The daily morning journal and courier., 1895-08-26

were there not some ludicrous Incidents to distract them? Women, heart-brok- en, paralyzed with the horrors of their position, with the knowledge that in order to gain their ultimate freedom, they must pass through zola's nausea ting ldtchen-namely, six months os- tracism in this desolate place; so lstless that life or death would be equally wei come so homesick that sunshine or rain mattered not, in their longing for a breath of native air; so prostrated Joy the long six months required for resi- dence as to be almost willing to throw the whole thing up; so indignant at the fact that they were spotted the very first day they reached the town and their secret mission made public prop erty; these women, before they have been e week in town, have started out and gone to the post-office, and on their return were brighter, more cheerful, an nouncing with all the aplomb of an old colonist, this bit of gossip, That there was a new divorcee in town" Forget ting their own heartaches in the won der as to how the new member felt; sympathizing with her, and fairly car ried away by the impulse, which is strong within them, to be a prop, guide, shield to the stranger There's freemasonry among them which draws them to one another, and a few hours acquaintance, united by one common tie, will open up an intimacy, a friendship, which it would have taken years to cement in the east.
 As rule, the women are pretty, sty- lishly dressed and well educated. The majority are young, and, being young, love life, excitement, pleasure, all three of which are forbidden a colonist. Does she assert her youth, her viva ciousness, her natural desire for some thing beside the seclusion to which she is doomed, the eyes of every man, Wo- man and child in the place are upon her, and the secret police system of all the Russias is as nothing compared to the espionage of her every act, word and thought. What she does is bruited | all over the place, what she does ot,do lis magnffied into a heinous crime,. be- cause she has failed to do what the | townspeople thought she should do. | And this detective system is practiced | by people whose own morals are not Of l the highest. The old people shake their heads and ascribe the wrongdoings and shortcomings of the younger genera l tion to the example set by the colony. | It has often struck me what broad shoulders the colonists must need to carry the many loads laid upon them. This blame can hardly be called just, because the inhabitants associate so It, tle--in fact, not at all-with the divor- cees that it seems unjust to blame young girls fall to the example set her by the colony. It is true the fine clothes and the high living may be an
 opening wedge, and the victim may inn agine that should she do likewise she
 may fare as well.
 | A new feature and a strange one, too, | is the number of men in Sioux Falls
 seeking dissolution of the marriage
 tie. At present there are more there than ever before at one time since the place became divorce center. These men have very trivial excuses. Mental tcruelty, drunkenness, non-bearing of children, not more than two or three; unfaithfulness. It seems a small thing for man to allege cruelty against q
 woman Mental cruelty is but another
 way of expressing incompatibility of | temper, really; putting it as mental | cruelty, it sounds more legal.
 | In the mans case there is always a
 woman, in the background, and when the man who has willingly borne the lburden of a bad wife for many years meets a, younger, more attractive wo-
 man, his shackles become too irksome, and he needs must hie himself to South Dakota to loose them.
 The male colonist is received with open arms. Men are scarce out west, notwithstanding all reports to the con- trary, and, as a rule, are not prepos- sessing in their personal appearance, a well-dressed man being an exception to the general rule.
 Sarah Grand's theory that a man
 should be held equally guilty with the woman does not hold good in this case for, while the woman is ostracised, the lman is feted. The damsels ogle him the matrons pet him, he is invited to lsing at the concerts, and the female lportion of the audience listen entranced lwhile the male members anathematize him. He is invited to the swellest
 houses, and is favored guest at din
 ners, lawn parties, sociables and card
 reunions; his life, so to speak, is a bed
 of roses.
 i On the other hand, let me quote ar instance which came under my owr lpersonal notice. A divorcee, woman
 who had held herself most decorously
 attended services at the Episcopal ca
 thedral, and was in a certain measure
 cordially received, conceived the idea oi
 giving a little supper to some of hei
 kindly disposed lady friends In the
 church. She prepared as dainty re- past as the limited resources of the
 town permitted, sent out her invita-
 tions, and, everything being prepared sat down to await the coming of hel
 guests. She waited, and waited, an6 still she waited, and no one came. Noi one woman in that list of invited guests
 came to her supper, nor did they trou
 ble themselves to send a regret. This
 is the womanfs side in contrast to the mans Tn what way had the woman sinned more than the man? They arc
 both out there for the same purpose
 vet a cold shoulder is turned to one, {
 warm welcome given to the other