CITY OF DIVOROE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 14375, 21 May 1910, Page 2 (Supplement)

CITY OF DIVOROE.

! WHERE MARRIAGE TIE IS QUICKLY CUT. ' LEGISLATION TO PUT DIFFICUL- ,:■' TIES IN THE WAY. • ' v There is going to be concerted action with the object of ending the career of Reno, Nevada, as the divorce colony of the United States. A Bill is shortly to Be introduced into the local legislature extending the period during which an applicant for divorce must actually reside in the divorce city from six months to one year. ~ Many prominent men who oppose the system which makes divorce merely a matter of spending one's holidays in a resort famous for its exquisite climate are planning a campaign with the idea of removing what many regard as a stigma upon the State of Nevada. A lady, who is now on a visit to Reno, sends interesting details of life in that city, towards which she says, " thousands of eyes turn longingly with silent or expressed desire," Oh, if I could only get there, that refuge for disappointed hope!" This is a pen picture of Reno, according to the correspondent. Even those who disapprove of Reno the most never fail, to read a story dated from there, if only for the pleasant titillation of being shocked. There is an apprehension in certain quarters that dire fate is already casting its shadow over Reno, and the election this coming November may retire this fair town into the monotonous oblivion into which Sioux Falls (where until recently divorces were easily obtained) has already sunk. So all ye who have been taking comfort for many moons in the thought that if things came to the worst there was always Reno to resort to, haste ye here at once, because, if a change is made, it will be in January, and there is just time to get under the wire. When you reach Reno you dash into the neatest, holiest, smartest little town you ever saw. Waiting at the depot for the arrival of the Limited are porters in uni- I form from the hotels, several habitues of gambling hells along the track, and i WOMBS' DRESSED IX THE LATEST MODE, waiting to welcome a visitor from the East. Drawn up at the platform are all kinds of vehicles, from the dusty buckboard to a Pannard. car. As., you step off the train you glance across the cinder-plot station, and there in enormous Jetters you read the word " Divorce." " Goodness, what can that be?" you say to yourself, and then, drawn by that magic word, you approach closer, to discover, in very small letters, the further legend, " Yourself from five dollars to buy yourself a pair of trousers." In the dining-room of the leading hotels it is a town of 15,000 peoplethe obliging waitresses point out.- the divorcees. There is a whole table of women, all establishing residence, who have become acquainted with one another, and who prefer to eat together instead of in solitude. Over at the side is a woman of 40, who is suing, and who is chaperoned by her grown-up daughter. Covered trays leave the dining-room.. " Just got here the day before yesterday; it was all in the papers; has her meals in her room,-I but she'll get mighty tired of them before Tier time is up," says the girl. The colonists are called "divorcees" or "divorcons," according to whether suits are filed or not. Reno is surrounded by mountains. These are varied >in their character and glorious in colouring. Some of the peaks are snow-capped and some are ; inaccessible, ?but others have splendid roads for automobiles and some fascinating trails \ for horseback riding. This is the chief reason f for Reno's "'popularity as a divorce centre, outside the fact that it is in Nevada, and ; its accessibility,. only 10 hours' ride ;. from San Francisco. And maybe you don't think that,: when the quiet of Reno palls upon the : colo- j nists, they hie themselves V away to the I town, which the new civic administration is trying to make the Paris of America Walk down the streets of Reno on a Saturday afternoon % for a little local colour, and see what, if you are ; forced to sojourn here 'for six months because your husband is cruel to you and doesn't match your temperament any more; or you have found 'another who understands your higher nature better, would be the liveliest half-day in the week for you. i All along the kerb are drawn up the I rigs of the ranchmen who have come to j town for a week's trading, and the side- ! walks are crowded with ' their wives and ! children peering at the 1 "styles." Cow- j boys lope by on; ponies, yet, my word ! hero comes that Englishman down ' the i street in most correct riding get-up from I Rotten Row. Then you hear all the gossip. Then the afternoon paper comes you glance at it' and read that in Reno ! that morning a decree was signed > that separated a millionaire steel man and his wife of 25 years*; standing, and that a ! famous actress has just * arrived on the ■ T united. All tin'?, savs. the Telegraph. gives one of the best pictures of America's divorce colony that has been published for a lone time. ' '