Some specific remedies.
Some of these causes are hard to remedy. The economic independence of women is a new condition which cannot be changed. Some progress has been made in various cities of the country by the establishment of special tribunals known as Courts of Domestic Relations whose function it is to adjust family quarrels. These courts have proved their value by keeping many cases out of the divorce courts. It has been suggested that we ought to amend the national constitution so as to provide that no divorces shall be granted except by the federal courts. This would make the rules uniform throughout the United States and prevent the securing of divorces on trivial grounds. A proposal for such an amendment is now being considered by Congress. Meanwhile some of the states have come to the conclusion that a check should be placed upon hasty marriages and have consequently made laws requiring that persons intending to be married shall file notice of their intention a certain number of days before the marriage takes place. These various remedies are good enough so far as they go, but the only permanent and effective remedy is the education of public opinion to a point where it will use its influence to check the stream of divorces. Social ostracism is a powerful weapon in the hands of any community that wishes to use it. The immediate need is to educate the American people in the homes, in the schools, and in the churches, so that they may appreciate the gravity of the problem and insist upon its being properly solved.
General References
E. T. Towne, Social Problems, pp. 285-307 (Poor Relief); pp. 184-207 (Mental Defectives); pp. 208-234 (Crime and Correction);
H. R. Burch and S. H. Patterson, American Social Problems, pp. 200-250 (Poor Relief); pp. 271-288 (Mental Defectives); pp. 237-270 (Crime and Correction);
Charles A. Ellwood, Sociology and Modern Social Problems, pp. 299-325 (Poor Relief); pp. 326-353 (Crime and Correction);
A. G. Warner, American Charities, especially pp. 36-63;
C. R. Henderson, Dependent, Defective, and Delinquent Classes, especially pp. 1-39;
F. H. Wines, Punishment and Reformation, especially pp. 121-132 (The Reformation of the Criminal);
Maurice Parmelee, Poverty and Social Progress, pp. 168-187.