The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-07-10
Divorce Result American Woman New Idea Of Love?

France have been happily changed In this
respect. Young giFls most often choose their
husbands Themselves, and In doing 20 give
full rein to their natural feelings. their .As.~x
and their education. 1t Isl therefore. nocT2l
that. once married. there should be bowen
the couple fewer mtsunderstandings.
Ijvorce then, in France remains quite q
ceptional. In the first place because one class
Of society. small but important. refuses to
principles. and because the other classes are
not disposed to abuse It for the psychological
reasons have mentioned.
And now must say that the war. which has
simpliied and ennobled all sentiments among
US. has had An unexpected effect on divorce.
Many demands for divorce have been with.
drawn. many households have forgotten their
domestic Quarrels and sentimental disappoint.
ments and have become reconciled In the out.
burst Of common passion-love OF country.
In the United States. the country OF liberty.
Is the most advanced and the most ardently
maintained, divorce, which does not encounter
perceptibly the opposition Of religion. was
necessarily bound to ind very favorable
ground.
The strong will Of the American nation to
make use Of all its individual powers. to give
them q complete development, could not be
reconciled to the restrictions and tho social
cares Of the old world. Built on foundations
which are drawn from nature and from pure
reason. American society was bound to throw
aside the masks Of duties which appeared to Il
prejudices and the masks Of concessions
which seemed to It hypocrisy.
Quite naturally they decreed that divorce b
as Just and legal as marriage Since every.
body condemns q marriage In which reciprocal
affection does not exist from the FIRST why
should they not condemn 1t when It ceases to
exist? The true dissolution Of marriage comes
from the divergence OF hearts, OF minds and Of
ideas. Why should we preserve an appearance
Of union when the rupture has already taken
place! immortality consists In this lie Dignity
Of q household which lie already dissolved mo-
rally. That. indeed. is the doctrine In which
there 10 not In appearance anything reprehen-
sible
But liberty is a sword with two edges Per.
haps easy divorce. which appears favorable
tc the woman, is not SO much so AZ 1t appears
to be. II 1t is often welcome to women Of
fortune. 1t may cause great injury to women
without resources. burdened with children.
whom the caprices Of a bad husband may re-
duce to desolation and Misty.
The proposition has been advanced that We
should give more rights to a woman in d.
vorce than to man. because she suffers more
from an unhappy marriage. but I cannot SEQ
how that can be done. The woman can only
ask the same rights q man. The sugges.
ton has been made that an irreproachabls
wife to whom married life has become impos
sible with her husband. should have the
choice between a separation which gives her
certain rights over her erring husband or Of
obtaining a complete divorce. This arrange
ment is insured to limited extent by existing
carried to the point OF giving the woman the
dominating position In matrimony which some
feminists demand.
have not the presumption to settle cues
lions as deep and grave as this. will only
quote line from poet because in my opin
lon poets are always right Victor Hugo says:
Liberty Is like the lance Of Achilles. It alone
cures the wound which it makes"
II, then, 1t Ii true that people abuse divorce
q little in free America. the intuition, the good
sense and the noble principles Of humanity Of
the lance of Achilles, of curing the evil which
their liberalism may have caused.