Los Angeles herald., 1907-04-22

- 10 OhAN ihlL OOnet Ile hUWsVUV
schedules already received are
furnishing to experts Of the census
bureau factors for estimates that are
startling. So striking are these re-
turns that Director North has made a
rule that no figures must be given out
until the census is completed. The un-
welcome conclusion has been reached
that there has been I'm recent years a
large Increase of divorces throughout
the country.
The inquiry now being made was
authorized by the last congress in its
first session at the request of Pres-
dent Roosevelt. In his message asking
that the divorce census be authorized
the president said:
THE institution of marriage is of
course at the very foundation of our
social organization, and all influences
that affect that institution are of vital
concern to the people of the whole
country. There Is a widespread con-
viction that the divorce laws are dam
gerously lax and indifferently admins
tered in some Of the states, resulting
In diminishing regard for the sane
tity Of the marriage relation"
A divorce census was taken in 1887
by the general government. 1t covered
the years from 1866 to 1887, and at
best was incomplete, being not the
work Of the regular census officials,
but of the department Of labor, OF
which Carroll d. Wright was the head.
The present divorce census begins
with January 1, 1887, and includes De-
cember 81, 1905, making a twenty-year
period comparable with the years em-
braced in the Wright census. In the
work now going on there are 120 field
agents employed. They are scattered
all over the country engaged in copying
from the records of courts having juris
diction the data of the million of di-
vorce suits that have been brought In
all parts of the United States since
1887 The magnitude of the task may
be seen at glance. The agent is sent
to every county seat of the 2900 in the
country to examine the dockets of the
courts which grant divorces Every
divorce suit brought must be taken
separately and described in full. The
schedule must state in what country
the parties were married, the date of
marriage date of separation, date of
filing petition, whether husband or wife
is libellant, how notice was served,
whether or not the case was contested
or the decree granted, the date of the
latter, the number of years the parties
were married, the cause for which the
divorce was granted, whether the cause
was intemperance, directly or indirect
ly; the kind of divorce, absolute or lim-
tied; the number of children, both those
from the union in question and those
of former marriages, that may be af-
fected; whether or not alimony was
sought and granted, the occupation of
husband and wife, and the residence
of the libellee.
The purpose of the inquiry is strictly
statistical, and it is not intended that
anything like a record of individual
cases shall be made. The names of the
parties to a divorce suit are never |
taken. Each case is hunted up in the
dockets and traced along through to
the conclusion, all the answers to the
questions indicated above being Sc
cured from the pleadings and orders |
made in the case. Much of this work |
has been secured from county clerks |
and clerks Of various courts. Their |
special knowledge of various trials, the |
causes assigned and the evidence taken |
is relied on for accuracy and for a |
saving of time. Caution has been en-
phasized in the matter of stating |
causes of divorce proceedings, as often |
one cause may be assigned and total |
ly different one may have been estab-
lished in the testimony. In many cases
the evidence in support of cross bill
furnishes a new cause for divorce,
which must be stated. Every case
bears a number, which will enable any |
one having access to the schedule to |
verify the suit in the court where it |
was brought.
Rural Sections Show Increase
The most astonishing fact that ap- |
pears in the returns thus far made is |
that divorce has increased many times |
more rapidly in the rural sections than |
in the cities. 1t has been the impress |
sion, both in this country and in Eu- |
rope, that urban life produced more |
frequently the conditions that led to
the divorce court. While this state |
ment is made on high authority in the
census bureau, it is also to be said |
that the figures show that there has
been slight abatement of the divorce |
evil except in few places, and a
general increase in most cities through |
out the United States.
For instance, Chicago, which is
called the "divorce center" of the
country, in the twenty years from 1885
to 1887 showed 73 divorces in every
100000 of population, and in the last
twenty years has furnished 1872 di-
vorces in every 100000 Of her popula-
tion. Some idea of the enormous
number of marital disturbances in the
western metropolis may be had from
the statement that in the first census
period there We're S136 divorces grant |
ed, while in the second period there
We're 43658 applications and 31,785 di- |
vorces granted, as far as now re-
ported. The census bureau officials |
expect that when the court records are |
all copied it will appear that there was |
not less than $4,000 applications for |
divorce in Chicago in the two decades |
covered by the inquiry.
In other cities, so far as the re- |
turns approach anything like COM
pleteness, with the possible exception |
of New York, the same increase ap- |
pears. Boston, in the Wright census, |
had 40 divorces to every 100000 popu-
lation; in the estimated proportion de- |
duced from figures now coming in the |
number has increased to 63.
Philadelphia presents an even more |
surprising increment of marital un- |
happiness, the numbers changing from |
20 In the first period to So in the sec
ond. New York, on the other hand, |
will, it is expected, show a reduced |
number of divorces in the last double |
decade. The number was 81 to every |
100000 of population during the per- |
iod from 1866 to 1887 The returns are |