Evening star., 1914-02-15
THE DIVORCE AMENDMENT.
A Constitutional Change Would Not
Remedy the Evil.
10 lie E.li.or Of lie star

To the Edi tor df Tie star:
Senator Ransdelis proposition to amend
the federal Constitution to protect mod
ern society from the evils of easy di-
rorce has the merit of being heroic II
not original. The senator announces that
he feels encouraged over the attention
his proposition has received. He well
comes expressions. adye or favorable
This is comlnendabIe. and argues for his
fairmindedness. | am not favorable. to
his proposition and venture TO state a few
reasons.
l think it is beyond debate that the
proposal to FORBID all divorce. for any
cause. is most unWise in policy ullscien-
titic in theory. and would be civil tyranny
III its attempted enforcement There is
no small measure of unanswers bic argu-
rnent in the pointed question of the seua-
tors correspondent who wants to know
How in the dickens are YOU going to
establish domestic tranquility by tying
. together two persons against their will?'
Some things are not impossible, hut are
very unWise. And there are some things
| that even the federal Constitution ought
not to try TO do. The very nature of the
senator's proposition puts it in this class.
| How may we account for the fact that
senator Ransdeil fathers such Il measure? j.?
The senator is d southern man. and
| naturally. democrat in po oitical pre,iilec-
>.
| mon knowledge that southern Statesmen
have ever been shy OF federal amend
meuts that enlarged the national powers
| al the expense of the states. Southern
| men democrats have always shown
| spirited antagonists to the northern
"aeresy" that would write Union and Ma
! tion with capital. An illustration is
! right at hand. The evening before the
senator's bin appeared the democrats of
, the House, in caucus PASSED. by /. vote
| OF 2 to I. Mr.. Heiln'S resolution declar-
ing that woman suffrage is Il state issue
Speaker Clark and Leader Underwood
voted for the resolution. That is good
democratic doctrine. What is the essen
| tial difference. If any. between the sub
Iects of domestic relations and suffra se ?
DO not both belong primarily to the
states?
But aside from the question of proper
jurisdiction. does there exist any such
condition seems to call for the dras-
tic legis alton sought for by the senator
either state or national? We may Well
doubt it. from the senator's own showing
thgures) would make out his own coun-
try the worst in the world. except. pos
sibly, pagan Japan. Is the United States
that degenerate? We all know or may
know. that it simply is not true.
The standard of social morals in the
United States today Is not excelled by
any nation in the world. except Great
Britain and her dependencies, including
Canada and excluding India.
The continental nations of Europe,
with all their proud history and boasted
culture and special claim of few
divorces. are laN in social morals beyond
any condition in any American state
From 20 to 40 per cent of their children
are born out of wedlock. The social
vice" is not only segregated, but regu-
lated, licensed and officially supervised
by government: in fact, It is not called
vice at all. but social necessity
The kenyon red light law could not