The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1921-06-04


LIFE ARE CORRUPTED By EASY
DIVoRcE-ALARMING INCREASE
IN LEGAL SEPARATIONS BY
OFFICIAL REPoRTs-NEvADA
COMES FIRST -PRoTEsTANT
BISHOP OF SACRAMENTO SEES
IDEA OF TRUE MARRIAGE RE,
PLACED BY BARNARD MORAL
. ITY.
Easy divorce is the subtle poison
which is corrupting the ideals of fam
lily life in the United States. Dis
guising it's deadly character under
the form of sympathy for mismated
individuals, the divorce poison grad
ually destroys the Christian concep-
tion of marriage as permanent re-
lation, says the Right Rev. William
Hall Moreland, Protestant Episcopal
bishop of Sacramento, in an article
printed in the Brooklyn Eagle.
Lustful males, marrying for physi-
cal satisfaction chiefly, cast off wives
at pleasure as if they were kept mis-
tresses. Mining kings, oil millionaires
and war proiteers, grown suddenly
rich, have put away the faithful part
ner of the days of poverty and strug-
gle and lavished their new made
wealth upon actresses. Selfish wom-
en-, sacrificing men to their passion
for jewels, clothes and luxury, are en-
couraged to sell their bodies to the
highest bidders, yet continue to move
in decent society as respectable WON
en-. This is no fancy picture. It de.
scribes what is going on today all over
the United States.
Barnyard Morality.
If easy divorce continues at the
present rate in this country the ideal
of true marriage, as the union of one
man and one woman until death shall
part, will gradually fade from the con.
sciousness of the American people and
be replaced by barnyard morality
Even now our young people, knowing
that the law permits a consecutive
polygamy, enter into the marrie1 state
with the deliberate purpose of break
ing it, should the first attempt be un
satisfactory, and of drawing another
| ticket in the lottery. &
Let every lover Of the United States
who wishes to see this nation continue
to hold the respect of mankind re
| fleet upon the following facts, which
have been gathered out of the United
States census reports of 1919, cover
| ing the vital statistics of marriage
and divorce for 1916 and the years
| preceding.
| Divorces in America in 1884, were
$4,000; in 1916, 114,00O. Increase ot
| population during the period was 6;
per cent, increase of divorces 23S pei
cent. Divorce has increased in the
United States over three and one-halt
times as fast as the population.
Alarming Increase.
In the last 20 years 1855, 900 homes
have been wrecked by divorce in the
| United States. Since there are two
people to each divorce this means thai
3,767,0 we're separated by divorce il
the first 20 years of this century.
The number of children named ir
divorce DEGREES for the last 20 years
is 1,31S,000. That is to say, a vast
army of innocent children were de
| prived of the loving oversight Of one
| parent or another, being made or
phans or half orphans, not by the
hand of Providence, but by the self
ishness of their parents. In the pub
| lie institutions and reformatories OF
| California over 40 per cent Of the
children are the offspring of divorced
parents, and this proportion will doubt
less hold good of several other states
of the Union.
Adult children involved in divorce
actions by the guilt of their parents
number 100000 (estimated), so thai
the total wreckage of the divorce evi
in the first 20 years of the present cen
tury, including parents and children
reaches the frightful total of 5,5S5,
| 900 Americans. This is one-twentietk
of our total population.
Highest in West.
The highest divorce rates are fount
in the Rocky mountain and Pacific
states. Restless, pleasure-seekiIg peo
pie, desiring to be rid speedily of theil
life partners, flock from all over the
country to the far west to take ad
vantages of the lax regulations con
corning divorce. The average civorc'
rate for the United States is 141 PEI
100000 of net population. The aver
age is enormously exceeded in tn,
following states: Nevada, 652; Mon
tana, 413; Arizona, 1858; Oregon, 277
Washington, 239; California, 230
Strange to say, New Hampshire come
next, seventh, in rank of easy divorc,
in the United States, with a rate o
227.
i DsgracefuI Competition.
II 1t Is worthy Of note that New Hamp
shire stands among the very leader
i in the divorce business Of the Unitet
States. Not only is that state first il
New England and the east in its di