The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1910-10-15
He Says the Laxness of Divorce
Laws Are a Disgrace
to America.
Womanhood is Being Degraded and
Home Life is Becoming .,.
Impossible. N"
A Kindly, Charming Man, Cardinal.
Logue Sorrows for Americas
Great Evil.

An interview with Cardinal Logus
published in last Sundays Minneap.
oils Tribune by Edward Marshall 10
a timely criticism of the alarming
spread of divorce in this country. Car.
dinal Logue's words are doubly in.
teresting since they come from the
lips Of one who is in perfect sym.
pathy with America and man who
comes from country where divorce
is practically unknown.
You do not seem to have Chris
tian idea of marriage at all" said the
Cardinal slowly. II am sorry to say
such thing about people whose
guest am, but you soy that you are
willing to accept the blame. I would
not wish to have Americans think me
discourteous. Your marriages seem,
in many cases, to be mere expert.
ments. What is it about your people
which creates this state of things?
] do not know. / cannot possibly
| imagine. In this unfortunate condi.
tion you stand quite alone.
| "ln Italy there has been much talk
about unhappy marriages, and for .
time there was discussion of divorce
as the one remedy. From All aides
came call for legislation which
would permit divorce, and finally laws
we're demanded even in the kings
speech. After this such laws were
passed. But in little while, after
the nation had had time to think about
it, revulsion came. This grew. Be-
fore long the whole country was In
fierce revolt against the institution.
Even the free-thinkers-of whom
| there are too many now in Italy
came out definitely in opposition, and
enough influence was brought to bear
to kill the evil shortly after it was
born.
divorce! 1t is a dreadful thing.
1t brutalizes men and degrades wom-
anhood. You must get rid of it II
you would prosper spiritually and SO.
cially. AS 1t is, as l have said, it
seems to me that you have no proper
idea of marriage at all. The Catholic
church condemns divorce and does not
weaken, because it knows the dread.
full evils Of the institution.
Our Marriage Experiments.
"Your marriages." he said slowly,
seem to be experiments only. Di.
vorce can end them at any time for
any cause or for no cause. And that
destroys the family, and what de.
stroys the family destroys society.
| Again l say you seem to have no
Christian idea of marriage at all.
There are two evils in America
which give it unique distinction,
and they are not widely separated in
their character One of them is the
polygamy of the Mormons, out in Salt
Lake City, and the other is the polyg-
amy and polyandry of your other citi-
zens in almost every other portion Of
IIl0 COuuLIyS uuo " Cul6 Pei cIAACAVu6
possibility of wholesale divorce. Nor
monism is bitterly condemned by the
very folk who most vigorously sup
port the other horror; but Mormon
ism has its advantages when COM
pared to the system of polygamy
which so obtains in other parts of the
United States.
"The Mormons have number OF
wives, contrary to Christian prin-
ciples; but they look after them and
take care of their children. They
shirk no responsibilities. The 4di-
vorced man who remarries has num-.
ber of wives, contrary to Christian
principles, and cares for neither them
nor their children. The only differ
ence which I can see between the
pclygamy of the Norman and the
polygamy of the divorced is that the
Mormon's is simultaneous polygamy,
while the divorced mans is succes-
sive polygamy. Of the two, the hrst
is better; but they both are wrong
all wrong! issss
II am worried for Your welfSfe.
There is a loosening here of theaye