The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-02-21

Come and earth,s pleasures in vain
Towns in their sordidness sink affair."
Close to our aircraft the hawk Is wing
ing;
And now at our side the lark is singing.
Speeding like dreams Ger the cloud
strewn courses,
we are the saddlemen OF the air;
Dista a at last are the Vaikyrs
Arthur Chapman. in the Denver Repub-
lican.
Uniform Divorce Laws.
The meeting at Washington of the
commissioners on uniform State legis-
| lation is an occasion for the renewal
on the part of many thoughtless per-
sons and ignorant journals of the agi-
tation for the enactment of a uniform
divorce law by all the States or an
amendment to the Federal Constitution
which shall empower Congress to enact
such law.
The objection to this project was well
expressed some time ago by Chief
Judge Cullen, of the court of appeals,
in an address before the Brooklyn Law
School of ST. Lawrence University. in
which he expressed the apprehension
that a uniform divorce law would of
necessity be bad law from our point
Of view in New York.
| In this State we permit absolute di-
vorce only for one cause. marital IN
| fidelity. In most of the other States
sufficient to warrant the dissolution of
| the marriage tie. A uniform divorce
| law would have to be framed in ac-
| cordance with the views on this sub
ject which prevail In majority OF
the States. and hence it would be con-
demned as bad law by public opinion
| in the State of New York. The peo-
pie of this State would never agree
| to the lax divorce laws which pre-
vail in the neighboring Commonwealth
| of Massachusetts or in Connecticut or
Vermont.
| 50 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. What the country needs
| is not a uniform divorce law. but a
uniform law of divorce procedure. 1t
! is only necessary that each State shall
| prohibit the exercise of any juriSdic-
ton by its courts to grant divorce ex-
cept in cases where the marriage took
place or the defendant was served
with the summons within that State.
Such an enactment would leave every
State untrammeled as to the causes
which 1t deemed adequate for divorce
and would practically put an end to
| fraudulent divorce suits; fraudulent,
we mean. because resulting in a
| judgement dissolving the marriage
real notice or any real opportunity to
defend.
A uniform law of divorce procedure
| is within the practical possibilities. We
law prescribing the causes for abso-
| lutte divorce is not.-New York Sun.
Indignant Criminals.
The scientific sympathy that some
time ago pityingly said criminals were
not to be blamed, as they were ire
sponsible, is now used with such free
dom that the slightest irregularity of
4 conduct and every one kindly says:
"Poor soul, he is not quite normal.
Now, that must be very trying for the
people sympathized with. If one has
done a clever, daring, though slightly
unprincipled thing, which has unfor-
it must be to receive nothing but pity
/ ing headshakes. To know ones sell
for an amusing rogue, and to find thai
a row can no longer be kicked up, the
dusty heat of a scuffle refused one, an6
calm solicitude rendered instead! L
must be nightly vexing.
The thing has become SO genera
that there is sure to be revolt against
it and great deal of indulgent under
standing returned to its original own
ers. No one can be blamed if the cir
J responsibilities take a firm stand and
say with some emphasis: 1--WE are no
insane; we may be cads and we un
doubtedly are liars, but we'd have vol
know that we've got ali our wits abou
us, and if we misbehave it's because
that's the line of conduct we like best
and above all we don't want any one t.
, say we are not accountable. We dom
ask for much, but we do say that i
: you're going to call us names, vol
might call US names with some trutl
in them. It's pretty thing for an all
round first class rogue to be treated
like a sick baby, whose bad temper will
pass off If it isn't noticed. You call u
scoundrels from now on, and don't yol
make any mistakes about it; that
what we are-bad New Yorl
Z Evening Sun.