The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1914-07-04

OSANrNAONAXrXAUNA
sixty-one. There were 2.03s DEGREES
OF divorce granted in the circuit
court alone during 1912. According
to this ratio of children, there would
be sixty per cent. as many children
as there are DEGREES. making 1929
children in the circuit court alone, OF
approximately $500 in both circuit
and superior courts per year.
Judge Petit said: 1.-THE whole the
DRY of divorce is wrong. The law
specifies certain so-called grounds
for divorce and when people want to
separate they Immediately consult .
lawyer. put a fifty dollar bill over his
eyes SO that he no longer can see
his duty to society and he tells them
how to get grounds for a divorce.
Hundreds Of cases are heard
monthly in which the rankest collu-
sion is perpetrated. The law puts .
premium on perjury and misrepre-
sentation AID the courts are power
less under the law as it now stands
to prevent its abuse.
1.-The law, which with interpreta-
ton that extreme and repeated cruel
ty consists in two cases of physical
violence, is silly and ludicrous.
I'm one case that came before me
a man and his wife went to a law
yer's office and were told. after the
hearing of their story. that neither
had grounds for divorce against
the other. The two acts of physical
violence of the law were explained to
them. Whereupon the husband took
his wife into an adjoining room and
struck her in the face with the palm
of his hand, which blows she smil-
ingly received, and they both said:
There is one ground for divorce
The man Immediately struck her
another blow and they returned to
their lawyer with their grounds for
divorce-two acts of physical vio-
lence.
'It is time that the public arose to
the dangers of the divorce evil. In a
few years the home will be thing
of the past; virtue and morality for
gotten; men and women mingling to-
gether cemented only by the attrac-
lions of the moment-marriage to-
day, divorced tomorrow and remar-
ried the next day."
Divorce Scored.
The judge concluded by pointing
out that it is only through the MAIN
tenance of the home and the educa-
ton of mankind in the proper chan
nels during it's childhood that society
can remain stable, and he condemned
in the strongest terms the system of
laws and the administration Of the
same which makes the only remedy
left to society for the misdeeds Of
the parents the punishment and the
handicapping of the children by
branding them as delinquents and
dependents, only to permit their
parents to go out after divorce and
take other husbands and wives, only
to bring into the world other unfor-
tunate children while society is sup
porting and maintaining and trying
to educate the offspring of the first
union. He advocated Strengthening
the laws so that the parents will be
obliged to the extent, at least, of sup
porting, maintaining and properly
educating the offspring of the mar
riage before divorce is granted, or at
least before any parents having
minor children should be permitted
to refharry. The Judge is of the
opinion that many families would re-
unite; that most separations are the
result Of trivial Misunderstanding:
that by wiping out all statutory
grounds for divorce and leaving
the matter of what divorces should
be granted entirely to the conscience
of the Judge, who should have power
to make any order with reference to
the future conduct of the parties
which the interests of society de-
mand and is best for the offspring Of
the applicant. BY this means, and
the giving of proper advice to the
persons whose matrimonial ship
strikes the rock of discord would re-
duce materially the number Of brok-
on homes and saddened lives. He
points in proof of this opinion to the
work Of the Divorce Proctor id Kan
sas City, where, after one year of ef-
fort, the number of divorces was
reduced by more than one-half in
the county in which Kansas City is
located.-"The New World"