St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-10-21

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want to know how rapidly the empire
went down. ask Gibbon. Do you know
how the reign of terror was introduced
in France? BY 10000 cases of divorce
in one year in Paris. What we want in
this country and in all lands is that di-
vorce be made more and more difficult.
Then people before they enter that re
lation will be persuaded that there will
probably be no escape from it except
through the door of the sepulcher.
Then they will pause on the verge of
that relation until they are fully salts
fed that it is best, and that it is right,
and that it is happiest, then we shall
have no more marriages in fun, then
men and women will not enter the re-
lation with the idea it is only 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 tremendous, and
there will be no more joking about the
| blossoms in a brides hair than about
| the cypress on a coffin.
What we want is that the congress of
the United States move for the changing
| of the national constitution SO that a
law can be passed which shall be uni
form 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? II party in the mar
riage relation gets dissatisfied, it is only
XD - ct fn tn
achieve liberation from the domestic
| tie, and divorce is effected so easily that
the first one party knows of it is by see
ing IL in the newspaper that Rev. DIR.
Somebody a few days or weeks aftes-
ward introduced into new marriage
relation member Of the household who
went of on pleasure excursion to
Newport or on business excursion to
Chicago. Married at brides house;
no cards. There are states of the union
which practically put premium upon
the disintegration of the marriage rela-
ton, while there are other states, like
the state of New York, which has the
preeminent idiocy of making marriage
lawful at 12 and IA years Of age.
The congress of the United States
needs to move for q change of the ma
tional constitution and then to appoint
a committeeman made up Of single gen.
tlemen, but of men Of families, and their
families in Washington-who shall pre-
pare a good, honest, righteous. compre-
hensive, uniform law that will control
everything from Sandy Hook to the
Golden Gate. That will put an end to
brokerages in marriage. That will send
divorce lawyers into a decent business.
That will set people agitated for many
years on the question Of how they shall
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-
| toppeltoa great extent upon marriage as
a financial speculation. There are men
who go into the relation just az they go
into Wall street to purchase shares.
The female to be invited into the part
nership of wedlock is utterly unattrac-
tive and in disposition a suppressed
Vesuvius. Everybody knows it, but this
masculine candidate for matrimonial
orders, through the commercial agency
or through the county records finds ont
how much estate is to be inherited,
and he calculates ii. He thinks out how
long it will be before the old man will
die, and whether he can stand the re-
fractory temper until he does die, and
then he enters the relation, for he says:
''If cannot stand it, then through the
divorce law will back out. That proc
ess is going on all the time, and men en-
ter the relation without any moral
principle, without any affection, and it
is as much matter of stock specula-
tion as anything that was transacted
yesterday in Union Pacific, Wabash and
Delaware and Lackawanna. Now, sup
pose man understood, as he ought to
understand. that il he goes into that
relation there is no possibility of his
getting out, or no probability. He
would be more slow to put his neck in
the yoke. He should say to himself:
'.Rather than Caribbean whirlwind
with whole feet of shipping in its
arms, give me a zephyr OF fields of sun
shine and gardens Of peace"
Rigorous divorce law will also hinder
women from the fatal mistake of mar
rying men to reform them. IL young
man, by 25 years of age or 80 years of
age, have the habit of strong drink fixed
on him, he is as certainly bound for a
drunkard's grave as that train start
ing out from the Grand Central depot
at eight o'clock tomorrow morning is
bound for Albany. The train may not
reach Albany, for it may be thrown
from the track. The young man may
not reach drunkard's grave, for some
thing may throw him of the iron track
of evil habit. But the probability is
that the train that starts tomorrow
morning at eight o'clock for Albany will
get there, and the probability is that
the young man who has the habit of
strong drink fixed on him before 25 or
30 years of age will arrive at drunk
ards grave. She knows he drinks, al
though he tries to hide it by chewing
cloves. Everybody knows he drinks.
Parents warn; neighbors and friends
warn. She will marry him; she will re-
form him. II she is unsuccessful in the
experiment, why, then. the divorce law
will emancipate her. because habitual
drunkenness is cause for divorce in
Indiana, Kentucky. Florida, Connecti-
cut and nearly all the states. So the
poor thing goes to the altar of sacri-
flee. II you will show me the poverty
struck streets in any city, / will show
you the homes of the women who mar
ried men to reform them. In one case
out of ten thousand it may be success
full experiment / never saw the sue
cessful experiment But have a rigor-
GUS divorce law, and that woman will
say: IF am afiianced to that man, it
is for life, and il now, in the ardor of
his young love and the prize to be won,
he will not give up his cups, when he
has won the prize surely he will not
give up his cups" NO. sir; you are al
ready married to the club, and you are
married to that evil habit, and so,you
are married twice, and you are biga-
mist. Cor
A rigorous divorce law will also do
much to hinder hasty and inconsiderate
- that