Another form of attack upon the sanctity of marriage is the trade of the great journals in daily advertisements such as these, which meet our eyes every morning:
“Absolute divorces legally obtained in different states. Desertion, etc., sufficient cause. No publicity. No charge until divorce is obtained. Advice free.
——, Attorney, —— Broadway.”
Or, with slight variations, thus:
“Also Commissioner for every State.
——, Counsellor-at-Law,
—— Broadway.”
Here we see the press and the law conspiring to lend aid—and, more than that, encouragement—to the loosest and most devastating of passions. Then, again, the tone of the newspapers with regard to moral irregularities is a painful sign of the times. Thus we read in a great “daily”:
“Out West they call divorces ‘escapes.’A speedy and safe ‘escape’ is guaranteed for a very low figure, and, as usual, a great many parties figure for it.”
There is a levity about such remarks that is saddening, when taken in connection with the future of a great people.