Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1910-01-25
PROCEDURE ALONE CAN BE MADE
UNIFORM.

The New York Sun does not believe
It possible to secure uniform law
prescribing the causes for absolute
divorce From South Carolina, where
no divorces are granted, to some Of the
free and easy Western states where
any old cause, or no cause at all, is
sufficient to secure a severance
Of the martial bonds, there is too great
a gulf to be bridged Public opinion
in each state varies so greatly as to
the actual causes that should be re-
garded as adequate for a total divorce
that it viii be a most difficult, if not
an actually impossible, thing to bring
about a united opinion throughout the
country in favor of a uniform law. In
New York infideIity alone is held to be
a sufficient reason for the granting Of
an absolute divorce. In many states
to this is added cruel treatment, hab-
ituaI drunkenness, the commission of q
felony, or such incapatuability Of
temperament as threatens nervous
prostration or general health derange-
ment. Those interested in the reform
of our lax divorce system are them
selves divided as to the causes that
should be legally tolerated, only a mi
nority, it is claimed, insisting on rigid
adherence to the so-called ScriptuaI
cause. AS to the great world not clas-
sifad as reformers, the division of
sentiment along this line is probably
even more pronounced and even more
irreconcilable.
The Sun recognizing this pleads for
a union of interests toward the secur-
ing of uniform law of divorce pro-
cedure leaving each state to determine
for itself what causes it shall recog-
nize as adequate for a total divorce.
Discussing this phase of the matter
the Sun has this to say:
So far as the causes for divorce are
concerned we think each state should
be left free to legislate for itself, and
no attempt should be made to secure
uniformity. Il may well be that con-
Nil+OLS JUSTLY d uINOICG III [AIdShd
which would not justify a divorce in
New York. but when we come to the
question Of legal procedure in matri-
mOnial actions the case is different.
The greatest abuses have arisen out
Of the assumption of the courts in
some Of the states to exercise jurisdic-
ton TO grant divorces baee1 upon what
lawyers call Construct ervice Of
process, that is to say Were neither
party is really a resident of the state
in which suit is brought and the de-
PENDANT has no notice of the proceed
ings except by a newspaper publica-
ton of the summons in a distant state.
This is a matter which might well
be dealt with by the conference of I'M
form state legislation What the
country needs is not a uniform di-
Eorce law, but uniform law Of di-
yorce procedure 1t is only necessary
that each state shall prohibit the ex-
ercise of any jurisdiction by its courts
to grant divorce except in cases where
the marriage took place or the de-
PENDANT was served with the summons
within the state. Such an enactment
would leave every stat5 untrammeled
as to the cause which it deemed ade-
quate for divorce and would practic-
ally put an end to fraudulent divorce
suits, fraudulent, we mean, because
resulting in a Judgment dissolying the
marriage without the defendant hav-
ing had any real notice or any real oD-
portunity to defendant