The Bottineau courant., 1905-09-15
POLYGAMY.

Is polyeamy to be luxury Of the
rich alone in the United States? 1t is
so in Turkey and India. Only rich
Mohammedans can afford a plurality
of wives. It was 50 under the early
theocracy of Utah. Only the heads of
the church. enriched by tithes, could
afford several domestic esta blishments.
But all American citizens are guar
anteed equality under the law, equal
ity of privilege, equality of oppor-
tuniy, equality before the courts
of Justice. This is evaded in many
ways, but we do not believe that the
American spirit will permit it to be
evaded in the dear domain Of do
mestic enjoyments. We do not be-
lieve that the rich and influential
classes in the United States will be
able permanently to monopolize the
privilege of plurality of wives and
husbands, the right of exchanging do
mestic partners at will or caprice, the
power of multiplying offspring related
to each other only by the half brother
hood of the Oriental ha1em, says the
Minneapolis Tribune.
1t is true that the possession Of large
wealth facilitates this expansion of
the domestic realm, but we are quite
sure that possessors of less wealth or
none at all will find way to assert
their equality with the rich and pow
erful. Already the divorce habit has
interpenetrated the middle class.
They who cannot afford palaces at
Newport or luxurious apal tments in
Sioux Falls hotels visit convenient
relatives in states of liberal divorce
laws and return home to begin new
noneymoons with new partners. The
law already recognizes the principle
of equality by making divorce in some
states almost as cheap and easy as
marriage.
Below the middle class is still more
defiant assertion of the principle of
American equality in matrimonial en-
ioyment. Persons too obscure to make
scandal and too poor to pay divorce
fees are coming to change husbands
and wives with no less freedom and
more frequency than birds that mate
in the spring. This attracts attention
only when the venial sin of polygamy
is complicated with the crime of muir
der or robbery. The Industrious Hoch
had no difficulty in accumulating a
series of wives until he began killing
them off. The irresistible DR.. Wit
zof, who is mourned by hundred
deserted wives, did not get into
trouble until he became too daring in
his robberies of them.
A comely woman of 30 in Jersey
CITY admits three marriages and boasts
of more still undiscovered, smiling
defiance at the astonished courts.
Tribunals of New York are beseis Led
by wives who have been deserted
without robbery and are simply ad-
vised to make the best of it. The
peculiar scandal of the Witzhoff
case provoked an investigation which
reveals that more than five thousand
women in New York suffered deser
tion a few days after marriage, as
soon as they surrendered their hoard
ed savings to their liege lords.
We read these stories with horror,
after gloating over scandals in the
New York smart set and making ex-
cuses for our own neighbors when
they change husbands and wives as
one changes clothing with change
of season. But what are these crea-
lures doing other than trying to i'm.
itate their betters as we'll as they
can afford and know how. We can
not set up law and practice unde,
which the most important business ot
the human race is conducted with
less order and decency than the
breeding of superior cattle and ex
pect to con6ne its latitude to on,
class Of society alone.
And now Thad Michaels is blamed
for the libel law. q