The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-09
BY REV. HAMILTON.

BY REV. HAMILTON.
The sermon which I preached in New
port last Sunday was not directed
against the society Of that place. 1t was
an appeal to that society to stand as an
exemplar to the people of the United
| States.
AS 1 have said, Newport is the So
| ctal center of the United States. There
are gathered not only men and women
| OF intellect but also those whose great
wealth and social influence place them
among the most conspicuous people in the
nation.
The influence which these people exert
can scarcely be estimated. Their actions
| their modes of dress, their methods of en-
| PERTAINING and the incidents of their lives
are known throughout the length and
| breadth Of the land. They set the ex-
ample not only In dress but in behavior
What is done in New York and Newport
is copied in Chicago and San Francisco
1t Is taken up by the society leaders Of
those and other places, reproduced among
those less wealthy, and at last exerts an
influence more or less modified upon the
humblest homes in the land.
The influence exerted by the society
OF Newport and New York Is analogous
to that put forth by the royal courts
of Europe, and history has shown what
a potent influence that is. No one denies
the purifying effect which the life of
queen Victoria has exercised upon the
social atmosphere of Great Britain, and
1t Is somewhat similar influence which
the society of Newport may exert upon
the people Of this country.
There Is no doubt that divorce Is on
the increase. The newspapers show 1t
and statistics make it clear. The evil
Is loathsome one-so Ioathsome that I
dislike to speak of It,
There Is nothing more horrifying, more
detestable than the spectacle of q man
deliberately plotting not only to wreck
another's happiness, but to bring shame
upon one whom he pretends to love and
upon her innocent children; and the sin
Is none the less when the offender, as
Is sometimes the case, 1s woman.
A mere monetary thief is admirable
compared to such one and the misery
of the circumstances is increased in many
cases by the helplessness of the injured
person, who realizes that the theft Is
being committed and yet is powerless to
prevent it.
Such a theft should not be excused,
and the perpetrator cannot palliate the
offense by dragging the stolen property to
; the divorce court, and there placing upon
1T that seal which gives him an ex-
euse for calling 1t his own
The home Is the unit Of the nations
moral strength, and the home must be
preserved. The man or woman who as
sails the happiness Of one home does not
strike at 1t alone, but at the very founda-
ton of our social and moral structure.
He is not merely the thief of another's
happiness, but a public enemy; and if his
ecQuaintances do not punish him for
purposes of self-protection, they should
do so out of consideration for the moral
welfare of the community.
AS 1 have said, the evil is one which
I dislike to speak about. But it must be
spoken Of and met and given it's death
blow.
The effect of recent divorces In society
remains to be seen. 1 should hope
that they would create q feeling of dis
gust and resolve that divorce should no
longer be countenanced. There can be
NO doubt of their effects upon the NOR
atty of the people at large.
1 do not hesitate to say that one d.
vorce in high life will produce hundreds
among people in moderate circumstances.
and that each of these will have its eff
feet upon the circles of society nearest
to it.
1t must say that society does not look
favorably upon divorces. It's attitude
Is one OF pity, rather than encourage
ment.
People dislike to utterly repudiate their
relatives or those whom they have loved
| as friends, and so the offenders are first
received by the few, and then tolerated
/ by the many Many people, while wholly
! disappearing Of them, do not wish to be
disagreeable and so do not directly OBJ
5ect to their presence.
Then the audacity o the offenders
themselves come to their aid They per-
severe, and, so to speak, cheek 1t out
until at last their offense IS in a great
measure forgotten. After a time. when
another divorce occurs, these earlier d.
YorCees are able to give Countenance to
the newer offenders, and so the influence
IN favor OF liberation progresses
1t Is time now that it should be given
check, and there is no society so cana
Bile of making its restraining influence
felt as that Of Newport. do not mean
to say that the evil prevails in Newport
more than elsewhere. I have no reason
70 say that it does. But Newport has
more power to check it than the com
bined effort of the Christian churches
from Maine to the Pacific coast, and for
the simple reason that the homewreck-
ers and divorces are not under the
churchs influence.
The man who can deliberately persuade
woman to desert her husband and
| children, and leave them the objects of
pity and ridtcule, is not amenable to
church influence. And the woman who
| coldly wrecks her husbands life does not
care for the censure Of the church But
| they do care for the censure of society,
the divorce evil simply by visiting the di-
vorcees with ostracism.
L do not suggest that society should
begin a crusade against individuals
There should be no animosity In their
treatment of these people, But they
should not be encouraged or countenanc-
ed or approved of.
| Notice should be served once and fer
| all that society will not countenance the
destroyers of homes, and that those
who enter upon such a career must for
felt whatever place in society they have
coupled. This must be done not for the
punishment of certain individuals. but
| Tor the sake of example, for the sake Of
respect Tor our own homes, for the sake
OF the general erect upon the community,
Tor the sake of the church itseIf-for
with every home-destroyer a pillar is
knocked from under the church.
| FOR these reasons we must sacrifice
divorces upon the altar of ostracism.
If this is not done the evil will con-
t1nue to grow until in a few years If viii
wreck society at large, just as it has
wrecked individual homes in the past
In preaching my sermon of Sunday last
l did not speak without deep Thought
Newport has been my summer home for
seven years. l shall return there within
rev days to remain until autumn. and
am prepared to stand by everything
have said.
believe also that society realizes the
gravity OF the situation, and that the in
| huence OF many eminent people will no
eXerted in the direction Of which I sneak
L felt while in the pulpit that day that 7
possessed the sympathy of the congrepa-
t1cn, and more especially of the younger
element; and in subsequent conversation
with number OF those present 7 heard
nothing that could tend to remove that