The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-06-30

my first suffrage convention, in Syracuse
N. Y, which was indeed among the first
ever held. Lucretia Mott presided and
among the speakers were Hon. Gerrit
Smith. Lucy Stone, Rev. Antoinette
Brown BlackwelD, Matilda Joslyn Gage.
Paulina Wright Davis. Clarina Howard
Nichols and the eloquent Polish exile,
Ernestine L. Rose Mrs. Stanton could
not be present, but she sent a letter,
which / read, and which. among other
radical utterances, repeated the demands
that habitual drunkenness and cruel treat
ment should be recognized as causes for
divorce The press heralded these state
NETS abroad with the most scathing crit
icism, while pulpit, platform and the pub
lie in general Joined in a chorus OF de-
nunciation of this most pernicious doc
trine. Women themselves were loudest
and longest in their condemnation of
law which would enable them 90 divorce
a drunken or brutal husband and retain
their children and a part OF the prop
erty.
This discussion was renewed at all our
annual meetings. and found its culmina-
ton in the last suffrage convention be-
fore the breaking out of the Civil War
put all other questions in the background
1t was held at Cooper Institute, New
York city, in May. 1860; and, as usual,
the frebrand was applied by Mrs. Stan
ton, who not only had the courage of her
convictions but recognized no such word
as expediency. She presented a set of
resolutions declaring that, under certain
conditions divorce was justifable, and
supported them by a speech which was a
masterpiece of logic, beauty and pathos
THIS convention, although composed of the
most liberal and advanced thinkers in the
country, had not yst reached Mrs. STAN
tons position on this point. Even the
broad-minded Wendell Phillips moved
to lay the resolutions on the table and
eXpunge them from the minutes. declar-
ing that this body had nothing to do
with any laws except those which rest
ed unequally upon women, and those Of
divorce did not! spoke in reply and
showed how marriage always had been
a one-sided contract, resting most I'M
equally upon the sexes; how in nearly all
of the states a woman could not even
sue for divorce in her own name, or
claim enough OF the community property
to pay the costs: and how her success in
such case was purchased at the price
of reputation. home and children.
william Lloyd Garrison sustained this
position with all his eloquence The dis
cussion spread far and wide, and produc-
ed the first shism in the ranks OF the lit
tie hand of suffra glsts who had stood
shoulder 10 shoulder in so many battles.
Horace Greedy used the tremendous
weight of the Tribunes editorial columns
against divorce under any circumstances.
Thus was the contest waged for several
decades Against a slowly yielding public
sentiment. and the closing years OF the
century have witnessed no greater social
revolution than upon this very question.
Almost every state now grants divorce
for habitual drunkenness and cruel treat
ment, and these are recognized as Just
causes by all the churches except the
Catholic, although nifty years ago this
demand was FAR more bitterly condemned
than that for woman suffrage But the
changed altitude 81 church and state g.
BY no means 20 fofnnrknbe as that which
mas taken place IN public opinion. The
divorced woman. VINO D. herself innocent,
10 no longer put under . ban but may
Eetsin heF uaual position Ia society. and