How Susan B. Anthony Would Deal with Bad Husbands
(Copyright, 1901. Iy S. S. McClure Co.)
T FIRST thought It seems n waste
of time to devote nn entire artl-
clo to a question which easily
mlRht bo answered In n
.entenco that It will not bo tlimcult for the
'cadcr to supply. Hut on second thought
I remember that the tense of the verb
puts tho matter far back Into the pist,
refers It to tho last century In fact "What
I would hnvo done."
If I had married In tho early 10b, nlong
about tho time when I was Retting my
first proposals, and had drawn n bad hus
band In tho lottery, doubtless I would
havo dono as other women did In those
lays accepted my cruel fate as a means
of grace to fit mo for n better life here
after. At that time there were no means
of escnpo from nn unfortunate, marrlago
as nro freely offered In this moro humane
and enlightened age. In my own state of
N'cw York, as In most others, the law
recognized but one cause of divorce In
fidelity but the Innocent wife who ohtnlncd
a separation for this cause forfeited all
right to the property tho two had acquired
together, while the husband, who had
sinned, remained In sole possession. Hut
this Injnstlre sank Into Insignificance com
pared with that which allowed him also
lo retain tho entire custody of their chil
dren. Mnny women would willingly have
gone forth portionless, but there was
scarcely ono who would not have borne
every Indignity which could be heaped upon
her rather than give up her children. In
even tho few cases where there were no
ties of motherhood women hardly dared to
take tho risk of separation because there
was almost no way open to them In which
they could enrn a living, nut n still greater
deterrent was the fact that a divorced
woman, no matter how guiltless of wrong
doing, was a soclnl pariah not far removed
from thnt ono who bore the Scarlet let
ter on her breast. There was no place In
tho world for her. So, possibly, If T had
had a bad husband In those days those
"good old days" that we hear so much
about I might havo endured him, as
other women did theirs, but It seems to
mo that I would have gathered my children
in my nrms like Eliza In "Uncle Tom's
I'abln" and braved tho Icy waters In my
dash for freedom.
Mim. Nliuitnii'N .SeiiKiitlon.
Kllznbeth Cady Stanton was almost the
tlrst woman to demand that habitual
drunkenness or brutnl treatment should he
made n causo for divorce nnd that women
should be encournged to seek relief from
such a wrong. After myself and several
other women delegates had been denied the
right to speak nt a mass meeting of the
SonB of Tempcrnnco In Albany, N. Y., I
arranged for tho first state temperance
convention of women ever called and It
was held In Rochester, In April, lS.r2, with
delegates present from a number of
women's societies, which were then begin
ning to bo formed. I was encouraged In
this movement by Hornco Oreeloy, Itev.
William Henry Channlng nnd others of In
fluence and Mrs. Stanton, who was Just
coming Into notice for her eloquence nnd
ability, agreed to preside. I had put In
weeks of hard work getting up this meet
ing, a large crowd was In attendance nnd
everything looked favorable, but Mrs. Stan
ton's president's nddress proved to be a
veritable bombshell and nlmost broke up
'ho convention. Tho Incendiary paragraph
was ns follows:
"Let no woman remain In the iclatlon of
wlfo with a confirmed drunkard. Let no
ilrunknrd bo tho father of her children.
Let us petition our state gov
ernment so to modify tho laws nffectlng
marriage nnd the custody of children that
tho drunkard shall have no claims on wlfo
or child."
I was almost tho only woman present
who sustained Mrs. Stanton In this dec
laration; she declined to retract and
ovuitnally both of us felt compelled to
withdraw from the temperance association.
Her rirnl NlllTriiuc Coin entlon.
In September of that year I attended my
first suffrage convention, In Syracuse, N. Y
which was, Indeed, among the first ever
held. bueretln Mott presided, and among
the speakers were Hon. (lerrlt Smith. I.ucy
Stone, llev. Antoinette llrown (lllurkwcll).
Matilda Jnslyn (Inge, Paulina Wright Davis,
Clarlna Howard N'lchols and the eloquent
Polish e.lle, lhne.stlne I.. Hose. Mrs. Stnn
ton could not be present, but she sent n
letter, which I rend, and which, among
other radical utterances, repented tho de
mands that habitual drunkenness nnd cruel
treatment should be recognized ns onuses
for d'voroe. The press heralded these
statements abroad with the most scathing
criticism, while pulpit, plntform nnd the
public in gencrnl Joined In n chorus of de
nunciation of this most pernicious doctrine
Women themselves were loudest and long
est In their condemnation of a law which
would enable them to divorce a drunken
or brutnl husband and retain their children
nnd n part of the property.
This discussion was renewed nt all our
nnnunl meetings nnd found Its culmination
in tho last suffrage convention before the
brenklng nut of the civil wnr put nil other
questions In the bnckground. It was held
at Cooper Institute, New York City, In Mny,
ISM. nnd, ns usual, tho firebrand was np
pllod by Mrs. Stanton, who not only hnd
the courage of her convictions, but recog
nized no such word ns expediency. She,
presented a set of resolutions declaring
thnt, under certain conditions, divorce was
Justifiable, nnd supported them by n speech
which was a masterpiece of logic, beauty
nnd pathos. This convention, nlthough
composed of tho most liberal and ndvnnced
thinkers In the country, had not yet reached
Mrs. Stanton's position on this point.
Kven the broad-minded Wendell Phillips
moved to lay the resolutions on tho table
and expunge them from tho minutes, do
daring thnt this body had nothing to do
with nny laws except those which rest
unequally upon women, nnd thoso of
divorce did not! I spoke In reply nnd
showed how mnrrlnge always had been n
one-sided contract, resting most unequally
upon the sexes; how In nearly nil of tho
states a woman could not oven suo for di
vorce In her own name, or claim enough of
the community property to pay tho costs,
and how her success In such n enso was
purchased at the price of reputation, home
nnd children.
llctMoeii Ciirrlxon mid tlreeley.
William Lloyd Garrison sustnlned this po
sition with all his eloquence. Tho discus
sion sprend fnr nnd wide nnd produced tho
first schism In tho ranks of tho llttlo band
of suffragists who hnd stood shoulder to
shoulder In so many bnttles. Hornco Greeley
used the tremendous weight of the
Tribune's edltorlnl columns ngnlnst dlvorco
under nny clreumstnnces. Thus wnB the
contest waged for several decades against
a slowly yielding public sentiment, nnd tho
closing years of tho century hnvo witnessed
no greater social revolution than upon this
very question. Almost every state now
grants divorce for habitual drunkenness
nnd cruel treatment nnd theso nro recog
nized ns Just causes by all the churches ex
cept tho Catholic, although fifty years ago
this domand was for morn bitterly con
demned thnn that for woman suffrage, nut
the changed attitude of church nnd stnto Is
by no means so remarkable as thnt which
has taken place in public opinion. The di
vorced woman, who Is herself Innocent, Is
no longer put under a ban. hut may retain
her usual position In society, nnd mny go
nnd come and lie and do ns she chooses,
with even greater freedom than the mar
ried woman. The court provides that she
shall not be penniless If her husband be
possessed of means, and above nil she Is
nllouod, If Innocent, to retain her children.
What I would havo done with a bad hus
band, nnd what I would do If I belonged In
tho present generation and had made nn un
fortunate marriage, cannot be uuswered
with tlie same statement, in this dawn of
u blessed century for women I most as
suredly would have recourse to the law to
rectlf) my mistake and would sever the
bond which held me captive. Tho term
'hnd husband" Is, however, subject to many
constructions. I have seen women appar
ently well satisfied with men whom I should
unhesitatingly class under this head, and
ot lers greatly discontented with those who,
making due allowance for the imperfections
of liumnti nature, averaged very fairly In
the scale of matrimony. Hut there nro cor
tnln sins In marriage which are unpardon
able, and chief among these Is intidellty.
Tho man who has Iramgressed In this re
gard can never ngnln bo fully trusted. He
nny repent and endeavor to atone for his
sin. but confidence hns been destroyed, the
sacredness of the mutual vow hns been vio
lated, and the thorough respect, which Is
nbsolutely essentlnl to the highest form of
married life, never enn be entirely restored.
Tho husband may regret, tho wife may eon
done, hut tho solid foundation of marriage
has boon Irrevocably undermined.
Iiliuil tn Wlfe'x I'.nilen vorn,
How fnr a wlfo should go, how mnny
years she should spend, how great an effort
sin should make to "reform" nn hnbltunl
drunknrd, possibly each woman must deter
mine for herself. T1k general statement
may be mado thnt In the vast majority of
cases It will bo a useless sacrifice of time
and vitality. Ono never can feel sure of a
reformed Inebriate until the dnlslcs arc
growing above his head. Kven when a
womnn's love, or sense of duty, Is so strong
thnt she Is willing to devote Iter life to this
"reforming" process, she should settle with
her conscience whether she has a right to
bring children Into the world under these
unfavorable conditions, endowed with nn
inherltnnce which mny provn n curse for
many generations.
And then ngaln tho wife must decldo for
herself how much Is gained by submitting
to continuous lll-trentment. If there nro
no children nnd yet she pntlently endures,
many will consider thnt she passes beyond
tho pale of sympathy. If there are chil
dren, then tho mother Is confronted with n
scries of porploxlng problems. If they nro
young thero Is tho question of bringing
them up, of oducntlng them, of keeping
them together of maintaining tho home,
of giving them tho personnl nttentinn which
Is wholly Impossible If tho mother must be
tho breadwinner nnd nssume the duties
which by proper arrangement devolve upon
tho fnthcr. Most women will suffer long
nnd deeply before they will deprive their
children of these valuable rights. When
tho children are grown, then the mother
must faco other vltnl questions as she con
templates severing the ties which she hnn
found so galling. Sho has passed tho ngo
for earning money; sho is tired with long
yenrs of labor nnd needs tho shelter nnd
security of tho homo; her children hnvo
mndo tholr plnco In tho world nnd she hesl
tntes to enst oven tho shadow of reproach
upoi It; sons and daughters-ln-lnw have
como Into the family, still further to com
plicate mntters, nnd thus even then tho
woman hardly dares consider herself a free
agent. Hut In nil such eases. If she decides
that a legal separation Is not advisable, she
owes It to her own dignity and self-respect
to live her Individual life entirely apart
from that of the unfaithful, dissolute or
abusive husband, even though maintaining
to the world the upponranco of marriage.
OlillmilliniM Nut I.CMxeneil.
Wltlle greater freedom of dlnrcc Iuih
come ns mi Inestimable privilege to wives,
it by no means lessens their obligations to
endeavor by eery method consistent with
snfety, honor and duty to adjust tbemsehes
to the relations of marriage which the)
have assumed. An abuse of the opportunity
to sever theso relations Is demoralizing to
society and detracts from the sacredness
of the contract. Poverty. Illness, infirmi
ties of temper, uiicongenlallly are a pa it
of the grievous trials which manifest them
selves In mnny marriages. They must be
met bravely and philosophically and every
effort made to mitigate them rnther
thnn to run nwny from them. The nnte-nup-tlal
dream of paradise often has n rude
nwnkenlng, but It must be remembered that
even when Adam and Kvo were driven from
the garden of ICden thvy found a very good
world on the outside. An Imperfect bus
bnnd who falls short of the wife's Ideal Is
not necessnrlly a bad one, nnd by patient,
tnctful and sympathetic management some
times mny be transformnd Into n reasonably
good one; so she should exhaust every ro
source of diplomacy before she declares wnr
and calls for outside assistance.
SUSAN II. ANTHONY.
Pointed Paragraphs
Chicago News: The eavesdropper Is
always on tho list.
Some people nre more skinned ngnlnst
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I'erpeluni motion seems to be n failure
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Duty Is something the majority of men
like to neglect.
The opinion of a mnn who blows his own
horn Is upt to be sound.
Tit-re's more squeak than poetry In tho
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(Juldo books ennlilo tho traveler to view
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Tho Insidious banana ncel causes tho
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Youth nnd beauty cut n wido swnth when
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An application of money will sometimes
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Long hair may Indicate genius, but you
enn't convince n bnrbor that It does.
It tnkes a good deal of grief to kill n
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lalse tho wind pays dearly fur his whistle.
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