The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-02-09
FREQUENCY OF DIVORCE
THREATENS ClviL!ZhI!0H.
r,r-rc-,ttncn Minister Endorses
Cardinal Gibhons's Statement Con-
corning Marital Tics.

The Reverend jeremiah Cromer. pastor Of
Fountain paIk Congregational tEG. -.
spoke YESTERDAY. mornins ON .iiEa.ee "a
The passage Mark \. lis. ne Said. n pa:
Jesus answered the question 81 'lf
plarIssPS about divorce Toy asking ailotAe.
What did Moses command YOU. fney SaiI.
Moses suffered a man 10 write q oil OF
o.vorcsment and 10 pat his ~lie away
lhen Jesus carried the matter back be
yond Moses to the original constitution OF
the family. The IaN that Moses gave Was
bar an accommodation. IL was rot oasei
on absolute ard night principe. For
The hardness of your hearts Moses wrote
you this commandment
But there WAS a better preccpt provided
~ the beginning. The distraction Of sex
.uggesis the cniy right relation FOR the
ramiiy-'ma.e ard female made re III IN. y
man. by leaving his father and -rotHeF.
s:tps ont of that Involuntary Family relation
INTO HIGH he was born and through mar
ii2ge establishes a new life union with one
Of the other sex. Thc precep, based upon
mis- original constitution is this: 'Wha;.
therefore. Cod Eath Joined together let no
nan put asundsr.' And ii WORDS mean any
hing Jesus here means as against the
Mosaic law Of divorce TO teach the inViola-
n4e nature of the marriage relation.
The union Of one man aud enc woman
is for life. except when, through The inide.i-
" of one or the other, the very 1Qea OF tire
marriage relation is destroyed. The fIe-
quency of divorce threatens the very found
-tions of our civilization. Cardinal Gibbons
says truly: There = a social scourge NOR
nlighting and more destructive Of family
LIE than Mormonism. Ii Is the feaTfullv in
creasins number of divorce mills throughout
The United States. These mills. like the
mills of the gods, are slowly but surely
arinding the domestic affairs of the nation
things that the Supreme Court of The land
mas just rendered a decision making nui
he divorces granted in South Dakota win
out any previous residence in tbs State.
The. first great reform must come
through uniformity of legislation in the dig
ferent States. And We, should noc stop with
-ssislation. For no evil was ever eradicatel
through laws alone. The ideas Of society
must be given some moral tonic. /; is all
very Wen TO expose a Scoundrei who repre-
SCENTS himself as some English nopltnan and
psrsuades an American sir!. after a few
lays acquaintance, 10 marry him.
TO be kicked downstairs ana fined and
imprisoned is all very We'll for such as he.
out what of a society that makes such
things possible? The fact that such thing,
yan happen means that our social fabric is
decaying in one of its most essential parts.
with the decay OF the family the church
cannot prosper. and all the other irs;itu-
IONS must sooner or later fall with il. il, is
fignifcant that In all the synoptic gospels
me incident of the parents bringing their
children to have Jesus lay his hands upon
them follows imnediate lv on this contro-
rersy about divorce.
1T is more than limited that the cues
ION OF divorce is The question of the little
children and the home. The RELIGIOUS and
educational world is very much. exercised
Just now over the moral and religious in
struction that IL being given TO TIE youth
-hu we Il all al once drQuSlnG
ourselves TO the fact that much of the
teaching in the Sunday schools and churches
Is very much Anticipated. And a great con-
Yention of learned arG repre- sentative men
g to gather in Chicago this week to con-
sioer this matter. This is all very well.
Sut # the children and youth Of the land
we're provided with wholesome sweet
nome life for the natural period of child
hood. TIE question of the kin OF religious
instruction given in the Sunday school anc
the church would not matter so mitch.
scientists are telling us that the longer
period of childhood for man is the lev TO
MS higher civilization Because for years
me child receives everything at the hands
r Its parents IL comes to mature life with
higher powers than those of the animal
creation. Let civilization once lose its hold
on q pure, wholesome existence for child
hood and it will have prepared for a step
backward toward the savage. The ladder
ny which man has climbed to his present
stage of advancement has been set up
against the childhood of the race. Once
lake that ladder away and man will have
Sucn a faii as Will surpass in its evil c2n-
sequences the fall of Eden"