The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1913-06-09
OLD NEW YORK NOT so
BAD; DIVORCE STATISTICS

NEW YORK, June 9.-Much malign-
ed as is New York about it's divorses
and general disregard for the sacred
ness of matrimony, facts and figures
show that the metropolis is really the
safest American city for connubial
bliss. Despite the popular ideas about
the wickedness of Gotham, the records
show that divorce is not the fearsome
menace to Father KnickerbOcker's
!, household as is the general belief
Far instance, st. Louis and Cincinnati
both are more easy going in the mat
| ter of dissolving the marriage tie, and
| st. Louis holds the country's palm
/ for it's quick divorce batting average.
| New York's goodness, where divorce
| is concerned is proved by official re-
cords of the courts of jurisdiction in
the four counties embraced by the
municipality of Greater New York.
1t is a record to which the citizens
may point with pride and a record
which other cities of the first class
might view with alarm in making a
sociological self-examination.
In the four counties of New York,
in the year 1912, there were granted
1882 divorces as against 52,282 mar
riages, about one knot united to every
twenty-nine marriages. We're it not
for Brooklyn's numerous lapses from
the domestic ideal, the city's record
would be much better. Last year. in
that borough there were granted 712
divorces and the number of marriages
was 1867.
In New York county, comprising,
Manhattan and the Bronx, which pro-
perly is New York City, there were
1915 divorces and 31,7SO marriages,
or about one divorce to thirty-one
marriages.
In contrast to this record for a city
of upwards of 100000 population,
Cincinnati and st. Louis, much small
er, are running a close race for high
mark in the divorce percentage col
umn. In st. Louis last year 1443 di-
vorce suits were filed and 1101 grant
ed, an average of one divorce to every
six marriages. Cincinnati united oil
marriages in 1175 suits filed, an aver
age of one divorce to every six mar
riages.
All of which only goes to show that
while Gotham's police record may be
unsavory, it's general attitude toward
the marriage tie is much more re-
spectful on the general average than
the attitude of st. Louis and Cincin-
natl, so give the devil his dues.
A few American boys who can sing
will have an enviable existence when !
a boys school and dormitory now be-
ing built in connection with the Ca
thedral of st. John the Divine is COM
pleted There the boys who will sing
in the big cathedral choir will be
housed and trained Not only will |
their voices be looked after but their
general education as well will be paid
for by the church. Learned masters
will instruct them, motherly women
will look after their bodily welfare,
musicians train them and athletic in
structors attend to their physical de-
velopment.
The choir boys Of St. John the Di-
vine will be taken care of in much the
same manner that Grace church, down
town, looks after it's youthful singers.
These boys, when their parents agree
to give their services to the church
choir, are turned over bodily until
such time as their voices change, and
they are no longer useful to the choir.
While they are members Of the
choir, the boys have all the advan-
tages Of the highest grade boarding
/
get no pay for singing. They trade
their boyish voices in return for an
excellent education. They have a DOR
mitory furnished with every comfort,
shower baths, a gymnasium, library
and all that Their health is looked
after by matrons and athletic instruc-
eors Their meals are cooked by spec
al chefs, and masters Of high degree
leach them what they would get in
only the best preparatory academies
Of the country. But they belong to
he church. Their parents turned
hem over to the church authorities
md see them no more, excepting for
several weeks in the hot summer
months until their voices begin to
change. Then they are sent home.