The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1915-08-28
4,358 DIVORCES
N PAST YEAR
ONLY ITO REFusEp ~ COURTS IN
This STATE DURING
1914.
STATEMENT is MADE PUBLIC
According TO Secretary Of state, 1883
Suits for Separation Were Pend
Ing In This state Last
Year.


Suits for Separation Were Pend
Ing In This state Last
Year.
Lansing.-More than $4,000 divorce
cases were pending in the courts Of
Michigan last year. according to sta
tistics compiled by Coleman G.
Vaughan. secretary of state. from data
gathered from Ill counties in the state
except Alger and Ottawa.
According to the compiled state
ments of the various county clerks
there were 1888 bills for divorce
pending in the courts OF Michigan.
January 1, 1914. During the year
6,6S7 couples demanded legal separa-
ton by the courts. making total of
26,475 cases under consideration last
year. J
Last year 4,358 divorces were grant
cd. In ITO cases divorces were de-
MED by the courts. and sos bills were
withdrawn. leaving 20,199 to 60 over
to this year as divorces pending"
Taking 25,475 as the aggregate
number of cases before the courts.
the number granted would constitute
III per cent Of the total number Of
petitions, while no less than 1871 per
cent remained pending" said Secre.
tary Of State Vaughan. "The number
refused and withdrawn amount to
only 3.6 per cent.
Such q comparison should be TAX
en- only as q very general one. and
not as precisely indicating the ratio
of divorces granted. The divorces
granted are based on petitions fled
during 1914 and preceding years, and
with an increasing volume of divorce
business, more than the average num-
Der of cases begun in 1914 would re-
main Enacted on, thereby rendering
the ratio OF cases granted somewhat
too low"
In 1898, the total number Of cases
pending was 2.475. In 1908 the mum
Der had increased to 1886 and last
year the total was 1898.
According to the official records ten
years later the number of bills fled
had increased to 1923 and 5000 de-
crees were granted. Last year 6,637
estranged couples aired their mar
ital woes in the courts and 1855
separations were granted.
Secretary Vaughan says that of the
8,978 divorces granted in 1918, suits
were begun upon complaint of the
husband in 1887 cases and upon com
plant of the wife in 1891 cases. No
less than 2.895 of the marriages dis
solved were performed in Michigan
Only PA of these marriages were
performed in the adjacent states OF
Ohio. Indiana and Wisconsin. In 35C
cases the parties were married out.
side the three mentioned states, 387
were married in Canada and 90 from
other foreign countries.
According to statistics gathered by
the state department no children re.
suited from the marriages in 2,061
cases where divorces were granted in
1913. In 391 families there was only
one child and in 499 cases there were
two children. Further investigation
shows that in 245 families there were
three children. The total number OF
children deprived of the family rela.
ton was 1852 or about one child on
an average for each divorce.
In 11S cases the marriage had ak
listed for less than one year and in
1,1S1 cases marriage existed under
I'VE years.
"As the average duration Of mar
rage before divorce is about ten
years, and as at least two living chill.
dren are necessary to maintain any
class of the population in q merely
stationary condition without natural
decrease. It may be inferred that the
population from which the divorce
rate is derived has not been factor
In the natural increase Of the state
and IL not even self-sustaining with
reference to point Of numbers" said
Secretary Vaughan.
Drys to Hold Meeting November 10.
To awaken interest in the spring 10
cal option contests and spur antisa
loon workers to greater activity in cir
culating petitions calling for q vote
on statewide prohibition in the fall o.
1916. q mass meeting Of lower pen
Ursula liquor foes will be held Novem
Der 10 Announcement to this effect
was made at the headquarters Of thu
Michigan Antisaloon league. The meet
ing, which will be under the auspices
of the Cleaners. the Grange. the Anti
saloon league and kindred organisa
lions, will be addressed BY noted advo
Gates Of the prohibition cause. among
them Congressman n. p. Hobson.
similar meeting II being addressed fol
the upper psninsula-
y q ( ~ ~ |N ~ y
s,soe Barn, 4ssa pl&
Z Michigan had : birth rate OF double
~ deAth rate during July, - shown
by the bulletin of the vital statistics
department OF The secretary Of stats'l
ofnc6. IN TIE month there were 1,o31
deathe which o. Tho estimated popula
ton Of the stats corFo6popds 70 I
= = 80 a =. 49,