The Chesterfield advertiser. [volume] (Chesterfield C.H., S.C.) 1884-1978, 1917-07-26

palace and, though the house be only
frail tent set up In the desert, with
no lamp save the light Of the firefiy,
yet for Jacob home is where Rachel is
and heaven is that unseen city Of
amethyst behind whose walls of silver
Rachel hath disappeared.
The Breakdown of tho Family.
Now, all these considerations in.
crease the alarm OF patriots who love
their country when we come TO consid
er the threatened breakdown of the
American family. There Is Al well
known principle I'm economics that a
strong demand will create the instru-
mcnts for the supply. The mere fact
that there are now 5000 courts to
which unhappy couples may repair for
divorce publishes the keen demand for
Institutions that can sever tie that
Is frail us thread, but should be as
strong as steel cable. 1t Is a far cry
from the 5000 divorce courts of today
back to the time a century and a half
ago, when the mother Of Alexander
Hamilton, beautiful IIuguenot girl.
living in the West India islands, want
ed divorce from the Dane, who had
become drunken, cruel and depraved,
who had gone back to Europe and from
whom she never heard again. There
was not one court I'm the British colo
nies or in Great Britain that could
give n decree OF separation. Divorce
meant that the woman with her
wrongs must go to London, secure in
tlucnce strong enough to carry bill
through the house of commons at an
expense OF about 5000. Now the pen
dulum has swung to the other ex-
trcme
Divorce In America.
There are now 5000 divorce mills
Sixteen thousand divorces have been
granted within single year, though
the same year witnessed only 800 di-
V0rccs In England and about score
in Canada. Indeed, the records of our
country showed some time ago three
divorces in Canada and over 10000 in
our country. Most disquieting the
spectacle OF the minister uniting Young
men and women in the morning and a
judge separating them In the after
noon. The blackcSt part of the trage-
dy concerns the children, now denied
Il fathers guiding hand and now with
out mothers love.
Reasons For Divorce.
From the viewpoint Of Tcnnyson's
Dream Of Fair Women" of the nine
tccnth century and our own obscrvn-
ton Of noble women in the twentieth
Woman's chief motive for asking sep
aration Is her revulSion from the i'm
morality of man. Some poor women
appeal to the courts because Of non
SUPPORT and the neglect of Il man to
provide for his children. At rare in
tcrvulS working woman seeks re-
dress from Il Judge because the man
is tyramt and SO brutal in his speech
that the little children flee at the uD-
proach of their father as the dove
tlc"S from tho hawk and the lamb from
the coming of the wolf. But the chief
motive in the vast majority OF cases
Is woman's dislike Of lcpers, physical
and moral. Think of what lies back
OF the fact that In brief interval re-
Gently fifteen hundred babes born in
the tenement regions OF New York
were committed to homes for feeble
minded children! Even in the farofr
times OF Pliny, sixty years after the
birth Of Jesus. the Roman lawyer ex-
plains the divorce evil by the immoral
ity of men. How significant Is this
passage: Five hundred years after
the City Of the Seven Hills was found
ed divorce case obtained place In
our legal record. l will not undertake
to assert that there were no divorces
for the first 800 years Of the life Of
tomc, but certain 1t Is that there Is
no authentic recorded divorce during
these first five centuries" Then what
happened? During the era OF luxury
and mammonism men became false,
immoral. sensual. For n time the Ro-
man matronS cherished secret anger,
then their INDIGNATION broke into
speech. At last these injured women
took on the aspect OF the unrelenting
tiGrcSS whose whclps have been in
iur"d. and within single month fifty
lt"inan matrOns poisoned their hus-
bands. What evil men did SOW that
they Were made to reap.
Woman's Revolt.
Either the workingmcn OF this coun-
try must give up whisky, sensualism,
drugs, and maintain life OF health
ana sobriety ana keep themselves az
clean within and without as they were
during their twcntics when they were
lovers, or else the working women are
going to refuse to bear children that
carry forward the sins OF their fathers.
These women understand the threat
cncd breakdown Of the American ply
sique. Ii Is not their fault that I'm the
tenement house region children are
born with imperfect vision. teeth with
ont enamel. feeble hearts and poor cir
culatiOn. Science sound ethics. love
Of humanity, all unite IN telling us
that these working women are right in
the rebellion that they are organizing.
one Of the duties that lie in front of
our legislators is the duty OF giving
every mother, rich or poor, at least
500 n year for the support OF every