PRICE FIVE CENTS
jrUfcUAlft LAI flU. JZO
A STOMA, OREGON, SUN DAY. DECEMBER 9, 1906
Trial Marriages
Are Not Novel
Mrs. Parsons' Proposed Plan Has Been Practised for
. Ages by Many Races.
iiy a. w. oui:i:i,y.
rlmonluj
AnRUOE on trial." tlio mut-
roforni proposd by
I'tnon In bar much
MtU!cd book. "Th Family,"
la no novelty. Th pro
posed method of selection which ha
stirred the pulptl to frensy, of pltht
tent protests, and scathing denuncia
tion, has been In practical operation
times before they can settle down eon
tented," Among th Mantraa In the
Malay peninsula. It U not uncommon to
meet Individual who have bn mar
rled forty or fiffty (lm. The n?d
ouln are equally critical, and men
forty-llv e year old have been known
to have hud more than fifty wive In
succession, which I probably the high
for countless centuries In nearly every ( water mark In the record of probation
part of the world and flourish today ry matrimony.
with all the vigor of the traditional
bay tree In America, Africa, Aula and
the Inland of the Pacific.
In the evolution of the marriage
relation, prohnttonn! matrimony, In
one form or another, ha been a fea
ture of the family life of practically
very race, Mr. Parson application
of the Inductive or Tlaconlitn method
aa a species of first aid to the Ero
f stricken In their purault of matrtmo
f nlal felicity (cynic y the two word
'f : are mutually destructive and contra-
-. dlotory) I an appeal to hltorlcal ex-
A Iperlem e of the race and not, a nearly
1 all of her vituperative orltlca assert, a
; 'radical, anarcblsllo "reform" of her
i: town creation. s
,? In fact, Mr. Paron' matrimonial
- probation suggestion ; might 'without
I I undue vlolenoe ta language and ae
jt 1 curacjr of statement' be called thuAm-
erlcaa" or "Wyandott" plan, a mar
' flags on trial ha been front
i time Immemorial an established Instl-
tatlon among the Indiana, According
I io ths (taternentf of ethnologists
I many Indian tribe dissolve their
r patrimonial unlona a readily a they
I enter In to Into them, and the VVynn
; dote, according to the testimony of
Wait a, had trial marriage which were
I tending for a few days only.',
I Schoolcraft tell u that among the
; dreek "'marriage la considered only
I'm temporary convenience, not bind-1
lag on the parties more than one year,"
i tbs consequence being that "a large
I proportion of the old and middle aged
i men by frequent changing, have hud
had many wive and their children
V scattered around the country are un-
yiitiown to them." Evidences of ex-
'i pVlmnntal matrimony and connubtul
I variety are found among many of the
I' ojher American Indian tribe on both
i continent.
(i In part of Greenland tlx month I
I the trial dead line, husband and wife
I twpnratlng If the "two hearts-two
mind" theory develop discord In-
I td of hnrmony. Marrlnge among
I the Tlotocudon, according to Keanne, la
I oft a purely temporary nature, "dt
'tlved on the slightest pretext, or
without any pretext at all, merely
through love of chnnge or caprice."
"fa Tasmania," lay Dr. Mllllfran,
J ': rial" marriage result In a luooeiilon
i of wlv." In Snmoa the wlfo' tenure
of office Is frequently limited to a few
O y or week, and marrlnge I some-
j time only an excuse for the feast and
i festival so dear to the heart of the
S, pleasure-loving natives,
i . In the Indlnn archipelago It In a com
! rmm practice for formal marriage to
;' be limited sometimes for only a month
(, and of other for a period of several
St. John say that among the
Pynk there are few mlddlo-aged men
i who have not had several wives, and
2 instances have bean known of young
?' woman of seventeen or eighteen who
. have already had three or four hus
l bands, In portions of Indo-Chlna It Is
' suld to be a rare occurence for any wo
; man to arrive at middle age without
having a family by two or more hus
! bands.
Tho Maldavlana are 10 caprlolous
' that it often happens that a man mnr
rl"s and divorces the same, -woman
.fnroa or four times in the oourss of
o'i! life. The Singhalese are even more
" flimcult to please In choosing partners.
Knox says: "Both men and woman
have frequently to marry four or five
The trial marriage lda t firmly es
tabllshed In part of Persia, where
"Blghe" wife may be taken In mar
rings for a legally stipulated period.
which msy vary from one hour to nine
ty nine years. The Bygptlans are al
so wedded to the probation Idea which
In tha vallley of old Ml us probably Is
mors ancient than tha silent Sphinx
and the pyramids of Cllaeh. Lane I
authority for the statement that there
are not many persons who have not
separated from at least one wife If
they have been married any length of
time, and he assert that many Egyp
tian have In the course of fwo year
married aa many as twenty, thirty, or
even mors wives, which 1 going some
to say th least. There are many E-
gyptlan women, still young, .who hays
been wive to a dosen or mors men In
succession beors discovering the de
sired haven of matrimonial happiness
or possibly giving up the quest disil
lusioned. II is also authority for the
statement that soma men have a new
wife every month for years before dls
his servants, a middle-aged man who
had taken nineteen wives in trial sue
cession to his bosom. Indeed, accor
ding to Reads, among the Moors of the
Sahara It la considered unfashionable
and vulgar to llv too long together.
He says: "The leeders of fashion axe
thos who are oftenest divorced."
What a blow at the boasted social
supremacy of Chicago and Newport)
In Abyysslnla marriage Is genner
ally entered Into for a .period of years,
and throughout Africa It la ths custom
of many of ths tribes to marry on trial
for a flxed time. Among the Bondos
It Is ths privilege of the husband to
send away his wife as often as hs likes
Tills custom Is so widespread that the
paternity of the children is generally
unknown.
The laws of the ancient Persians,
Greeks, Hebrews, Teutons, and Ro
mans made separation easy. At the
close of the Roman Republic and In
the palmy days of the republic divorce
was a scandal of colossal proportions
Dislike was often considered sufficient
grounds for divorce, which was re
garded as merely a private act. The
Aleuts used to exchange their wive
for food, and In Tonn a husband dl
vorcc hi wife when dissatisfied with
hor by simply telling her to go. In Tu
catan a mnn might divorce his wife for
the merest trifle.
Among some people custom ha II
mltod the right to separation after
trial marriages. Among the Kukls the
marriage Is Indlssolvable If ths wife
becomes the mother of a son, but the
husband can cast off the wife If they
disagree, providing that there Is no
son born to them. The Red Karens In
Indo-Chlna allow separation If, there
are nq children but forbid It otherwise.
In wwtrn Victoria a man can divorce
a childless . woman, but. only after a
hearing before the chiefs of his and
her tribes. Among the Santats the
consent of the husband's clansmen
must precede separation. Among cer
tain lower races, according to Wester
marck, the consent of the woman I
necessary to separation.
The Chinese codo gives seven Just
causes for divorce including loquacity,
inattention to parents-ln-law, and ill
temper. One of the old Chinese books
declares: "When a , woman has any
quality that is not good, It Is but
Just and reasonable to turn her out of
door. Among the ancients a wlfs was
turned away If she allowed ths house
to be full of smoke or It sh frightened
ths dog with her disagreeable noise."
Notwithstanding this, Westermnrck
declare that divorce I rare In China.
While Mohammed forbid ths capri
cious repudiation of a wife, )et, prac
tically, a Mohammedan may, whenever
he pleases, without assigning any rea
son, say to hi wife, "Thou srt divor
ced," and she must return to her par
ent. Ths "Iaw of Menu" permitted
divorce of the wife if she drank, was
wasteful or quarrelsome.
But the ancient customs among many
of th savage an'd seml-clvlllzed peo
pies gave the woman, as well ss the
husband ths right to sever unsatlsfnc-
tory marrlnge trials. In Madagascar
a wife can divorce herself for several
causes and this is true of many of the
lower races. Among the Columbians,
according to Bancroft, elthor party can
dlssolvs ths tie "at will. All that is
necessary for a Bonak wife to do Is to
leavs her husband and he has no fur
ther claim upon her. Among the Nv
ajoes, when a woman marries she be
comes '.'free," and may leave her hus
band for any sufficient cause, .
In ths Hawaiian Islands "a man and
a woman live together ss long ss the
please and may at any time separate
and make choice of other partners."
In Tshlto and New Guinea marriage
can be dissolved whenever either of the
parties desires it. Among the Shons,
Coloquobn says "should the husband
tak to drinking or otherwise miscon
ducting himself, the woman has the
right to turn him adrift and to retain
all the goods and money of ths part
nershlp." In Burnish, If one of ths
parties Is unwilling to separate. , the
other Is free to go, providing all the
property except the clothe to srsar Is
if ft behind.. Ths- Imlas custom .gives
ths woman ths right to decide whether
the matrimonial onion Is to be main
tnlned. According to Kandh custom
a wife can return to her father's house
within six months after marrlnge, and
if childless she can at any time quit
her husband. ;
Jn Eastern Central Africa If the bus-
band neglects to sew his wife's clothss
she msy leave him, and among ths 0&
renganss s wife may leavs her hus
band any time she cares to do so.
Among the mors advanced nations
the wife, as In ancient Mexico, could
sue for separation as well as the hus
band. In Guatemala the wife could
end the matrimonial venture upon even
as slight grounds ss could the husband
China refuses the wife a legal separa
tion, but the Talmudlo law of ths He
brews gave her certain causes upon
which shs could secure divorce. The
ancient Hindus and Teutons would al
low the wife to leave her husband only
In certain exceptional circumstances,
but among the Saxons and Panes in
England, according to Westermarck,
marrlnge might be dissolved at the
pleasure of either party, the wife, how
ever, being obliged to return the price
paid for her If she left her husband
without his consent. In most of the
Christian states of Europe to-day the
wife Is given the same rights In divorce
as hor husband, but In Englnnd other
charges In addition to Infidelity must
be proved against the husband, and
slmllnr conditions are found In Italy,
Spain and Portugal,
Among many savage tribes it Is the
custom to caBt off the first wife whtn
she becomes old and ugly. This I true
of the Tahltlan. When an Aleut wife
'ceases to posses attractions of value
In the eyes of her husband she Is sent
back to her friends." A Malay fre
quently turns away his wife as soon
as she becomes ugly from hard work
and maternal cares. The Dyak hus
band dismisses his helpmeet when she
Is too lazy or too weak to work, and
among the Singhalese sickness is a
common reason for the repudiation of
a wife.
But there Is another side to the pro
blem. Many of the lower races view
marriage as a practically Indissoluble
relation to bo ended only by death.!
Ths Gqeentandftrs . sdjdfim, repudiate
wives who have children. Among tho
Naudowessles .divorce Is . remarkably
rare. The Irrlquols, In ancient times.
regarded separation discreditable to
both man and woman, Among the Pat
tagonlans marriage Is for a life time.
In Tonga more than half the married
women are parted from their hus-
(Continued on Pag 11)
I CURRENT SOCIAL EVENTS I
Ths Monday Club's fair at tbs Reed
Building yesterday was thoroughly en
joyable and wholly successful and re
flected happily upon its managers In
every way.
A pleasant informal session of the
Eastern Star was held at th lodge
room on Tuesday afternoon lest, when
special honors were paid to Past Ma
tron Barbara Hartwig, the expression
of good will being emphasised by th
bestowal of a beautiful bowl and pitch
er of cut-glass aa a testimonial of
th respect and affection In which she
I held by her f raters and friends In
ths order and out of It Music and
refreshments contributed to the fur
ther pleasures of tha session; ths oc
casion being ths early departure of
th lady for her new home in tbs Gol
den Stats.
Oa Friday afternoon a very pleasant
surprise was given Mrs. Schofleld at
her home, f th and Duane streets. The
afternoon was spent In quilting, after
which Mrs. Schofleld spread a large
bosket, brought by the ladles and
there found any amount of good things
to eat. Thoe present were Mrs. 3.
Wylard, Mrs., Chs. Burllngame, Mrs.
I Moore Mrs. Frank Donnerberg.
Mrs. Harvey Goodall, little Miss Clover
Burllngame and Master Georgle Good
alL Mrs. IL Goodall entertained the
Clover Club on Tuesday afternoon at
her home on Duane street The par
lors were beautifully decorated with
potted plants and fern. After the
regular order of business a- dainty
lunch was served. The center-plec
on the table was a beautiful bouquet
of Brides Roses,
One of ths events of ths forthcoming
week will bs the pipe-organ recital
by Prof. Fred Goodrich of Portland,
on Tuesday night, next, at th First
Lutheran church; Miss Maja Fredrick
son assisting. Art events of this char
acter appeal to the culture of Astoria's
nicest people always. . .
AN APT SUGGESTION.
"Astoria, Dec. 8, 1906.
"To the Editor:
"An article was published In th
Budget of Friday evening signed
Taw Abiding Citizen.' I have no de
sirs to argue a matter with Mr. Law
Abiding Citizen' or anyone else, un
less they have the courage to sign
their names to their articles. But It
Mr. L. A. C. will make his Identity
known, I will take the argument up
at any time.
"CHA8. H. ABERCROMBD3."
Up th River Tho. Qulnn arrived
in ths city yesterday from up river
points and reports considerable dam
age done to log booms and wharves;
particularly along th north side of tha
river between Stella and fJkamokawa,
during ths recent storm. Several log
rafts went adrift, but were picked UP
with very little loss.
I Big December Bargains ;
At Astoria's Great Shopping Center.
You musfnot fail to read this ai and then come and see the goods.!
T J A assk. sa 4s.
$J,U0 Dress ttoods UU.
All wool Panamas in 50, 52 and 54-inch
widths, the best wearing fabric made
tor walking suits, etc. $1.50 grade for
$1.19; $1.25 grade for 98c, and the $1.00
grade for 81c.
Silk Department.
For this week we offer 2,800 yards of
all silk Japs, for linings and fancy work;
come in 24 and 25 inch widths; very
special, the yard at 25c
Crepe De Chines for
Du Barry Scarfs.
This is the favorite fabric for these
faddish scarfs, and we have the most
complete assortment possible, at, the
yard $1.00, $1.25 and $1.50
Women's $1 Underwear 85c
White or natural Merino pants and
vests, medium weight goods, sells reguv
larly for $1.00 the garment, special for
this week only at 85c
Women's Black Cashmere Hose, for
this week only at ;.. 25c
Women's fine ribbed Cashmere Hose
for this week only at 40c
; Full assortment of Fleischner's Knit
ting Yarn 25c skdn
Big selection of ChalHs Ginghams
and Calicoes 4c the yard
The best' assortment of Ladies' and
Children's cloaks and suits in Astoria,
from $2.50 up to $35.00 each
Astoria Agents for Royal
Worcester Corsets.
Buy "someone" a Fur Scarf or set of
Women's velvet Costumes. Reduced
one fourth.
Special Lace Sale
Mechlin and Maltese Laces Is com
plete sets; splendid for trimming so
many of the little things you'll be
making for pretty Christmas gifts,
priced like this:
-Inch wldthi per yard ......So
-lnch width for. per yard, 12 and 15o
1-lnch width. yard....15o 18o and 20o
Mechlins Laces and Insertion, es
pecially suitable for the trimming of
fine kerchiefs, waists or any article
that need tha application of filmy,
foamy laces. , , ,
See These Kerchiefs
An Linen Kerchiefs with embroidered
and hemstitched edges 15c, 25o, 35o
and up from ,......50o
Initial Kerchiefs of pur linen, Rich
ardson's make hemstitched; 25o
each, or a box of six for $125
Fine Initial - Kerchiefs, hemstitched,
S5o grade, box of six for. ...... .$1.50
Hemstitched Handkerchiefs, pure lln- .
en, special , values at 35c 26c, 20o,
17c, 15e, 12jC and 10o
Colored Check Kerchiefs, the latest
fad In women's handkerchiefs, splen
did assortment, special values at
each 40o
Elastic Belts
That's the newst and these are among
the best; made In the nail-studded
effects, come In white, black or col
ored and selling up from $125
Scarfs and Boas of Ostrich feathers,
in black, white or colors, every one
a special value; prices up from $15.00
Ribbon Specials
Miles and miles of Ribbon at this
great Ribbon store. Holiday time calls
for ribbon for so many thlruta. You'd
better come here today bent on ribbon
buying.
No. 1, all silk Ribbon, per yard....2o
Or the piece of 10 yards for.... 18c
No. ltt Ribbon, all silk the yard..3o
Or the piece of, 10 yards for. .25o
No. 2 Ribbon, all silk, the yard for 3'2o
Or the piece of 10 yards for....30o ,
THE A. DUNBAR GO. I
Astoria's Foremost Dry Goods,. Suit and Silk House. ; , ,