Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1901-12-20
RATIO AT SIXTEEN TO ONE,
IN THE MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE BUsI-
NESS IN VERMONT


Cases More Than Doubled in Thirty Years
Good Assortment of Other Opinions from
Members of the Cuba Few Words Also
on Other Functions of the Judiciary.
The Professional club had another
large attendance Monday evening,
/ showing this old Brattleboro institu-
ton, in its twentieth season, we be
lieve, to be even fuller of vigor than
ever before Especially notable at this
meeting was the attendance of nearly
all the Younger professional men of the
place, and for them, with the high
grade papers the club has almost al
ways had and the broadening discus
sions following, it is an invaluable
educator. as it always is also for the
veterans.
The paper was by Lawyer r. G.
Bacon on 1.-THE Divorce Question and
Some Functions of the Judiciary. y
Under the latter head he discussed first
the statute giving judges, in their con-
troll over states attorneys salaries a
sort of executory and prosecuting power
in the enforcement of prohibition, as
fundamentally dangerous mixing of
the powers which the American system
and all Anglo-Saxon civilizations
aim to keep separate, and second,
our system of side judges in the coun-
ty court. which he regarded as useless
as it has come to operate. In this con-
nection the story was brought out of
the mock session of legislature where
there was bill to substitute bass
wood judges and the late Charles X.
Field moved to amend by striking out
the enacting clause because the pres
ent ones will answer just as well. "
But naturally the discussion turned
on the divorce question. The essayist
gave the figures in our own county as
fairly representative of the country.
For the 10 years from 1850 to 1890 the
number of divorces granted in our
county court was 1876, and in the last
10 wears 226. an increase of nearly 10
per cent without any increase III pop
ulation. In the 10 years from 1870 to
1883 the divorces numbered 80, the IN
crease for the next decade being but
a little over % per cent. Of the whole
number of 46l divorces in 80 years, 6S
were for adultery, 1856 for desertion, y
for refusal to support, l1O for intoler-
able severity. two because of sentence
of libellant to state prison for more
than three years, and two annulments
of marriage OF the divorces for in
tolerable severity is were granted to
men suffering from spouses, and these
Is were in the last decade indicating
growing subterfuge. In the state the
divorces now average one for each l6
marriages.
For remedy there are two usual sug-
gestions, one of constitutional amend
ment giving the national government
Jurisdiction of divorce matters, which
is Objectionable on Jetfersonlan
grounds and also because it would over
load our federal courts and the other,
the effort on which the National Bar
Association is engaged, to secure uni
formitv of divorce legislation among
the states and prevent the great and
demoralizing complications that re-
suit now from all the varying systems
The latter was the method favored by
the essayist and for the rest he thought
the best remedy was to be found IN
more strictness on the part of courts
in holding cases and the evidence to
the statute.
Rev. DR.. Marble who led the discus
sion and Revs. Miles, Mathison and
Osgood who participated all agreed
that relief was to be found in more care
in performing marriages, and all de-
clared that they never knowingly mar
ried divorced people. save the innocent
parties where the divorce had been
granted for adultery, and some doubted
if they hadn't better refuse even in
those cases. Mr.. Mathison believed
thoroughly in the view of his church
that such marriages ought TO be kept
outside of it: if the law grants divorces
let the law do the marrying afterWard;
hut let those who have broken the
pledge of union until death do them
rart." not come to the church to make
such vows again. He and DIR. Marble
agreed that the divorce is peculiarly
an American evil and the latter gave
the figures showing its astonishing
growth by five year periods, with a
total of over 300 600 against a small
fraction of that number in other coun-
tries. c. II. Davenport pointed out
that these countries compared We're
those chiefly where prevails the rule
of the church of Rome. allowing no
divorce and set against it the ratio of
illegitimate births. reaching one-third
i'm italy. for instance: : or the expert
ence of South Carolina, the one state
in the Union that allows no divorce
and the one that has had TO provide
bv law as to how much of his estate
man may leave to his concubine. He
did not believe the cause of morality
was to be subServed by severe restric-
tions. whose effect was to multiply
scortatory unions, but in more guards
against hasty and ill-considered mar
riage. of which three-fifths of the di-
yorces are the fruits: those whom God
hath really joined together divorce
laws do not affect: for all the powers
of earth cannot put them asunder.
Marriage as we know il is peculiarly
n Christian institution, known hardly
anywhere else in human history, get
Ting its first recognition 10y Constan-
tine. the first Christian emperor. as
against the old Roman law of divorce
at will: the place to stop divorces
therefore is to ensure care and deliber-
alton. so far as the law may do. in
marriage. Lawyer Stove pointed to
the practical fact that divorces are the
concomitant of better conditions.
larger opportunities and Independence
for women. who do not now have to
submit to any abuse, and so may evi-
dence advancing rather than decaying
morality. LAWYERS Schwenk and
Hooker agreed with the essayist that
whatever the statute. there Is need Of
greater care and severer scrutiny by
courts of the evidence and told some
thing of the varying loosenesS Of