The Irish standard., 1908-05-23

praised by every ono, by many not
yet willing to admit that they share
it. Six years ago when great out
burst OF Indignation against poly
gamy had been provoked by tho ap.
pearance of q Mormon to take a seat
in the House of Representatives.. to
which he had been elected, asked on
This very platform, where was the diff
ference between polygamy which Nor
monism sanctioned, and tho plurality
of marriages permitted by divorce? If
there were any actual differences be-
tween them, l venturcd to say it was
in favor of polygamy, because there
ut least every wife that i, man took he
was compelled to keep The mouth
that he coveted he was forced to feed,
and this operated to reduce tho num-
Der of his induIgenccs. But under
the system of. divorce permitted by
nearly all the states, man is al
lowed to take his wives in succession.
The wife of whom he tires he can dis
card; and 1 could sec no advant-
age in a system under which a man
could drive his wives tandem, over
one where he must drive them
abreast.
The statement was vehenently crit
icised at tho time Today every ono
comedies divorce is threatening the
very foundations of society. States
nlanship is largely occupied in trying
to avert the peril it involves, but it is
still seeking for some place short OF
complete adhesion to the Catholic doc
satisfied. But there is none. | said
then. and say now, that regulation of
a thing inherently vicious cannot re-
duce it's Objectionable features, but
must increase them. The method of
regulating divorce which finds most
favor in the eyes of men sincerely
anxious to restrict this evil is the ex-
tension throughout the country of the
system fixed by law in this state which
permits divorce solely on account of
adultery of one of the parties. But it
must be obvious that such a system
merely imposes a qualification or con-
dition upon polygamy, and that quali-
fication is the prior commission of
adultery. 1t prohibits the commission
Of single crime, but encourages the
commission of two crimes. Does any,
body suppose that man intent upon
polygamy would hesitate at adultery ?
If the parties are permitted to dis
sc!ve the marriage relation at all, it
is better that they should be allowed
to dissolve it without requiring the
commission of a prior crime.
Exterminate the Foul Thing.
To prohibit divorce is not to estab-
lish any new principle i'll dealing with
contracts. We impose limitations on
contracts now where an agreement be.
tween the parties would conflict with
the policy of the state. The state
won't permit a man to make a con-
tract by which he would forfeit his
liberty. A contract of servitude would
be held against public policy and set
aside. If the state will not allow a
man to contract himself into servitude
neither should man be allowed to
| contract himself out of matrimony.
No one can be forced into it. No one
once entering it should be allowed to
leave it. Nothing short Of complete
extirpation, root and branch, finally
and forever, of the foul thing from
the political system will satisfy the
conscience of Christianity or insure
the safety of the state.
In her stand for the integrity of the
family the Church has already the
sympathy Of the country, even though,
as yet her attitude has not the sup-
port of statute law. In her attitude
on education she is still at variance
with the prevailing system. But even
here the clouds Of distrust are break
ing and clearer skies arc already dis.
cernible.
The Church Has the Sympathy Of the
Country.
Because the Church believes that
the system of education now fur
nished by the state is not adequate
for proper preparation of youth to dis
charge the duties Of citizenship eff
GENTLY, to bear it's burdens loyalty
and enjoy its fruits wisely, she has
been accused Of hostility to educa
tion. Had she been indeed the foe
of learning she need not have raised a
hand against it. She need but have
remained passive, Indifferent, and all
education would have Disappeared
There would have been no schools, no
learning, no literature. 1t was in her
inonasteries that the lamp of learning
was kept alight, while the barbarian