Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1903-07-16
IN RUSSIA.
The Unlimited Power of Parents
Withdrawn. and That of the
Husband Substituted.

AS a daughter the Russian woman
Is under the absolute sway of her
parents. The coming of age makes no
alteration in her position. Until the
day of her death, if she remains I'M
married, the place she occupies in the
family life is a place of dependence
upon the will Of her parents. WheE a
woman marries she changes the au-
thority of parents for no less unquali-
fled authority of husband. AS the
Russian statute suggestively puts it,
zone person cannot reasonably be eX
pected to fully satisfy two such unlim-
tied powers as that of husband and
parent"
The unlimited power of the pa
rent, therefore, is withdrawn and that
of the husband substituted. She can
not leave him even to pay a visit to a
neighboring town withalt a pass
from him. He names the time she is
to stay, and at the expiration of the
term she is bound to return or get il
renewed. A husband may appear in a
court of law as a witness against his
wife, but a wife is not permitted tC
appear against her husband. A
woman's evidence is regarded also as
of less weight than that of a man
when two witnesses do not agree
the code runs, the testimony OF ar
adult outweighs that of a child, ant
the testimony of a mar that of 6
woman"
According to the tenets of the Russian
church, marriage is a sacrament, and is
theoretically in~dissoluble. There is nc
such thing as a civil marriage, and di-
vorce, except in one case, is practically
unobtainable by a woman The eXcep.
and Punishment of the husband. il
the wife chooses she can follow her hus.
band into exile, and Russian literature
is full of pathetic stories of women, ten
the long Siberian march. All children
however, born in exile, are regarded al
belonging to the lowest class Of society
If, on the other hand, the wife seeks, or
the plea of her husbands Punishment
divorce, the church in this case relaxe'
her discipline and grants the plea. AL
though the statute recognizes adulter.
and desertion on the part of the husband
with such difficulties that it is never re
sorted to except by the wealthy, who car
always make the tardy wheels revolv,
more swiftly.
While divorce is difficult to obtain
there are other means resorted to whicl
reach the same destination, only by
different route. Laws in Russia are mad,
not to be broken, but to be evaded, ant
both the civil and ecclesiastical authori
ties have learned the art of evasion t.
perfection, says a writer in the West
minister Review. Marriages may be an
nulled If any informality has occurre'
in them, and if parties are willing tn
rest Is only a question of money. Ii
some parts of the empire the marriag
service is enacted with this contingenc,
in view. The certificate may be left un
dated, or the age of the contracting par
ties omitted. In some parts of Littl
Russia a relative, during the ceremony
gives the bride a slap. to prove in cas-
of need that she has married under com
pulsion. Women who succeed in obtain
ing a separation from their husbands OF
the ground of informality are receive,
into society, are allowed to marry again
and may ever be separated again with
out loss of position. There is, however
which tends strongly in favor of an ad
justment Of the present laws.