Show THE DIVORCE twelve divorce cases in one day in this clity is a pretty good record if judged from the standpoint of numbers alone otherwise it is a very bad one it would be less objectionable lf if more conspicuous but the facts compel the the admission that except as to the arithmetical phase of the case it Is altogether too common to stand out say any bolder than any other everyday every day matter that oscillates more or less lesa beb between weeti uncertain limits and just now has gone a little beyond the highest previous mark it remains however a proper subject to comment on no matter wit it it has become common I 1 to begin with there Is roo no fault faul t to be found with the court the laws law prescribe what shall be the grounds upon which a decree ot of separation shall be granted and when those grounds obtain to the entire satisfaction of a reasonable person the duties of a 9 judge are e thereupon and thereby ministerial h be must complete by his flat what the statutes require at his hands this would seem to make it appear that the vault fault Is with the lawmaking law making power but this la Is only partially if at all the case as our divorce statute is quite as strict and restrictive as that of most of the states if not that of any of them and much more so than some notably illinois and south dakota As in the case came of many other contracts the ekiel it would seem resides in the foundation dation of df the transaction which eing being faulty the whole structure must of necessity be faulty too this Is all the more deplorable when we take the proper view that of all the engagements which mankind enters into that of marriage is the highest and hollett holiest ho holl liest ept the one that should receive the otrie test and beet beat consideration instead of this being the case the ceremony which unites a pair till death does them part is very often regarded as an a mere concession to the prejudices and abd superstitions of society and truly the ease with which it can be so decreed must go a long way toward strengthening that dangerous and deleterious view so long as the marriage solemnization Is ie looked upon as so much mummery a means by which sin sinister leter Our purposes poses can be accomplished which otherwise could either not be gained or being gained would subject one to serious trouble so sure is it that when the object Is reached the obligation in almost every case cage becomes a burden to be cat cast aside at the first opportunity the purposes spoken of are many one af them is the desire for social station or rank another Is the hope of riches or at least improved circumstances in life another the desire to triumph over rival and one that is lower and viler slid and more fraught with danger to the hutnan human race than any other is mere personal gratification without regard to duties responsibilities capabilities or nature like time has its revenges it may be defied its decrees disregarded its demands ignored and no present penalty of an adequate character be inflicted fil eted but the violations are all property recorded find will as surely be expiated one way or another as that the darl darkness meas of night succeeds the brightness of flay Marr marriage gage being the natural estate of man if treated as a matter of artificial convenience as a relation to be 16 defined by professional matchmakers match makers a matter of display at the beginning and of slavish observe to the demands of society thereafter what ewt is to be hoped hope d tor for when the artif ti c the gloss the glamour of the are worn away and the real ats ot of life have made their inevitable appearance appear atlee in iii other words when no longer able to elude the honest conditions the equitable simplicity which na ture exacts and these are not only received but besought as the only surcease when the penalties are being imposed d what binding force has the mockery of a t t contract c 0 n t bract performed for sake and carried out on th ii surface tor for fashions flash ions sake none at all except in law and the compact never having possessed the element ol of sacredness sacred nese or honed honesty ty might as well be udde if altogether together as to exist only a as s a hollow bollow mockery an all divorces are of course not the re fulcd such cau causes as have been herein set aut but a large proportion of them 1 ke some people enter into the mar hawa btag 6 relation honestly virtuously and I 1 VOM wibb it eted determination to fully and fairty its ats obligations meet and overcome its discouragements discourage ments and in id all things abide by its results only ft iffat at their judgment has been at t fiE luft that at they have taken upon them roves responsibilities impossible of ful et j blit had that hie under such clr cir aim would be a burden too grievous to be borne others in the same class find out when too late that that evil which some of the best of us can only know of by association incompatibility exists and the welfare of both parties demands that they be separated there is a disagreeable abundance of such cases as these liast last named too and there seems no present help for them the most that can be done under all the circumstances would seem to be to exercise the very best judgment of which all the interested parties are possessed and when these ar in full accord there is then something in the nature of a guaranty for acceptable conditions in the married estate passion infatuation and all kindred influences influence a which set aside the reason are simply the means by which victims are fed and should be fought by all proper agencies until like other noxious growths in the garden of life they will eventually be extirpated altogether we must go to the source of disease to make a cure certain |