Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1911-01-10
DIVORCE in ISLANDS
"iGOcES" cHLY PASS vn EISNTS
OF CHILDREN.
Wien Separation Of an iearrote
Couple is Inevitable, Both the Hus.
band and Wife Share Equal
iy-the Property.

IF you women want equal rights.
ro's better 40 out to Luzon." The man
i'om the Philippines had been listen
hg to the militant suffragist for the
last hour and half and had Just got
IN his word. up in the province of
Eenguet there. where the little Igar-
r"TsS live. they've got 1t down to a
i.:e Point. Remarkable people those
mountain savages
They've already settled lot of
things our Socialist friends are trying
row to get the rest Of us advanced
enough to accept They're so progress
sive in these things that they're clear
back at the beginning again. For in
stance, they've got George Meredith's
tcn-year trial marriage beat by a one
year experiment. It's very success.
full. too. And divorce-that's the SIM
plcst thing In the world with them
and quite fair to the woman, too.
1T doesn't happen very often, but
when 1t does the community steps in
to see that there's fair play. The
ouknans. or chiefs. act as judges in
the matter: not to decide whether
they have right to part-that's en-
tirely a personal matter for them to
settle-but to see that there's fair
division Of the children and the prop.
erty. There was a divorce case on
while | was up there. in funny little
village Of wooden huts. perched up
higher In the mountains than ever the
pines care to climb.
THE couple were separating on the
score of compatability-yes, they're
progressive enough for tbat-and as
the land up so high Is pretty arid 1t
didn't take long to go into the prop
erty question. There were four chill.
dren. 80 that was all right. too.
don't know what would happen If
ther" were three or five I'm such n
Gaze: perhaps they'd resort to Solo.
mon Judgment.
AT any rate. the hitch came in the
question OF the house. There was
only one OF 1t and naturally both
needed 1t. or course. you think the
man should have given way, but WON.
ans equality is too absolute ont there
to have any nonsensical notions about
chivalry.
WELL 1t ended quite peaceabIy, at
any rate. In their honeymooning days
they had built the house together, so
now they simply repeated the perform.
ance with equal labor, hanging 4 C..
ond little wooden hut with a shaggy
roof over their perpendicular comote
bed. Whether they we're reunited by
this reminder OF their youth and early
love Is more than | can say, though. OF
course. that's the proper sequel to the
tale.
The women have the same indie.
pendent rights of earning money or
food as the men and they 20 about Il
In the same way. You can see them
any day gging up the sweet pota.
toes that grow In little patches all
over the mountain ridges, or wadIng
waist deep In the mucky rice field
that terrace the slopes or climbing up
the paths with loaded wicker cage
on their backs like any man polista.
Sometimes II Is father and some
times mother who looks after the
house after the housewOrk and the fat
naked babics-sometimes the lean
family dogs. II 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. hahy gi''l fs welcomed into n
family Her Ifarrote parents are quite
as delighted with her as n she we're n
boy-.herc's no disadvantage to her in
her sex; that II. as far az her people
are concerned"