Rock Island Argus., 1906-12-04
MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.
This Whole Question Should Be Regu-
lated by Congress.

/ am well aware of how difficult 1t is
to pass a constitutional amendment.
Nevertheless. in my judgment. the
whole question of marriage and divorce
should be relegated TO the authority of
the national congress. AT present the
wide differences in the laws of the diff
ferent states on this subject result in
scandals and abuses, and surely there
IS nothing so vitally essential to the
welfare of the nation. nothing around
which the nation should so bend itself
to throw every safeguard, as the home
life of the average citizen. The change
would be good from every standpoint.
In particular it would be good because
1t would confer on the congress the
power at once to deal radically and ef
ficiently with polygamy, and this
should be done whether or not mar
riage and divorce are dealt with. 1t is
neither safe nor proper to leave the
question Of polygamy to be dealt with
by the several states. Power TO deal
with 1t should be conferred on the ma
tional government.
When home ties are loosened, when
men and women cease to regard
worthy family life, with all its duties
fully performed and all its responsi-
bilities lived up to as the life best
worth living. then evil days for the
commonwealth are at hand. There
are regions in our land and classes Of
our population where the birth rate
has sunk below the death rate. Sure
IL IL should need no demonstration to
show that wiIlful sterility is. from the
standpoint of the nation, from the
standpoint of the human race, the one
sin for which the penalty is national
death, race death, a sin for which
there is no atOnement, a sin which is
the more dreadful exactly in proper
ton as the men and women guilty
thereof are in other respects. in char
acter and bodily and mental powers,
those whom for the sake of the state
It would be well to see the fathers and
mothers of many healthy children.
well brought up in homes made happy !
by their presence. No man, no wo-
man, can shirk the primary duties of /
life, whether for love of ease and |
pleasure or for any other cause. and !
retain his or her self respect.
American Shipping.
Let me once again call the atten-
ton of the congress to two subjects
concerning which / have frequently |
before communicated with them. One
is the question Of developing American
shipping. / trust that law embody-
ing In substance the views or q major
part of the views expressed in the re-
port on this subject laid before the
house at its last session will be passed.
] am well aware that in former years
measures have been pro-
posed in reference to the encourage
ment Of American shipping. but IL
seems to me that the proposed meas
ure IS as nearly unobjectionable as
any can be. 1t will of course benefit
primarily our seaboard states-such as
Maine, Louisiana and Washington
but what benefits part of our people in
the end benefits all, just as govern
ment aid to irrigation and forestry In
the west is really of benefit not only
to the Rocky mountain states. but TO
all our country. If ii prove imprac-
ticable to enact law for the encour-
agement of shipping generally, then |
1T least provision should be made for
better communication with South |