old man will die, and whether
he can stand the refractory temper
until he does die; for he says: 'If l
can not stand it, then through the di-,
vorce law I'll back out" That process
is going on all the time, and men enter
the relation without any moral prin-
ciple, without any affection, and it is
as much matter of stock speculation
as anything that transpired yesterday
in Union Pacific, Illinois Central or Del