Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-06-15

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Third Of Series
10000 marriages every year
and granting close to 100000 di-
vorce DEGREES.
In some localities the number
of divorces has approached or
even outstripped the number OF
marriages. Pulaski County, Ark,
during 1853 had 1877 divorce &C
tons filed and 1905 marriages
Divorces granted totaled 1,187.
which put marriages ahead f.
nally, but, as one resident put
it, That's too close for COM
fort"
In the tri-city area of the
State of Washington (Pasco.
Kennewick, Richland), school au-
thorities complained that broken
homes were causing an even
greater problem than new homes.
During the first half of 1858
the tri-city area had 148 mar
riages. But during the same Pc
Rod we had 1876 divorces" a
school official reported.
Cases Take Only Minutes.
It is a shock. even for the
seasoned observer, to see the
casualnesS with which marriages
are torn apart. In Little Rock,
Ark, typical of scores Of cities,
divorce cases are in and out OF
Chancery Court in a matter OF
minutes. Grounds are usually
general indignities." which can
mean anything from being un-
pleasant at the breakfast table
to calling an in-law an old battle
ak. A witness, usually a neighbor.
is brought in to say yes to a
few stock queStions-and that's
it. Just like a beehive" a local
citizen remarked
Thursday is known as divorce
day in the Little Rock court
house. Not so in Columbus, Ohio.
Here people who want to break
up their marriages don't see why
they should lose a days pay.
They come in on Saturday.
That's the favorite time. We
have up to IS cases on a Satur-
day morning" commented Do
nestle Relations Judge Wayne
Fogle.
In Louisville, KY, 80 to 40 di-
vorces 60 through Jefferson
County Court uncontested in an
average week. Two-thirdS OF
them are brought on grounds OF
cruelty over a period OF
six months, But in actual fact
the cruelty" can be little more
than a husbands finding fault
with the way his wife brews the
coffee or cleans the house. I've
always contended that any couple
who have lived together for a
year could find enough mental
to get them a divorce
if they wanted one," observed
Circuit Court Commissioner II.
Coils Reid.
In Knoxville, Tenn, a record
of sorts was set in Domestic
Relations Court on April %.
Judge Richard Douglass granted
a woman her 18th divorce. She
had received her 18th divorce
Just seven months before. This,
as far as Judge Douglass was
concerned, was her last one. He
called it her final final de-
cree"
The divorce rate in the United
States has increased close to
800 per cent since the Civil War.
The rate per thousand popula-
ton in 1867 was 8 (the divorce
total $3.50. The rate in 1850
was 2.6 (the divorce total 1885,
144).
ALI Time High in 1916.
There were only two divorces
per thousand married
couples Just after the Civil War.
BY the outbreak of World I this
had risen to five. BY World War
II it had risen to 10. The all
time high was established in 1946
"a record year of $4,000 di-
when there were 1872
divorces per thousand married
couples.
Divorces since 1916 have how
cred near the 100000 mark, well
over twice what they were in the
period between World War and
II. A downswing from the 1916
peak ended in 1851 with 381 900
divorces and a new upturn ap-
peared in 1852 with $4,000.
The United States has the
dubious distinction of leading
all Europe and the Americas in
divorce. This country's rate in
1850 was six times that of Can
ada, eight times that of Mexico,
three-and-a-half times that of
and three times that OF
France.
Contrary to popular belief,
the divorce activity in the United
States is not concentrated in
New York and Hollywood
Though undoubtedly the most
publicized divorces are). Ac-
tually, for the census year 1850,
the States with top divorce rates
were Nevada, Florida. Oklahoma,
Arizona, Texas. Washington,
and Idaho. Some, par
ticularly Nevada and Florida,
were swollen by migratory di-
vorces" of people from else
where who didn't mind COM
bining divorce with six-weeks of
slot machine playing in Nevada
or a three months suntan in
Florida.
The Western States have close
to four times the divorce rate
of the Northeast. the Southern
States about twice that of the