of marrying men to reform them. If a young man by twenty-five years of
age or thirty years of age has the habit of strong drink fixed on him,
he is as certainly bound for a drunkard's grave as that a train
starting out from Grand Central Depot at 8 o'clock to-morrow morning
is bound for Albany. The train may not reach Albany, for it may be
thrown from the track. The young man may not reach a drunkard's grave,
for something may throw him off the iron track of evil habit; but the
probability is that the train that starts to-morrow morning at 8
o'clock for Albany will get there and the probability is that the
young man who has the habit of strong drink fixed on him before
twenty-five or thirty years of age will arrive at a drunkard's grave.
She knows he drinks, although he tries to hide it by chewing cloves.
Everybody knows he drinks. Parents warn, neighbors and friends warn.
She will marry him, she will reform him.
If she is unsuccessful in the experiment, why then the divorce law
will emancipate her, because habitual drunkenness is a cause for
divorce in Indiana, Kentucky, Florida, Connecticut, and nearly all the
States. So the poor thing goes to the altar of sacrifice. If you will
show me the poverty-struck streets in any city I will show you the
homes of the women who married men to reform them. In one case out of
ten thousand it may be a successful experiment. I never saw the
successful experiment. But have a rigorous divorce law, and that woman
will say, "If I am affianced to that man it is for life; and if now in
the ardor of his young love, and I am the prize to be won, he will not
give up his cups, when he has won the prize, surely he will not give
up his cups." And so that woman will say to the man, "No, sir, you are
already married to the club, and you are married to that evil habit,
and so you are married twice, and you are a bigamist. Go!"