Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-01-14
TAL,MAG':E!.>
SERMON
BY Rev.
FRANK DE WITT TALMAGE. DID,.
Pastor Of Jefferson Park Freshly.
terrain Church, Chicago

sin easy divcrce. ard the incongruous
conflict of state laws on tho subject
nre unsraringy characterized. The
preacher indicates the only way out OF
this immoral tansle which is wrcckins
the home AMI dcsccrating the marriage
altar. The text Is Mark x, 8, What
therefore God hsth joined together let
no! man rut ns;:rdsr."
Ma the CIVIL war was the Mortal clash
between two conflicting ideas, so TO-
day we find conflicting ideas IN mortal
combat over the marriage rltnr. The
one is the Christ idea, which declares
that mcrric &c is not a confederation
that can be broken at will, but an In
dissolubln union This idea asserts TINT
after marriage the twoin In every sense
becomes one The second idea declares
that easy divorce is not crime, but
often. for the social good, a necessity.
II says that whor II man and woman
are uneouaily yol,cd together it Is bet
ter that they be separated by law. even
f. the cause for separation be not so
serious as that recognized in the Bible,
and more, that they may, II they wish,
contract new marriages.
But, though James Bryce in his
American Commonwealth afflrms that
the family as unit Is "the one funda-
mental and permanent problem Of hui
man life and society" yet everywhere,
by reading the signs OF the times we
can see that by easy divorce the sane
tity Of the home is i,nperiled. Every
where the danger signals are being lift
ed, to prove that marriage is becoming
more and more a mere temporary con-
venience. Carroll D. Wright in his la
Dor statistics declares that in the year
1889 there Were 36,OT2 divorces in the
state Of Illinois alone and that there
was one divorce to every fifteen mar
rages. He went on to show that from
1867 to 1856 there were 32S. 1l5 divorces
in the United States and that each year
the proportion OF divorces to the num-
Der Of inhabitants IN the United States
was on the increase. just as the indi-
vidual wealth Of the Americans per
capita increr seq year by year. Surely
such an evil record AS that ought to
bring blush OF shame TO the cheeks
Of American manhood and woInanhood
and might be regarded as E national
disgrace even by the Inhabitants OF
the French capital. 1t would have been
blot on the historical pages Of icen-
tious Rome. So awful Is the spread Of
this divorce evil and so blunted are be-
coming the once keen edges Of public
sentiment upon this quention that Nor
gan Dix. who in no sense can be called
sensationalist. uttered last Thanks
giving day this scathing invectiEe
against wholesale licensed libertinism
now being rrncticed through the wide
open doors OF the legal courts Of our
land: The divorce evil ia terrible. II
Is an evil we must try to uproot. Once
upon a time if we ever mentioned tie
fact that q person had been divorced
we spoke of It under our breath. as .
subject not proper for conversation. We
thcn regarded divorce as somethin,
closely related 10 disgrace, and that no,
long ago either Now rapid de9en.
eracy Of social sentiment upon this eyi
has taken place. We look upon easy
divorce as respectable. We even honor
some of those who have thus crininally
broken their nuptial vows, when. III
stead. we should hold them in everlaAt
ing disrepute.
A C,N For United Action.
Against the further spread and fo'
the determination of this divorce evi
the Catholic church is already up il
Grr.2. Against it tho PrcsbytcriaI
church, With 81 general assembly com
mittcc working in unison with the sis
ter churches. Is struggling night ant
day. Against it only few weeks act
all the Ehoue Island ministers banded
themselves togethe: - sice religion!
combat. Thus rs the public leaders @
many denominations arr fighting this
Undermining and would be destroyel
of the home, it is not inappropriate fol
me to speak few WORDS in reference
TO thosc legal and domestic cause.
which might hereafter make easy di
Sorce" an impossibility
First, nothing can be accomplished II
material way unless there IS naticna
legislation or at least concerted action
among the different state Legislatures
npon this subject. There must be al
aver the land harmonious and unitet
lccal action .aGainst the divorce evil
II should be made impossible for
man to get divorce in one stat
which he could not obtain on the sam
ground in any one Of the 1900 divorc
rourts of the United States. All thos
courts ought to be in agreement AS +
what causes justify and what do no
Justify the dissolution OF marriage.
We recognize tie necessity OF tn
criminal courts of the United State
working in harmony. Why should "
not recognize the necessity Of concert
I'd action by divorce courts? som
wears AGO in Chicago a man killed hi
wife and burned her body in the va
nf sausage factory. Supposing afte
that crime he could have stepped acros
the state line and in Indiana defed tn
jceol authorities Of Illinois. Whu
would have been the result? Suppo'
rr1 That a notable murderer conld Ia Y
volked free man In Philadelphia az
cr he had poisoned his child wife
New York city. Why, murder and gu
lawry would be everywhere In tn
T-njtod States running rampant IL
ts, your life would not be worth tn
yoiue of q pin only as you were alb
IN protect 1t with your own arm AZ
defy your would be murderer benin
I,,r,,odod walls OF your own lOm