The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1910-02-03

~ Puplit uiSCuSSlOnS. Never IN history
has 1t occupied so completely the center
of the stage.
various reasons are brought forward
as to the cause. Some say that mar
rfage is taken lightly because divorce
IS SO easy; others that divorce Is easy
because marriage Is taken lightly. 9th
erS contend that we have not so strict
a national conscience as formely; that
our IDEAS of right and wrong are not
SO clear and high. Still others blame it
on the unrest of women Undoubtedly
these last are named ADAM.
PROBABLY all these reasons enter to
some extent into the cause. Marriage
today has been robbed of much of IT'S
sacredness and mystery. Never In his
tory mas all its problems been so thor
oughly sifted, all its pros and cons
discussed, all its advantages and dis
~adVantage brought into the limelight.
m romance enshrouded 1t before
the vows were taken and the veil dis
creetly drawn afterward. If troubles
and quarrels arose, it was behind the
closed doors of the home. Now they
are aired differently before the public
in courts of law. 1t has thus lost to
some extent its sacredness in the pub-
lie eye and divorce is no longer a dis
grace. This light view of marriage or
this easy way of taking divorce has no
DOUBT something to do with the prevail
ence of divorce.
0N NNtSi SoIiSCltIlCe Is also re-"
forming. Our ideals OF right and wrong
on some subjects are in a state of tran
sltlon. When standards are shifting.
there Is always more or less breakage.
But In the new without doubt. there
VIII be a gain. When the smoke of bat
tie mas cleared away, 1t will be seen
that there is an advance. Marriage
itself VIII be on a higher plane than
formerly, one that means greater han
piness for both the man and TIE wom-
an. But no doubt at present it helps
the divorce mill to grind.
The unrest of women has undoubt-
eddy much to do with the present in
crease of divorce. But 1t Is the unrest
OF women coupled with mans lack of
understanding of the cause of this UNI
rest and his unwillingness to grant
what she asks. Women are at present
in a safe of ferment. They are be-
ginning to realize their powers and
what life offers to them as their in
~dividuality is developed. The world is
theirs now as much as it ever was a
mans. n this liberty is going a bit
to their head. Foremrly they had to
endure and endure silently. Now the
divorce court Is ready to strike off their
letters. This very fact makes at times
letters seem irksome that really are
not.
II men accepted his changing at
titude of women toward life. admitted
that she has right to some extent on
her ! d n shaped their course ac-
cordingly, there wouldn't be so many
divorces. But they don't. They go on
heedlessly after the old fashion and the
Independent thinking woman rebels
Formerly woman yielded because she
couldn't do anything else. Now she
doesn't. >
But underlying all these surface
causes Is the real root which. after all.
strikes down to character. Selfshness.
pure and simple. lack of f~orbearance.
lack OF self control are the seeds from
which all the trouble grows. 1t is sell
fishness on the mans part in wanting
ms way In wanting his wife to live her
lie according to his notions; s~elhshness
In the woman in wanting TO devotion her !
individuality at the expense of his hap
piness. She, to be sure, has more rights
on her side, for In the long run the
more that women are developed the
better for the nation. The woman
whose extravaganza drives a man to
he divorce court is selfish. The man
who Is cruel or Indifferent until she can
no longer bear 1t, Is selfish.
The lack of f~orbearance, the lack of
self control underlie the laxity of view
IN regard to marriage. "Oh! it isn't
worth while to put up with each other"
the disagreeing parties conclude. 1--WE
can get a divorce"
The shifting. unsteady ideas of the
day as to right and wrong seem to
give sanction to the proceeding. A
thinks she is right in demand
ing recognition of her individuality.
A man thinks he is doing a moral
wrong In living with a woman he no
longer loves.
They make no effort to weather the
storm. as in the past because today,
when the clouds gather, the win rises
and the white caps begin to show their
teeth, 1t has become the easy fashion
to make for the divorce court harbor.
In the past the effort would have been
l,iade To ride out the storm, and In
nine cases out of ten 1t proved to be
but a passing gust that did no great
damage.
Unselfshness, forebearance and self
control are the ballast needed for the
matrimonial voyage and equal GUAM
titles for each passenger embarking.
With these on board and love for the
captain, the most violent storm can
be outridden Witho t any recourse to
the divorce court.
74A~ a