The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1912-12-13

cause. foTsooth some woman or some
men has not got as much money by
their marriage as they expected when
the marriage ceremony was perform
ed. am glad that we have no di-
vorce law in South Carolina, person
ally, and if you will look to the rear
of this hall and pick out the best look
ing red-headed woman in this State,
you will see why l object personally to
divorce. But, Mr.. Chairman, when
you lay down the law you will reap
the harvest that the distinguished gov
ernor of Nevada has pictured to this
conference.
"My State stands alone We grant
no divorces; We recognize no divorces.
If man leaves the State of South
Carolina, or woman, and goes into
another State and obtains a divorce
from his wife, he may come back into
South Carolina and live, but if he again
marries and moves back within the
State with second wife we hold him
and his wife guilty of adultery and
punish them accordingly; and if there
are children born to the union after the
divorce the supreme court of South
Carolina has stated in their opinion
that they are illegitimate and can not
inherit the property of the parent.
That, l say, may seem to some of you
a hardship; but, my friends, it is far
better that in a few instances some
good woman may suffer Or some man
may be caused to suffer, than to lay
down a law which would bring, and
which is bringing today, in disrepute
the solemn bonds of matrimony, which
only under any conditions or any cir
should be contracted for
love, sanctioned by a divine power.
In Other States.
Mr.. President and brother COVER
nors, we do not apply to your States
wrong. 1t is your way of
looking at the proposition. We do not
mean for a moment to condemn you,
nor would South Carlina or South
Carolinians for a moment set itself
up as the only or the proper guardian
of the morality of the American ma
ton; but we are glad of the distinc-
tion that we hold; we are, proud that
it is written in our fundamental law,
so that no legislature, elected possibly
by wave of excitement or from other
causes, can change it; it is so writ
ten that it is impossible to change, and
of that We are proud.
"Now we can not follow this rufe of
desertion all the way through, but in
South Carolina when a white man de-
serts his wife and children, or if he de-
serts his wife and they are without
children, it is a criminal offense to fail
to support that wife, or to fail to sup
port the children, if there be such
Consequently the wife ca'l go into
court of justice ana prosecute her hus-
band for non-5upDort On herself ard
for non-support of her children, and
we punish him as a criminal for fail
ing to do his duty % thas woman, to
those children, to society and 70 his
State Therefore, we have but little
trouble on this score. 2omecines we
have a citizen who drifts IT, Reno;
sometimes We have citizen that
crosses to Augusta, only going across
the Savannah river, but when he real
ICES that when he comes back into the
State that a criminal prosecution Will
hang over his head for the desertion
of that woman, who has sworn, not
only before man, not only for her love
for him, not only for the devotion
which she has for her State and her
nation, but for her belief in the here
after and in the God that gave her
life that she would stand by him in
health and in sickness, old South Car
olina says to him, AS she stands by
you, you have got to stand by her
We are proud Of it; we love the dis
tinction.
Now, there is a race of people in
my section of the country-and l am
pointed to the world sometimes as
their enemy, but am not, and if the
governship of South Carolina depend.
ed upon an election next Tuesday and
they would leave it entirely to the
negro vote, disfranchising for the time
L. 80