The Penn's Grove record., 1899-09-22

ward introduced into q new marriage rela'
ton a member of the household VINO went
off on q pleasure excursion to Newport OF
n business excursion to Chicago. Married
at the brides house; no cards. There are
States IT the Union which practically put
a premium upod the d~isintegration OF the
marriage relation, while there are other
States, like the State CT New York, which
has the pre-eminent idiocy OF making mar.
riage lawful at twelve ard fourteen years
OF age.
The Congress- of the United States needs
to move fer a change of the national con-
stitution and then to appoint n committee
not made mp OF single gentlemen, but OF
men OF families, and their families In Wash
~ington-vho shall prepare Il good, honest,
righteous, comprehensive uniform law that
will control everything from Sandy Hook
to the Golden Gate. That will put an end
to brokerages In marriages. That will e
divorce lawyers into a decent business.
That will sat 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 moro or less
unfavorable circumstances.
More dlf1cult divorce will put an estop-
pal to a great extent upon marriage as a
financial speculation. There are men who
go into the relation just as they go into
Wall street to purchase shares. The fe-
lll W w 1NlLt II II
wedlock Is utterly unattractive and In dis
position a suppressed Vesuvius. Everybody
knows 1t, but this masculine candidate for
matrimonial orders, through the commer
cial agency or through the COUNT records,
finds out how much estate is TO be in
herited, and he calculates 1t. He thinks
out how long 1t will be before tue 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, "1t l
cannot stand 1t, then through the divorce
law l will back out" That process Is GO
ing on all tile time, and men enter into the
relation without any moral principle, with
out any affection, and 1t is as much u mat
ter Of stock speculation rs anything that
was transacted yesterday in Union Pacific,
Wabash and Delaware and Lackawanna.
Now, suppose q man understood, us he
ought to understand, that II he goes into
that relation there Is no possibility OF his
getting cut or no probability. He would
be more slow to put his neck in the yoke,
He should say to himself, Rather that a
Caribbean whIrlwind with a whole feet OF
shipping In its rms, give me n zephyr OF
fields of sunshine and gardens OF peace"
Rigorous divorce law will also hin Ter
women from the fatal mistake OF marrying
men to reform them. II a young man, by
twenty-five years of age or thirty years OF
age, have the habit of strong drink liked
on him, he Is as certainly bound for a
drunkard's grave as that a train starting
out from the Grand Central depot at 8
o'clock tomorrow morning is bound for
Albany. The train may not reach Albany,
for 1t may be thrown from tho track. The
young man may not reach n ~drunkard'5
grave, for something may throw him OF
the iron track OF evil habit. But the proba-
bllIty is that the train that starts to-mor-
row morning at s o'clock for Albany will
-. 41,ona ..l tla r-nhnhIIItu la chat tho
young man who has the habit OF strong
drink fixed on him before twenty-five
or thirty years of age will arrive
at o drunkard's grave. She knows
he drinks, although he tries to hide it
by chewing cloves. Everybody knows
no drinks. Parents warm; %neighbors
and friends warn. Sue will marry him,
she will reform him. If she is unsuccess-
full in the experiment, why, then, the d.
vorce law will emaneipate her, because
habltual drunkenness Is Il cause for d.
yorce in Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Con-
n~ecticut and nearly all the States. so the
poor thing goes to the altar of sacrifice. IL
you will show me the poverty struck
streets in any city, | will show yoa ths
homes OF the wone who married men TO
reform them. In one case out OF ten thou.
sand it may be a successful experiment. l
never saw the successful experiment. But
nave a rigorous divorce law, and that
woman will say, "If l am affianced to that
man, 1t Is for life, and if now, in tho ardor
of his young love and l 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" And SO that woman will sag
to the man: 'No. sir; you are already mar
rIed to the club, and you are married to
that evil habit, and so you are married
twice, and you are n bigamist. Cor
Let me say to all young people, before
you give your heart and hand In holy nj
lance, use all caution. Inquire outside as
to habits, explore the disposition, scrutin.
ize the taste, question the ancestry and
find out the ambitions. Do not take the
heroes and heroines OF cheap novels fora
model. Do not put your lifetime happi-
ness in the keeping of a man who has a
reputation of being a little loose in morals
or in the keeping OF q woman h dresses
immodestly. Remember that, while good
looks are n kindly gift OF God, wrinkles or
accident may desl oil them. Remember
that Byron was no more celebrated for his
beauty than for his d%epravity. Remember
that Absalom's hair was not more splendid
than his habils were despicable. Henri 1t.
Hear t.! The only foundation for happy
marriage that ever has been or ever Will
be Is good character. Ask the counsel OF
father and mother in this most important
step OF your life. They are good advisers.
They are the best friends you ever had.
They made more sacrifices for you than
any one else ever did
And let me say to those of you who are
in happy married union, avoid first quar-
rels; have no unexplained correspondence
with former admirers; cultivate no sus-
piclons; In n moment OF bad temper do not
rush out and tell the %nelghbors; do not let
any OF those gadahouts of society unload
in your house their baggage OF CAB and
title tattle; do not make it an invarlable
rule to stand on your rights; learn how to
apologize; DO not be so proud or so stub
born or so devillsh that you will not make
up. Remember that the worst domestic
misfortunes and most seandalOus divorce
cases started from little infelicites. The
whole piled up train Of ten rail ears teie-
sceped and smashed at the foot OF an em-
bankment 100 feet down came to that ca
tastrophe by getting two or three Inches
off the track. Some Of the greatest domes-
tic misfortunes aud the widest r~esoundtng
divorce cases ave started from little mis-
understandings that were allowed to go on
and 90 on until home and responsibility
and religion and immortal soul went down
in the crash.
Fellow citizens as well as fellow Chris
tians, let us rave Il divine rage against
ANYTHING that wars on the marriage state.
Blessed Institution Instead of two arms
to fight the battle of life, four; instead OF
two eyes to scrutinize the path oflife, four;
instead OF two shoulders to lift the burden
of life, four; twice the energy, twice the
courage, twice the holy ambition, twice
the probability 81 worldly success, twice
the prospects OF heaven. into that natrl-
montal bower God fetches two souls, Out
side the bower, room for all contentious,
and all chickering's, and all controversies;
but inside hi bower there is room for
only one guest-the angel Of love. Let
thnt n mol Gtnnd Mt the floral d0nrNu y ni
this Edenic bower with drawn sword to
hew down tho worst foe OF that bower
easy divorce. And for every paradise lost
may there be u paradise regained. And
after we quit our home here may we have
a brighter home in heaven; ut the windows
of which, this moment, are familiar faces
watching for our arrival and wondering
why so long we tarry.