AN AMERICAN, BISHOP ON LAX DIVORCE LAWS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11937, 10 January 1901, Page 5

AN AMERICAN, BISHOP ON LAX DIVORCE LAWS.

Bishop Samilbl J. Fallows, of ilie Bβ- ■~ formed Episcopal Church, Chicago, U.S., in! a publio statement on the evil of divorce, says:— :''.■'.]','.''■■■ : • -■~',•• " Careful; survey, of our present American; ..;■: civilisation 'shows us that the increase in di- . vorces is twice as great as the increase in. p'opu- ! .■' lation. Hie largest number of divorces were granted in Illinois, which led with 3672. ■ The ratio of diyorces to r !marriages was Ito 14.76... , Chicago very naturally' had the greatest ratio', in the State, namely, Ito 13.6. There sire : 3000 courte in the\ United States which granted, divorces last year. ' ■ " The to&l'numtfef of children as involved ijtibese divorce proceedings reached • '' 267,739. Iα 14-1,810 instances the records 'do not state anything about istae, although it is /. 'fair to., presume that multitudes of ohfldreD were concerned in the outcome. " One has only to read Carrol D. Wright'sreport, supposedly full of dry figures, to become convinced that in many instances truth cair discouut flotioh. A Mrs Hodge .was re- - eently .separated from her liUeband becatise i' , he insisted on the servants and family §e'ttinjc ;i .J; , , down on their knees in wife jiist V'',i. before meal time and praying fbr.her (ion. In-jfddition. to thisijhe'waa accustomed ;'.':''■ to place aj-iible on her pliitein tlie morning. • instead breakfast. , -■ ' . ■■'.'■ " j-wonftm obtained a deoree because her l&lßhand smoked, thereby causing .'•■. her to haxw sick 'headaches. Another wife secured a "decree because her husband insisted on quotidg'to her passages of Scripture and reminding; her to be obedient to him, as St. Paul'enjoiijed. I . . •< ' "In another instance.the husband wrote to the wife-that;lie, was dead. •• She believed ■> it, and went iuto . Then ehe found : out itiat he was ahYe.Viina'tifliilccoilht of the • gre#'%ent'a.l v distreS3fsii*FiSffefed was .granted a . •.'■'■ ■■ ■ ' '. : " A her application for separation on tfte ground that her husband had accused hgi sister of theft. A wife was granted a> xlivorce because her husband liad enlisted in-'the navy. Another woman com- / plained that her spouse cut off herbangs by. force. One'husband .was given a separation, . because his: wife would not eew on tie buttons. . .-.■. r-.'iT . ■' • ' .' "I was finable to obtain, information're- - garding the actual number of divorce cases granted iii.the Chicago courts during the year ended June 1; 1900. A prominent court official,, however, took the pains to go through several letters of tho alphabet in the records, and from them deducted what he believed , would be an approximate result in the-Circuifc Courts. ' '•■; .': :. "He estimated there were.29lo''divorcee granted/during that peribdj-afid in the Su- . perior C.ourts 1640, malun#sit6.tal of 4550. ■'.'■■/ Of this number 90 per -;•■;; default.leases; that jst v o&^fieMv^Oei;:. .::);■ parte .testimony, ''beS Even if this estimate were' , far aDdttrS.'tlie , actual number, the figures would be appalling.. v# About 16,000 marriage licensed were issued / ■ during that year. This would/make the ratio .S of divorces to marriagesaboutfl to 4. ..'■.',.,'■ " Eliminating the licenses gjveh to Catholiw (who rarely obtain divoroe3)i which may be ■ considered as one-fourth of the total the ratio wbuld : be very nearly I.to 3.. thing is certain,'divorces among us are on the liicreasfe', and threaten seribUßJy the ifc£\-<! tegrity of American family life. : .;. /'....;' ;i "An attendance upon the courte where de« ; fault divorces were■ tned' gave, nfe : i&-.. great ~•;.' surprise. The avenge time taken'by .the : .:; judge to dieposo p£ each of'those I heard ■'!'■■: presented was a'Jjfjilil ovet eight minutes. ; "Penal irifjjejjioh ought to be visited iipon ._, husband? for%ruelty, desertion, and negleofc'.','■ of support, as well as for the graver offences. And even under tho present reprehensible ; system all religious and ethical teacherd ought to impress upon the community the truth that the legal obligation of Bobiety to grant di r J vorce does not imply in the least any moral ■;:• obligation in consequence to apply ftif it. Destroy the family, you destroy the iState. i '; 'Whom God hath joined together let too man -. put asunder.'",• -.