Daily independent. [volume] (Elko, Nev.) 188?-1915, 1911-01-17
DIVORCE in ISLANDS
"IGDcCS" cNLY PASS vn EiSETS
OF CHILDREN.
Wien a Separation Of an Igarrote
Couple Is Inevitable. Both the Hus-
band and Wife Share Equal
" the Property.

'If you women want equal rights.
yo' better go out to Luzon." The man
from the Philippines had been listen
ing to the militant suffragist for the
last hour and a half and had just got
in his word. Up in the province Of
Eenguet there, where the little Igar-
rotrs live. they've got II down to a
i."e point. Remarkable people those
mountain savages.
Thcy've already settled n lot OF
things our Socialist friends are trying
now to get the rest OF us advanced
eno"gh to accept. They're so progress
sive in these things that they're clear
back at the beginning again. For III
stance. they've got George Meredith's
tCn-year trial marriage beat by one.
year experiment. It's very success.
ful. 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
buEnans, or chiefs. act 9s judges in
the matter: not to decide whether
they have right to part.-thats en-
tirely a personal matter for therl to
settle-but to see that there's n fair
division Of the children and the prop.
erty. There was a divorce case OH
while ] was up there, in n funny little
village of wooden huts. perched up
higher in the mountains than ever the
pines care to climb
Tine couple were separating on the
score Of incompatability-ye they're
progressive enough for that-and as
the land up so high Is pretty arid It
didn't take long to go into the prop.
erty question. There were four chill.
dren. so that was all right, too.
don't know what would happen If
there were three or five In such
care; 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 II. or course. you think the
man should have given way. but wom-
ans equality Is too absolute out there
to have any nonsensical notions about
chivalry
We'll. It ended quite pcaceabIy, 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 a &c
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 20 about II
In the same way. You can see them
any day gglng up the sweet pota
toes that grow In little patches all
over n" mountain ridges. or wading
wais' deep In the mucky rice fields
that terrace the slopes or climbing up
the raths with a loaded wicker cage
on their backs like any man polista.
sometimes II Ia father and some
tine mother who looks after the
house after the homework and the fat
naked babies--sometimes tho lean
family dogs. u all depends on which
member Of the household ia the tired
cst--ihat one gets the easy work fol
awhile. IT'S very pretty to see the
Wv . baby girl is welcomed into
family Her Igarrote parents are quite
as delighted with her as n she were q
boy-there's no disadvantage to her in
her sex: that It. as far as her people
are concerned"