The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1904-02-03
THE WOMEN AND THE DIVORCE
EVIL.

In tackiing the divorce evil and declaring
its purpose to make the anti-divorce propa-
ganda not only a national. but an interna-
tional, movement. the National Council Of
Women has shown it's ability to recognize
and its courage in attacking one of the
most insidious and dangerous evils of the
times. IL might almost be called the Amer
lean evil. for divorces are so much more
easily obtained and are, beyond COMPARE
son, so much more common in this country
than in any other that the evil may fairly
be designated as a national one
IL is worthy of remark that while the
United States has made steady and con-
tinuous progress in every other field Of
legislation and in every branch Of social
reform it has steadily refrigerated in the
matter OF divorce legislation and in the
ethics and practice pertaining to the sub
Ject. Ii is much easier to obtain a divorce
in this country now than ii was a hundred
years ago. public opinion and judicial action
on the subject are far more lax. and the
percentage of divorces to marriages is be-
yond comparison greater. Therefore, it
may be truly said that as a nation and
people we have been retrograding on this
subject almost from the foundation of the
government. In England, prior to 1858. a
divorce could be obtained only by act of
Parliament, and even now they are only
granted for the gravest cause. In France
the idea that marriage Is the basis Of the
existing social order and that society is
interested In its maintenance is kept con-
stantly in view The United States is the
only country where divorces are granted
almost freely as dog licenses are issued,
and when, in the absence of statutory
cause, the whims and caprices of either
party serve as grounds.
The laws of the different States on the
more conservative than in others. but il is
too lax everywhere. In South Carolina di-
vorce is not granted on any grounds what
ever. either by courts OF justice or by leg
isative acts. BY holding to this position
South Carolina may lose the divorce pat
Western States. but she maintains a higher
standard of the marriage tie and the family
relation than exists in many other States.
In Georgia divorce is only granted after the
same verdict has been reached by two
juries at different terms of the court. The
laws and the practice in the Southern
States generally are more strict than those
of the Northern.
In the twenty years from 1867 to 1856 there
were 32s, 716 divorces granted in the United
States, and during the last twenty years
the number has greatly increased. During
the period named the population of the
United States increased about so per cent,
while the number of divorces increased 157
per cent. At present the percentage of di-
vorces to population and to marriages is
several times greater in this country than
in Europe. England has but one divorce
court, Germany has one in each of twenty
eight judicial districts and France one in
each of seventy-nine departments. In the
United States there are nearly 5000 coun-
ties. and courts OF divorce in nearly all of
them.
The loosening of the marriage tie and the
easy granting of divorces is one of the most
threatening evils in this country 1t has
reached a point that calls for reform, and
there is peculiar fitness in a national or
ganization of women undertaking to pro-
mote the movement.