Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1910-11-18
DIVORCE IN ISLANDS
"JUDGEs" ONLY PASS ORR RIGHTS
OF CHILDREN.
When separation Of an lgarrote
Couple Is Inevitable, Both the Hus.
Sand and Wife Share Equal
. . " the Property.

III you women want equal rights,
yoH better so out to LuZon." The man
i!om the Philippines had been listen.
-" 10 the militant sufragist for the
PC: 80, "a aI.,i an. had IN got
:. AS word. up in the province of
Eenguet there, where the little Igar-
rotes live. they've got it down to a
ME Eoint. Remarkable people those
mountain savages
hcyVc already settled q lot of
Things our Socialist friends are trying
now TO get the rest of us advanced
ehorgh to accept. They're so progress
slVe IN these things that they're clear
pack at the beginning again. For in
stance. they've got George Meredith's
ten-year trial marriage beat by one
year experiment. It's very success
lul. too. And divorce-thats the sim
piest thing in the world with them
and quite fair to the woman, too
ii doesn't happen very often, hut
when 1t does the community steps in
10 see that there's fair play. The
ouknans. or chiefs, act as judges in
the matter: not to decide whether
they have a right to part. that's en-.
tlrely a personal matter for them to
sette-out to see that there's a fair
division OF the children ami the prop.
erty. There was a divorce case on
"hile l was up there, in. a funny little
village OF wooden huts. rel ched I'D
higher in the mountains than ever the
pines care to climb.
The couple were separatiug ON the
scor' OF incompatability-y they're
progressive enough for that-and as
the land up so high is pretty arid 1t
didn't take long to go into the prop-
cry question. There were four chill.
uren' so that was all right, too
don't know what would hNpren If
ther" were three or five in such a
case; perhaps they'd resort to a Solo.
mon Judgment
AT any rate. the hitch came in the
question OF the house. There was
only one of it and naturally both
needed it. OF course, you think the
man should have given way, but WON.
an equality IS too absolute Out there
10 nave any nonsensical notions about
chivalry.
wen, 1t ended quite peaceably, at
any rate. In their honeymooning DAYS
they had built The house together. so
Ho" 'hty simply repeated the perform
ahce with eqEal labor, hanging a sec
ond little wooden hut with a shaggy
ROOF over their perpendicular comote
bed. Whether they were reunited bv
tnls reminder of TIC youth and ear-v
love is more than can say. though, OF
course. that's the proper sequel to the
tale
me women have the same indie.
pendeht rights of earning money Or
Ioou as the men and they go about II
IN inc same way You can see them
any day digging mp the sweet pota-
toes tEGt grow in little matches all
over the mountain ridges. or wod:ny
waist deep in the mucky rice fields
.hat terrace the slopes or climbing I'D
the fatbs with loaded wicker cage
on the!r backs like any man polista.
sometimes 1t is father and some.
times mother who looks after the
mouse after the housework and the fat
naked babiCs-sometimes the lean
family dogs. 1t all depends on which
member OF the household is the tired.
est-that one gets the easy work for
awhile. It's very pretty to see the
way hahv girl is welcomed into a
family Her Igarrote parents are quite
as delighted with her as if she were a
ooy-there's no disadvantage to her in
her sex: that it. as far as her people
are concerned"