The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1910-01-12

ing divorce, Is not ordinarily an avail
able ground, although In Utah six
divorces have been granted to hus-
bands for neglect to provide. Cru
city, although not infrequently the
ground for divorces granted to hus-
bands, Ia more often existent as the
cause for the wlfe's application. Five
divorces for cruelty are granted to the
wife for every one granted to the hus-
band.
Descrtion Commoncst Ground.
The most common single ground
for divorce Is desertion. This ac-
counted for nearly SO per cent. OF all
the divorces granted In the twenty
years. IL Is rather remarkable that
almost oae-half OF all those granted
to husbands were for desertlon, while
IN the cases of the wives only one
third
The next most important ground
for divorce is for husbands, adultery,
and for wives, cruelty. or the di-
yorces granted to husbands, 2S per
cent. were for adultery Of the wife,
and OF those granted to wives q per
cent. for cruelty on the part Of the
husband Only 10 per cent. OF tho
divorces granted to wives were for
adultery of the husband, and 10 per
cent. of the divorces granted to hus-
bands were for cruelty or the part OF
tho wife.
Three-fourths Of all the divorces
granted In the United states are for
one or the other of the three great
causss-dessrtion, cruelty and adul-
tory--and their frequency Is In the
order named. or all the cases in
twenty years the percentage was:
Dasertion, $50; cruelty, 2t.S; adul-
terry, 1G.3. All other grounds FOR
action, such as drunkenness, neglect
to provide and many other legal
charges figure only In small fractions.
Adultery Is the only ground on
which the number OF divorces granted
to tho husband exceeds tho number
granted to the wife. This difference
may be attributed to tho probability
that the offense when committed By
the vlfo Ia less likely to be condoned
and perhaps more likoly to be dis
covered. Public sentiment doubtless
condemns the ofiense in the wife more
strongly than in tho husband, and
possibly the courts are in some degree
Influenced thereby.
Tho enormous increase In divorce
in recent years Is almost wholly in
the less serious charges of desertlon
and cruelty.
Few Cases Contested.
Only Is per cent. of the cases
brought in twenty years were con-
tested, and in many of these the
contest was merely formality. The
wife more frequently contests than
the husband. Cruelty heads the list
of contested grounds and desertlon Is
at the foot. Alimony Is asked in
about two cases In every fifteen and
granted in two cases out Of twenty
two.
A most interesting phase OF the
question is how long marriages last
before divorce is granted. Owing to
the laws delay and the time required
before a decree can be obtained, the
percentage is small in the first two
years of married life, although many
couples separate very quickly. The
highest figures are reached after
three and four years OF married life,
and then gradually decreases. More
than one-half of all divorces are
granted before the end OF the ninth
year.
The rapidity with which matters
come to a crisis in the married career
is indicated by statistics of the time
when they actually separate before
applying to the courts. More separa-
tions occur in the first and second
years of married life than in any sub
sequent year. BY the end of the
flfth year more than half OF all the
separations have taken place.
The Federal inquirers were not
able to obtain complete data about
the occupations of divorced persons,
but from the partial figures collected
they were able to show that actors
and professional showmen head the
list in proportion to their numbers.
with musicians and teachers of music
coming next. Commercial travellers
rank third. Divorce is least frequent
among agricultural laborers and
'clergymen.
The courts have granted on an
average three out of every four di-
vorce petitions filed.