Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-26
BOAST OF C0MMERCIALISM
Happily the 0ld-Fashioned Social
Conservatism Is Preserved.
DIVORCE NOT RECOGNIZED
Almost Unique individuality Of the
City-The Bells Of st. Aichael's.
Tendencies Inherited.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and tho
Chicago Record Herald.

ssS
Chicago Record Herald.
CHARLESTON. S. c., March Is. 1908.
Many changes have taken place IN
Charleston during the last few years. and
many more are contemplated. but 1t is to
be hoped that the almost unique individ-
uality OF this city will not be destroyed.
The conserva tism. the family pride the
eminent responsibility" which have been
estimated Of more value than wealth and
notoriety, have often been the objects OF
satire and have provoked ridicule from
thoughtless people. just as some small
boys have been naughty enough to throw
stones at their grandmothers. But these
rare qualities that are no longer found
except here and in one or two other old
fashioned southern towns like Savannah
and Mobile. inspire the respect and ad-
miration Of thoughtful people who do
not entirely accept the materianstic
standards Of Judgment.
Rigid Social Laws.
The aristocracy of Charleston is the
real thing, and while some Of its daugh-
tiers have married foreign nobemen and
many Of it's sons have acquitted wealth.
it's recognition has been reserved for peo-
pie who have something besides rank
and money to recommend them. No
stranger can break into society" here
without the proper credentials. No dis
reputable duke can dine or dance with
the daughters Of the first families of
this city; no notorious woman fs per-
mitted to breathe the same atmosphere.
and adventures make little progress In
this community.
Divorce is not recognized in South Caro-
lima. The constitution Of the state de-
clares that divorce from the bonds Of
matrimony shall not be allowed in this
state" No conditions or exceptions or
extenuating circumstances are accepted.
In the constitutional convention OF 1905
an attempt was made to modify that In
exorable provision. but 1t failed utterly.
The constitution Of 1863. which was In
force but a few years. authorised divorce
for adultery and desertion. but public
sentiment would not permit the courts to
apply the law. and there Is only one In
stance on record in which q decree was
granted. Nor will a divorced person be
received by the best Charleston society.
No amount Of gliding can restore the rep
utation of a woman who has been UNI
faithful to one husband. even II she may
love, honor and obey another.
No person who denies the existence OF
a Supreme Being can hold office In South
Carolina. and infidels and agnostics are
no more recognized socially. than those
who violate the seventh commandment.
the property rights of women are equal
to those of men. The real and personal
estate of a married woman Is always her
separate and distinct possession. and she
has just as much independent power over
it as she would have were she unmar-
ried
These and similar moral and ethical
principles have been considered by many
people as old-fashioned as the one-mule
street cars that used to furnish trans-
portation and the buzxards which have
been the exclusive scavengers Of Charles
ton for two centuries. The mule cars
have been abolished and replaced by one
Of the best trolley systems In the south,
structed which may deprive the sacred
birds of a part OF their emoluments. That
Is the Inevitable result Of progress.
This Is perhaps as good place as any
to recall an important geological phenom-
enon to which l referred In letter from
the publication has been forgotten al
though the fact has lost none of Its i'm
portance. The streets Of Charleston, and
the passages that surround the city mar
municipal treasury by a flock Of indus
trious buzzards. who come soaring in from
their eyries in the pine forests and per-
form their task with neatness and dis
patch. And 1t has been observed for
many years that they never appear on
propriety and their pious observance of the
habits of the inhabitants Of Charleston
has been the subject Of much speculation.
The air Is black with the plumage Of the
shadows never fall within the city limits,
and one of the theories 10 that the historic
bells of st. Michael's Church, which have
awakened the people of Charleston since
1864, have warned the buzzards- away.
The Bells Of st. Michael's.
Those are sacred bells; they have an in
teresting history; they have been the
object of q great deal Of attention. At the
.vacuatiorfsof Charleston during the Revo
luton they were taken down and carried
way by the British. The next year Sis
Guy Carleton ordered their Immediate res-
toration. The chimes, however, had been
offered for sale in England and were pur.
chased by a former merchant OF this city
ture.' and shipped home. Upon their
landing the overjoyed citizens hurried
them back into the steeple. In 1888 two
of them were sent to England to be re-
cast In 1862 they were sent to Columbia
for fear of capture by the Yankees. When
ton by Sherman's armies thew were
melted into q shapeless mass. In 1859 the
metal was shipped to London ana recsst
in the original nnoids by the successors
or the 1OuuuOEos dIlO Ou In% cvUtte
ing Of March 81. 1876. the hearts Of all
Charleston were made glad by hearing
the familiar music Of the chimes again in
the strains of Home again. home again.
from a foreign shore"
The rules provide when the chimes
shall be rung; at midnight of December
n. on the death Of the President Of the
United States, or the Governor OF South
Carolina, or the senior bishop OF the Epts-
copal Church. or the bishop OF this do.
cese. or the rector or minister of any
Protestant church in the city. They are
also to be rung on Christmas. Easter,
THANKSGIVING day. and the 22d Of Feb
ruary. the 4th of July. the 2sth OF June,
and on Sundays. And one colored man.
the late Washington Mclean Gadeden.
rang them for sixty-one years until ne
was retired from ONCE in October: 1881.
on a pension. 1t Is therefore not sur
prising that the bu1zards do not APP
day. NV friend James Calvin Hemphill.
editor Of that excellent paper. the
Charleston News and Courier, who Is a
man of rare Judgment and thoughtful OBJ
servation. assures me that there IL an
ther reason for the absence Of the birds
on the Lords day. He says that they re-
main In their nests In the pine forests
ocross the Ashley and Cooper rivers and
far beyond the automobile trails. not only
in obedience to the fourth commandment,
and out Of respect to the habit Of Sunday
observance by the people, but also be-
cause the market Is open only six days
in the week and the streets are bare OF
forage on that day.
The Commercial Spirit.
rhoro was a paragranh IN on> ~ tba