The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-20
LIFE In OLD SCOTLAND
REV. A. ID. MELDRUM FINDS MUCH
TO PRAISE, LITTLE TO
CONDEMN
LAND OF HOMES AND HAPPINESS

to Marry, but Once United, Legal
Separations Are Few-COnduct of
Municipal Affnfrs Different From
That In the United States-Behind
I'm Temperance.
More divorces were granted In the city
Of st. Paul during the last two weeks tnah
in Scotland during the last 200 years.
was the statement made by Rev. A. b.
Medium at the Central Presbyterian
church last evening, in his lecture on
Scotland and the, Scotch -
Divorce in Scotland is exclusively
luxury of thelefich,s as it costs any way
from 800 to $4,000 to dissolve the mar
ita1 relations. And incompatibility of tenn
per is rot grounds for divorce in Scotland.
The Scotch are no more in hurry about
getting married than they are about 9TH
er things. What is regarded as bashful-
ness on the part of the Scotch lover IS
merely caution. Long courtsh1ps OF from
five to seven years are very common. But
sometimes the Scotch matrimonial dlplo-
mat gets nipped, and then he is the most
miserable man in the world. If his other
half rules the house he resigns himself
to fate and awaits for death, or more de-
sired widowhood.
But Scotland is land of homes and
not boarding houses In no cline is the
atmosphere more pure and wholesome,
and its people more loyal to the land Of
their birth. When you find land of
homes you find good government "A man
will fight for his home, but not for his
boarding house. el
Scotland is land of traditions, the
past Is rich in great men and great
events. Its people are simple minded, in
tensely religious and delightfully."- disa-
g1eeable people. The Scot VINO eulogiZes
the oat cakes of his boyilood is not open
to the charge of disloyalty to the hot bis
cults and pumpkin pies of his manhood.
After an absence of thirty years 1 re-
turned to my old home, Scotland, the bon
ME land of brown heath and shaggy wood.
AS we steamed up the Clyde in a dismal,
penetrating rain, the Americans on board
were very outspoken of their disgust for
Gu board condescended to assert that it
was a wee bit damp But, as if to rec
ompense for the bad weather and give the
visitors as favorable an impression as
possible, he said il you could only see the
beauty that lies behind that fog. There is
no country in the world that has the
grandeur and sublimity Of scenery of
Scotland Less than 300 miles in length
and $50 wide, half as, large as Minnesota,
yet we find here every form of natural
beauty imaginable It's ruined castles,
beautiful in their decay; its sublime cliffs,
washed by the everla sting waters of the
sea- and it's quiet inland lakes hemmed in
by thickly wooded hills, give it disfinct
character.
Their schools and institutions are
founded on solid basis. There they have
compulsory education, only they do not
call it compulsory. That word does not
sound sweet in the ears of the Scotch .
man. They call 1t free education. They
also have beautiful parks, but there is no
imperative signs threatening penalties for
encrcachment- on the grass. If such
sign was put up a Scotchman would walk
right across the grass and kick over the
sign. t.-. ri: "a
THE administration of municipal affairs
in Scotland is conducted on the same prin-
ciples that the thrifty Scot carries on in
his manufacturing business. Political af-
filiations have no place In municipal af-
fairs The men who. are put in charge
are responsible to the people alone, and
no party bosses or organizations have
any claim on public officials. Edinburgh
believes that politics have no more place
liz municipal affairs than astronomy or
theology Scotland is perhaps the best
governed because it is least governed. The
same good common sense rules munich.
pal affairs that makes successful the Scot
In commerce. The street car company in
Glasgow few years ago became very In
dependent and the city took the franchise
away and ran the cars itself At
the end of a few years the fare was re-
duced and 100000 profit was turned into
the city treasury every year. This, /
think shows that the public does not have
to give up to the control of a corpora
ton. 1t is possible for the town council
to take matters in it's own hands If
1t so desires.
Scotland is seyenty-five years behind
the time in the matter of temperance.
Respectable drinking is very much in
vogue, and every sideboard is well sup
piled The typical Scot regards with grim
contempt the man who believes that a
drink of whisky will send his soul to
hell
DR.. Meldrum's address was well Illus
trated by stereopticon views Of the vari-
GUS places of interest in Scotland.
Prof. Wheaton played a number of
Scotch airs on the organ. George Sin
clair, of Minneapolis, manipulated the
bagpipe in true Scotch fashion.
The audience sang .'Auld Lang Syne"
before dispensing. %