The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-08-10

The blame in the modern divorce is
often evenly divided, the man plays
prominent part in the maximum, but in
the minimum the woman holds her own,
and it is from a woman viewpoint this
article is written. In the little things
that chafe and annoy, the corstant pour
ing salt in the tiny wound, however
small, will soon produce a friction and
irritation that will take the initiative
" putting the wedge at exactly the right
spot Day after day. in a home where
these little annoyances are continually
magnifed, it is but just that the old
French proverb should be applies Cher
chez la femme"
The United States leads the world in
progress. 1t also leads the world in di-
vorce suits. This cannot stand an Aris-
totle deduction, but it is true, neverthe-
less. One of the leading causes of this
modern menace-and menace it isis the
pre-nuptial conditions making marriage
possible and easy to the young: when
the law of eugenics is rigidly enforced
| unhappy marriages will be lessened and
happy homes multiplied.
When parents allow undesirable asso-
Citations and through these associations
unhappy marriages occur for the young
have a way of talSins the bits in their
own teeth, at the psychological moment
then self reproaches fill the air, re-
proaches that are entirely too late Then
in very short while conditions exist
that absolutely require a divorce or a
separation, the latter is by far prefer
able, and 1t is very noticeable that after
a mutual separation a divorce is never
mentioned or desired until one party con-
ceives the idea of a second marriage and
no matter how much intelligent people
decry divorce or a separation, no right
thinking man or woman will deny that
in some instances it is absolutely neces-
sary
1t is not according to the law Of Amer
lean ethics to accept a disagreeable con-
dition without vigorous protest, and a
seeking after vital remedy, for where
there exist an effect a cause must be
near.
The cause exists in the home, the home
makes the conditions possible. 1t has been
said no word in the French language
Expresses home. We are fast drifting
to the faet-unwelcome as it may be-
that the home of today is the Croatan
of a past century This may me crude
and unVelcome but fact must be faced.
We are living in an age of speed
mania, going at such a gait that ia
the swirl of human destiny the whittier
is unknown. We hear the call of
boots and saddles" but the sound of
taps" is never heard. No time to
rest, no time to reflect. the crack of the
whip, the touch Of the spurs urges ever
to a greater speed No mother has the
time to sit in the cool, purple twilight
with her children gathered about her
knee and teach them the great ethics
of living right when the day is done,
father has an appointment at the Of
flee, mother has a social function old
er children hear the insistent call OF
social life from their particular set
of friends. The wee babies are left
to the care of the best nurse money
can procure. who can never give the
inspiration born of knowledge of
life. death and the vast forever even
tually the home becomes place to eat,
to sleep, and to entertain, when in the
progressive age, it becomes your time
ITO contribute to the pleasure of par
ticular coterie.
Girls are not watched over. There
is rarely that feeling of camaradie be-
tween mother and daughter that should
exist. IL a mother wants to know who
and what her girls friends are doing;
in the end some morning the girl coolly
announces the fact that she is either
married or will be at an early date.
Father storms, mother walls, but it is
| too late, things proceed all the same,
the wedding is over, disallusion takes
place almost as soon as the solemn
words are pronounced and the Iniser-
able end of it all is the divorce court.
| 1t may be caused fsom the high price
| of living which forces the enamoured
| husband to carry his wife to fashion
able boarding house, where she soon
| gets tired of thinking of him all the
| day long, gets tired of sitting with
| folded hands, other gay young matrons
| soon teach her the royal way to have
a. good time. A handsome lady killer
| soon figures in the game, and in the
end is at hand and that poor little
woman had not the least idea of ever
being untrue to the man she thought
she loved best of all.
| There is no tie to bind them--no chill
dren, for while in the country children
may be an asset in the home, in the
city they are a dire expense, and few
women are ready to fulfil the conf
mand of God and multiply the earth
when it means a great sacrifice on her
part. 1t is easier to spend her hus-
| bands money than 1t is to save it for
unborn children. she hopes will never
come into her life, and if by some mis-
take poor helpless child is born To
| these parents, the very air is charged
and supercharged with unwelcome
throbs. The helpless mite feels ostra-
cised at birth; no boarding house will
provide for a child. no fiat can be
rented when a child is mentioned; pri-
yate homes will not entertain them. The