The National tribune., 1909-03-25

of our body polite, there Is no end 10
the opinions expressed by both clergy
and laity. People think so differently
on this all-important subject. Some
very good people, indeed, who look
upon divorce with the highest disfavor
and as most regrettable under any cir
cun1stances, yet believe that two people
should not continue to live together
when love has taken his flight, and lives
are not only made wretched in conse-
quence. but are robbed of all inspira-
| ton or incentive for better and fuller
development. There is no incentive for
a man or woman to make the best of
! himSt D. or herself like a happy love,
and, ~ the other hand, there is Moth
! ing which utterly kills such develop
| ment and seems to call into existence
so many hateful and altogether unlove-
ly traits as the death of love. Its flight
is like the opening of Pandora's box.
Others there are, like Supreme COURT
Justice Morscfauser, of Poushkeepsie,
N: ", who believe that no matter what
the provocation, a man and woman,
having taken the holy VOWS of matri-
mony, should live together until death
releases them from those VOWS. In
recent case, in which Judge Morschaus-
er refused to grant divorce, he said
that it was the policy of the law to
keep husband and wife together, and
not. to encourage separation. In this
ClilulGut NHGn d man
or woman is unhappily married the
suffering party must bear in some de-
gree the consequence of mistaken
fancy, and If nothing can be done to
alleviate the situation both must suffer
in silence The courts 60 not pretend
to furnish cures for all the miseries of
human life, tho many people seem to
think they have been established for
that sole purpose. They can punish
gross violations of duty, but that should
be the extent of their power, as far as
matrimonial troubles are concerned, so
thinks Judge Morschauser. While many
people probably regard the views of this
jurist as extrenfe, and as going too far
in the other direction, are they not
much safer and infinitely to be pre-
ferred to those easy divorce ideas which
prevail over the country? In the days
of our grandmothers such a thing as
divorce was practically unknown. Yet
human nature was the same, and the
mischievous little god as fond of bring
ing the wrong man and woman togeth-
er as he is to-day. Uncongenial mating
was not uncommon, but men and wo-
men made the best of their mistakes
and lived their lives together in digni-
fled silence. And, in many instances.
too, the conditions which rendered
them so unhappy during so many years
of their married life gradually passed
as old age approached, and the mutual
effort made to accept the situation was
rewarded by the springing up in their
hearts of respect and kindly regard
for each other. That sort of thing
would happen to-day if divorce were
not permitted and people were obliged
to accept with as good grace as possi-
BILE the matrimonial failure. Many of
the old ideas were far preferable to our
up-to-date, 20th-century ones. and this
attitude toward divorce held by our
forebears made for better men and
women tnan those born and brought up
under our present easy divorce laws.
It is. of course, our proud boast that
America is the land of the free and
is that our forefat1ers, when they pre-
sented us with a country which held
out protection alike to the rich and
poor and opportunities for all, did not
intend that We should share our privi-
leges with the criminal classes of Eu-
rope and the world Our immigration
laws have been so easy that -nurdeTers
OF the worst kind and all classes of
Offenders against the law have fiocked
TO our shores to make their homes in
our midst. All over the country are
little nests of Anarchists. Black Hand
men, members OF the Mafia the Camor-
ra ana other criminal organizations of
Italy and Sicily. The recent murder of
Lieut. Joseph Petrosino, of the New
forR Poilce Force, was the direct re-
SUIT OF our admitting INTO the country
,frIIIs dangerous class. Lieut.. Petrosino
was the best known Of New York's de-
tectiyes. He had been on the police
force for over 26 years He had devoted
himself for some time past to the run
ming down of dangerous Italians and
Sicilians, and in having them impris-
oned or deported. Being an Italian
himself, he was particularly well adapt
ed for this work. The Black Hand and
Malta fellows he watched as a cat does
a mouse. Naturally he was hated and
dreaded by his criminal countrymen,
who had come to this country to get
a living by blackmail. kidnapping, etc
He never considered his own safety,
but would pursue suspected man even
into the very jaws of death. He was
murdered in Palermo. He had gone
over to Italy and Sicily to effect CO.
operation between the police depart
ments of the Sicilian cities where the
criminal classes congregate and those
OF our great cities. He was often ham,
pered by not being able TO find out the
true history of some criminal whom he
mad run down here. Petrosino died az
brave death as any soldier on the
battlefield. He was powerfully built
rather stupid-looking man, quiet and
unobtrusive under ordinary circum-
stances, but all fire and energy when
it came to a question of his work. His
one pastlme seems to have been the
opera. On those nights when Italian
opera was given at the Metropolitan his
stout figure, neatly dressed, could al
ways be found leaning on the railing
among those who had not taken seats
He played the violin very well. 1t is
said that he and his men have brought
about over 500 convictions. He was in
his 4sth year.
John Armstrong Chanler or Chalon-
er, as he calls himself. whether mental
ly unbalanced or not, was the hero in a
tragedy which occurred at his Virginia
home, Merry Mills" on the afternoon
of March 16. Mr.. ChanIer has been
very much in the limelght. He is quite
unique in his way. AS the wealthy, &C.
centric young man who became and
remained for few years the husband
OF the gifted but also rather eccentric
writer, Amelie Rives, then as the VIC
tlm, as he says, of a picked plot con-
ceiVed by his own family to get control
OF his fortune, by means of which he
was clapped into an insane asylum, he
is wei known to all newspaper readers
The tragedy with which his name is
now connected was an ugly one. An
Englishman, embittered by the buffet
ing of fortune, had settled in the neigh
porhood OF Mr.. Chanler. Mr.. ChanIer
was sorry for the family and was kind
to them ALL performing many little
friendly ser.ices for them. Morose and
lbad-tempered, the Englishman frequent
ly maltreated his poor wife, and on tho