The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1914-02-04
RIGHT TO REMARRY
BE PROHIBITED
Is Proposal for Amendment of the Unit
ed States Constitution by SEN
ator Ransdell.

Washington, ID. c., Feb. 4. Divorce
with the right to remarry would be pro-
hibited forever in the United States and
| in all places under the nations jurisdic-
tion by an amendment to the federal
constitution proposed in the Senate to-
day by Senator Ransdell of Louisiana.
Enactment of uniform marriage laws for
| all states and territories, with provision
| for separation without permission to re-
marry, would be directed by the amend
ment.
With the states of the union granting
more than twice as many divorces as
all the rest of Christendom combined,
Senator Ransdell told his colleagues that
the time had come for the nation itself
to put down this menace to "the chief
bulwark of society, the homethe maker
OF good citizens and the model on which
every wise government is founded"
"The remedy by constitutional prohi-
bition is drastic" said the senator, but
the malady Is SO fatal that nothing
short of it will prove efficacious. In the
United States divorce is spreading with
alarming rapidity. Ii has permeated ev-
cry walk of life, and is prevalent among
every class of people. The total number
of divorces granted in 1867 was 9,937,
or 81 per 100000 population. Forty
years later, in 1906, there were 72,062
divorces, or So per 100000; thus in ae-
tual numbers there were more than sew
EN- times as many divorces granted in
1906 as in 1867 or allowing for the
increased population, divorce had in
creased 3l9 per cent.
"If divorces multiply at the same gate
in the future as in the past and thee
is every indication that they viii in
crease faster-then before the middle of
this century we will have annually in
the United States 275 divorces per l00,-
600 population, or one divorce for every
five marriages.
IF the United States were to write
in the constitution an amendment pro-
hibiting absolute divorce, it would not
be taking such radical step as might
at first be thought, but would be fol-
lowing beaten path. Our own state
of South Carolina -all honor to her
forbids divorce. II is absolutely prohib-
tied in Italy, Spain, and to two-thirds
of the population of Austria Hungary,
while the Latin-American countries Of
MtAicu' argentine hepuDlic, bIdDli, TeTus
Chile, and others have similar laws.
while many excellent people are d.
vorced and some of them make new
homes, the inevitable trend of divorce
is to break up many more homes than
it builds up, and to materially reduce
the number of children. When marriage
is dissolved, the true homes cease to
exist; the parents and the children are
separated; and the sweet ties that bind
father and mother to their offspring, and
to each other, are broken forever
sAs long as the Romans of old looked
upon marriage as sacred, and held the
sanctity of the home inviolable, their
arms were invulnerable, and Rome be-
came mistress of the world But with
the accumulation of colossal wealth
came laxity of morals; marriage be-
came a jest, and child d-bearing a useless
burden. The luxurious Romans lost all
respect for female chastity the heroic
virtues of their early years were forgot
ten, and the empire fell, the victim of
luxury and disregard for the binding
effects of marriage.
"Shall not the United States take
warning from Rome's exampleg'