Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1911-03-06
DIVORCE IN ISLANDS
"jGDGES" Only PASS un RIGHTS
OF CHILDREN.
When a se7aratIon Of an Isarrots
Couple Is Inevitable, Both the Hus-
band sad Wife Share Equal
~ tho Property.

III you women want equal rights,
you better go out to Luzon" The man
from the Philippines had been listen.
ing to the militant sufrragist for the
last hour and half and had just got
IN his word. up in the province of
benguet there, where the little Igar.
rotes live. they've got It down to a
nne point. Remarkable people those
mountain ssvaRes.
They've already settled a lot OF
things our Socialist frienda are trying
now 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. Tor In.
stance. they've got George Meredith's
ten-year trial marriage beat by one.
year experiment. It's very succ So
full. too. And divorce-that's the sim.
plest 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 a right to part-that's en-.
tirely personal matter for them to
settle-but to see that there's a fair
division OF the children and the prop.
erty. There was a divorce case on
while l was up there, in a 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 incompatability-ye they're
progressive enough for that-and az
the land up so high Is pretty arid II
didn't take long to 60 into the prop
erty question. There were four chill.
dren, 30 that was all right, too.
don't know what would happen II
there 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 >houseu. There was
only ono OF II and naturally both
needed It. OF course, you think the
man should have given way, but WON.
ans equality 10 too absolute out 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, 90
now they simply repeated the perform.
ance with equal labor hanging a sec.
ond little wooden hut with a shaggy
roof over their perpendicular comote
bed. Whether they were 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 90 about II
In the same way. You can see them
any day digging up the sweet pota.
toes that grow In little patches all
over the mountain ridges. or wading
waist deep in the mucky rice fields
that terrace the slopes or climbing I'D
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 babies-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 SEQ the
way baby girl is welcomed into q
family Her Igarrote parents are quite
as delighted with her as II she were a
boy-there's no disadvantage to hor in
her sex; that IT, as far az her people
are concerned"