Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1901-1906, 1904-04-01
BRArrLEBoRo, FRIDAY, APRIL l, 1904
"rhe Sins We Are Inclined To-"

have stirred the moral sentiment
the country strongly against this ev
which in the guise of religion threat
ems the peace and purity of the home
of the country. The women of tn
United States are actively arraye
against 1t, congress is astounded a
its holiness and even the young Nor
mons. who, it is said, We're unawar
of it's open existence, are strongl
disappearing and threaten to with
draw from the church unless its prac
tise is discontinued. The question o
the submission of constitutions
amendment to the people with a view
of making polygamy an offence
against the United States is also be-
ing considerably agltated and meets
with no little favor.
1t seems an opportune time, now
that we are in proper state of
moral revolt against an evil out in
Utah-one which, by the, way, does
not happen to appeal to our tastes.
to turn the search light of our con-
sciences upon another evil of similar
nature that does seem to appeal to
u.s. and that threatens the purity and
happiness of our homes as certainly
as though it were forbidden by law.
This is the divorce evil. 1t has be-
come a powerful aid to immortality,
foe to the family, on which the in
tegrity of the national life rests. and
a skilful debaucher of the human soul,
that most precious of mans belong
ings.
A reasonable divorce law is often a
boon to society. where marriage turns
out, as it sometimes does, an utter,
irretrievable failure When two per-
sons are unsuited and unhappy, even
perhaps repulsive to each other, there
Is nothing sacred in the marriage re-
lation, nothing of advantage or good
in any way, in its continuance. A
home built upon such relations is not
desirable place in which to. bring up
the unfortunate children, if there are
any of such a union. 1t is not home,
strictly speaking, for there must be
unity of mind and heart in a home,
and there can be no such unity with
out love, or at least respect and re-
gard. Married people who have
learned to dislike and suspect each
other are better unmarried. Then. in
all humility, having made one vital
mistake in the fashioning of life's ,
course, they should be content to live :
out their lives as best they may, alone, !,
for the sake of self-respect, ,
to run the risk of making another. 1t
Is an unhappy state of affairs that
separates child from either Of his q
that deprives him of the s
United affection and care that are his |,
natural right; but such separation e
md deprivation are not the worst of a
he evil for childhood The worst of s
he evil is the foisting upon it of
mixed relations the lowering of it's
deals of marriage and the home life n
The chief evil of divorce arises from Il
he fact that our laws. instead of be- v
ng used merely as a means of escape g
rom conditions that have become in II
olerable, have been seized upon to III
erve the purposes of wanton caprice, "
exile fancy and gross infidelity. The
onditions which, have resulted from
leir misuse may perhaps represent -
ner, less revolving phase of immor- ~
lily than does the polygamy of the y
[ormons but they are not so differ .,
1T, fundamentally as We please to o
link them. Under the one system,
an may be living in the same COM a.
unity with several women who, at "
lie time or another, have been his ga
ives, and under the other a number
women may be his wives at the wi
me time. To the fine moral sense no
ere Is not much difference. inn
For the good of the moral status of est
e American people, it is fortunate rot
at some of our thoughtful, true ms
arted and clear-headed citizens are ia
the extent of the evil that att
S crept so subtly into the homes inf
VI VI lileI cOunlTyIfell. he ipC
,rgy in particular, are waking up
it and many of them are absolutely
'using to marry divorced persons. ito
lie New York minister has prepared ma
inks that must be filled in and gov
orn to. the design being to avoid cos
trying divorced persons through the
,ir making false representations, as anC
ny do The churches, too, have re- hor
lily taken a first practical step ant
ward the better observance of the VIII
lctity of the marriage tie. In a do
ference on divorce at the parish us
Use of st. Bartholomew's, New
rk, a pledge was recommended for :.
rgymen of each denomination not
marry members of any other de- -
nination when the ceremony could :,
be performed by a minister of can
{ church under its laws. 'oi
his. of course, is only a step. 1t iehs
lid merely prevent the marriage of graz
breed Episcopalians and Roman 'o'a
holics by ministers of other suci
riches. The parties could readily 70
some other way of accomplishing sum
r purpose. But the mere holding poSe
such a conference shows that the
riches realize the need of action in
matter and the opposing moral in r.,
nee thus set in motion is bound to the
K for good. stat,
;s ,-,,a ,ba, ,ha ,.o-,,,os ,,-Ao the
Ia ''' '''O"s ""O O00
: been shown in the recent inves- AT Il
ton to have been living in polyga- whel