Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-05-09
.|HE DIVORCE QUESTION
Inter-Church Conference on
Marriage and Divorce Is
sues Appeal to Public
PLEA FOR HOME AND FAMILY
Believed That the Hope of Cure For the
Present Appalling Conditions Lies In
a Widespread Recognition of the
sanctity of Marriase-The Proper.
ton of Divorces to Marriages.

Philadelphia, Pa, May 9.-The inter-
church conference on marriage and di-
vorce as a body representing officially
foulte leading denominations has is
sued thru its secretary, Rev. William
/ II. Roberts, D. D., an appeal TO the
IDublic, calling attention to several as
1 poets OF the divorce question.
The paper is the beginning of ma
| tianal compaSgn of education upon the
subject to be. followed by Efforts 10
secure the enactment of laws in the
] state legislatures, and ultimately. 1t is
Thought. of an amendment to the con-
s;itution of the United States.
Already action has been taken by the
conference looking toward the preVel1-
\ ton of the rei-marriage by ministers OF
other communions. of divorces whom
Il clereyuen of their own faith have re-
4 fused to marry.
This movement Is the first occasion
of any sort upon which the representa-
4 tiyes of great denominations have OF
/ fciallv come together The members of
the conference include many of the
i most prominent laymen in the church,
es. The denominations which subscribe
| to the appeal are:
] Protestant Episcopal church in the
/ United States: Presbyterian church IN
| the United States OF America: Metno-
| dist Episcopal church; Methodist Epis-
copal church south: Reformed church
OF America: Reformed church in the
United States United Presbyterian
| church; Evangelic Lutheran church,
/ the Baptist churches: the Congrega-
tional churches. the Universalist
churches: the Unitarian churches; the
Reformed Presbyterian church; the
Cumberland Presbyterian church; the
/ Alliance of the Reformed churches
/ holding the Presbyterian service.
| The following Is an abstract of the
appeal:
ION behalf of the representatives of
/ the fourteen churches composing the
inter.church conference. which, during
/ the past two years. has held frequent
meetings for the consideration of the
/ important subject of marriage and di-
vorce we have been instructed to issue
| this first general address and appeal.
First OF al we plead for the cuit1Va-
ton OF the grace of purity, for the
careful guarding of children within the
atmosphere of home by parents, and for
| the realization of the dignity of our
physical nature lifted to such high
honor by the incarnation.
For Sanctity Of Marriage.
I'VE plead for recognition of the
| sanctity OF marriage. We are facing
q condition in our country today
which threatens danger TO the most
sacred things. The very sanctuary
Of human life and of human love Is
assaulted and profaned. Manhood,
/ wonanhood and childhood. the home
1 and the family. are involved, ana
neither civil legislation nor ecclesiasti-
| cal discipline can save them, until and
! unless the conscience OF Christian hui
mainly is reached. Behind the mon
| ster of polygamy behind the spectre
OF the lax divorce court, with its
collusions. it's corruptions and it's
! contagion, stands the sad fact of the
/ low ideal OF marriage.
Marriage is a holy thing. Marriage
is the institution of God himself and
is sanctifiei under the soemnities OF
/ the old sanction by our blessed Lord.
I This Is the root of the matter Re-
formation must begin here. Children
must be taught it. Young men and
young women must be made to feel
i 1t. Protected In purity, boy and girl,
man and woman alike, must be train
/ ed to look with reyerent eyes upon
/ the holiness of this estate; upon its
mysteriousness as something higher
i and deeper and larger than can be
measured or reached by the low ideas
OF convenience, of worldly advantage,
of the qualification of passion. or by
the light and easy estimate of the con-
sent of the passing personal fancy and
the mutual recognition of the civil
contract.
1.-THE hope of curing and crushing
the horrible tendencies to facile and
frequent divorce rests, we believe up
on impressing and intoxicating such an
! intense conviction of what marriage
4 is, and of what marriage means, that
/ it will cease to be entered into 'un-
advisedly or light; that the festivity
which accompanies it shall be sobered
and consecrated by the conscious
presence Of Him who adorned and
beautiful the marriage at Cana in
Galilee by his presence and first mir
acle that he wrought that neither
man nor woman should dare. to enter
the precincts of betrothal without the
tested certainty of love: without the
full recognition of the mutual duty of
service, forbearance and faithfulness
/ which 1t involves.
What words can we find to express
the adherence which ought to rise in
righteous Indignation against the pres
ent possibilities and the existing facts
Of the divorce habit In America: JUST
1 now polygamous Utah looms large and
ugly in our minds. But we must look
nearer home to realize the true condi-
ton OF things. The proportion of div
! corces to marriages in 1902 in eight
states reporting statistics is as follows:
In Maine, ] to s; in New Hampshire !
/ 10 SO. in Vermont. ] to 10; in Massa :
chusetts. ! to 16; in Rhode Island, / to
s: in Ohio. ] to SIS; in Indiana, / to
4 7.6; in Michigan. to IL. In these
! states there has been a steady and
/ rapid increase in divorces during the
! decade. ard this increase is believed to
be true of the country at large.
/ I'VE are pleading for the home. for
/ the family. for the children born and to
/ be born. for the protection OF society
and for the preservation of the state.
4 We ask you to unite With us in an
| earnest effort, SO that more and more
4 4. 49, 4 /