INCREASE OF DIVORCES One For Every Twelve Marriages In the United States. ANNUAL RATE 66,000 NOW. More Than Twice as Common as Forty Years Ago, Census Bureau Reports. Divorces Now Increasing Threa Times as Fast as Population. That divorce is two and one-half times as common in the United States as it was forty years ago and that one marriage in twelve nowadays ends in divorce are conclusions reached by of ficials of the census bureau at Wash ington In u new compilation of statis tics of marriage and divorce covering the twenty years from ISB7 to lOOti, in clusive. A previous investigation covering the twenty year period from ISG7 to 18811, inclusive, bad been carried out by the department of labor, and Mr. Carroll I>. Wright, who was then com missioner of labor, has been associ ated with the present inquiry as an expert special agent of the census bu reau. In the twenty year period covered by the latter investigation there have been 12,832,044 marriages recorded. In i the same time there have been 945,025 ; divorces. For the previous twenty ; years there had been reported 328,71(5 divorces, little more than a third of i the number for the second twenty j year period. When the first investiga tion was Instituted, forty years ago. j divorces occurred at the rate of 10,000 j a year. Now the annual rate is CG.OOO. j This increase, however, is to be con- j sidered In connection with increase in j population. The report adduces statist! • to show that divorces are now lucicaslng about three times as fast as popula- j tion, while during the decade 1870 ; 1880 they increased only about two and two-thirds as fast. The divorce ' rate for each 100,000 of population in creased from twentv-nine in 1870 to eighty-two in 1905. In the former year 1 there was one divorce for every 3,441 persons and in the latter year one for every 1,218. But a more significant divorce rate j is that which is based not upon totai population, but upon married popula- j tion. The rate for each 100,000 mar- 1 ried population was 81 in the year 1870 and 200 In the year 1900. Geographically Illinois leads in total i divorces granted for the last twenty ; year period, with 52.209, and Ohio is | second, with 63,982, other states being j close up. New York's list of divorces for the twenty years ended and inclusive of : 1900 was 29,125, whereas for the pre- j vious twenty years it had been 15,- 1 355. The rate in 1900 was twenty three for each 100,000 population. In 18S0 it was sixteen. Pennsylvania's total for the last twenty years was 39,080 and that of .Massachusetts 22.940. The highest rate in the eastern states is that of Maine, 117 for each 100,000 popula tion. Wives obtain two-thirds of the ill- ! vorces. Desertion constitutes 38.9 per cent of the grounds for all divorces, and neglect to provide, unfaithfulness, < rue!ty and drunkenness are i ther i round*. Five dhvr.-i .< are grained i "io wi."e for cruelly to one for the I usli:ind. Alimony was asked by t!:ree < ives out of sixteen and obtained by two out of sixteen. An idd feature of the report is that 1 io proportion of busbr.'uij '-iio ask d for alimony was 2.S per coat and tl it j J p< v cent obtained it. In Ft: b • i.\ ; 1 us 1 ands obtained divor-es for tun-! jp: oft. Tl • fifth year of married lif • we is i > ! :.vp been the mo ! davgiw •>*.<• i id ! iuo;-; likely to bring the al > -hip upon the rocks. From the first to the fifth year the ratio Increases, but after the fifth year there is less tendency to separation, although the j number of divorces does not fall be- ' low that of the tirst year. The average duration of marriages ' terminated by divorce is about ten years. Sixty per cent, or three-fifths, last less than ten years, and 40 per i-ent last longer. Cargo of Five Thousand Cats. Japan, it seems, is infested with rats, and the reason Is explained by a Paris contemporary- viz, that the Japanese cats, which are not prolific, arc pamperfd to an extraordinary de gree. During the last few days, the chronicler proceeds, a ship has left one of the principal German ports with 5,000 cats on board. These on arrival .are to bo settled iu the various mari time towns of the mikado's dominions, and we further learn, says the London Globe, that the present consi .'iu:: nt of eats Is to be followed by fi ur others, each of 5,00(1. The nanie of the prin cipal German port is not given. "Job" Insurance. Insurance Commissioner James V. l!a:ry of Michigan has discovered a new form of insurance among rail road conductors, says a Lansing dl - patch. It Is a "Job" Insurance scheme by which every man who loses his po siiion through any cause except drunk enness or garnishment of salary re ceives $5W>. The next legislature will be asked to pass a law regulating and controlling this form of insurance. William J. Boss, a Michigan Central conductor, is the organizer. A Monster Cave. A cave has lately been discovered in New Zealand which is larger even than the Mammoth cave of Kentucky. Women and Words. Mrs. Stubb —Now, women nre not im pulsive, like you men. They always measure their words. Mr. Stubb (with a sigh)— Oh. If some of them would only give short measure!— Chicago News. Getting His Own Back. "The giraffe has a tongue eighteen inches long." said Mrs. Talkm -re. "And knows how to hold It, too," growled Mr Talkmore. who had had a lone curtain lecture the night before London Answers. Young Folks New Candy Game. The hostess should write the follow ing questions on sheets of paper, of course omutiug the answers, and give one to each guest, awarding boxes of bonbons for prizes: What caudy Is a spice and a money making establishment? Peppermint. What sweets are wild tlowers of the spring fields? Buttercups. What goodies result when a sour fruit rolls off the table? Lemon drops. What caudy Is a lively goat and a near neighbor of the English? Butter scotch. What caudy is rubber and"to fall?" Gumdrop. And which consists of a famous riv er iu the east and a variety of nuts? Jordan almonds. What candy good for the throat is gray with age and hunting dog? llore hound. What American dainty is "to ex plode" and an important food product? Popcorn. What species of caramels are an un complimentary,exclamation? Fudge. What popular flavor is likely holly and mistletoe? Wintergreen. What bonbons should show which way the wind blows? Straws. The Dijon Popiar. A traveler in France speaks of a 1 poplar tree that the writer saw In the city of Dijon, which is the olilest tree of its kind hi Fran-e. It is 122 feet] in hi ' !it iit'd is forty-live feet in cir cunift ivtice :it the base. The city conn- j cil has u:i ithentic rec rJ of the his tory of tlie tree since the year 722. The people of Dijon nre proud of It. so much so that 11 • • t ! -'.lr; igo vot ed to lev; ,i tax to put a r liling around it. so that it inighl be pr tected from possible injury. It is .> Ito see sen timent of this kind. Questions end Answers. When could the British empire tie purchased for the lowest sum': When Richard HI. offered his kingdom for a horse. What is the largest room in the world? The room for improvement. When may a man be said to break fast liefore he gets up? When he takes a roll In lied.—Philadelphia Ledger. ABOUT A WATCH. Marvelous Feats Performed by the Most Delicate of Machines. The watch is the smallest, most deli cate machine that was ever construct ed of the same number of parts. About 175 different pieces of material enter its construction, and upward of 2,400 separate operations are comprised in its manufacture. Some of the facts connected with Its performance are simply incredible when considered in total. A blacksmith strikes several thousand blows on his anvil in a day and is right glad when Sunday comes around, but the roller jewel of a watch makes every day and day after day 4.'12,000 impacts against the fork, or 157,t:80,000 blows In a year without stop or rest, or 3,153,000,000 in the short space of twenty years. These figures are beyond the grasp of our feeble intellects, but the marvel does not stop here. It lias been esti mated that the power that moves the watch Is equivalent to only four times the force used in a flea's jump; conse quently it might be called a four flea power. One horsepower would suffice to run 270.000,000 watches. Now. the balance wheel of a watch is moved by this four flea power one and forty-three one-hundredths inches with each vibration—3,ssß% miles con tinuously in one year.—Chicago News. Find the Seven Babies. ITere is an ancient but interesting puzzle: One and one and one make three, any one would say upon glancing at this picture of the fine little boys, but it is not what you see first that is the right answer to the question. "How many are there? Look again, and perhaps you will be sharp enough to see that one and one and one make not three, but more than twice three—seven. Look among the squirming arms and legs, among the chubby bands and feet, and you cannot fail to make up the puzzling addition. And after you have found all seven of the baby boys take the picture and have some fun with your friends watching them fuss' and fume that they cannot see more than the ortgiual three babies. Would Let Folks Know It. Somebody sent this to the society editor and made affidavit that it really happened. Here it is: They were out at an aft ernoon card party. A stout woman dropped a card to the floor. "Would you be so kind as to pick up that card for me?" she inquired of the little wo man at her right. "Certainly," said the accommodating woman at the right, picking up the card. "You see," explained the stout wo man apologetically, "I've got on a brand new fifty dollar corset, and I'm afraid I'll strain it if I lean over." "Hum!" commented the other wo man enviously. "If I had a fifty dol lar corset I'd wear It on the outside. I really would." Cleveland Plain Dealer Sad Termination. Said She—Did the story you were writing when I last saw you end hap pily or unhappily? Said He—Unhappily. The publisher-- tefused to accept it.—Chicago News. SLEEP CURE FOR SIN. Clergyman Says Wives Can Keep Hus bands Home by Using It. The sleep cure Is the latest discovery In the realm of mental suggestion. Just who discovered It has not been revealed, but Its marvelous powers were described the other day by the Kev. Henry C. Rose, rector of the Church of the Redeemer, in Newark, N. J. Of course sleep Itself helps to refresh tired mortals, but the Rev. Mr. Rose said that by mental suggestion when the subject Is asleep husbands can be cured of vice, crimes can be prevented and bad habits of children removed. As an Instance of the power of mental suggestion when the sub ject Is aslecj> the clergyman cited the case of a woman who cured her liun band of his nightly habit of going to his club. As described by the Rev. Mr. ltose the sleep cure Is based on a simple theory. lie said that while the con scious self Is asleep the subconscious self is awake. In fact, it never sleeps. All a wife lias to do is to sit by her husband's bed and appeal to the wide awake subconscious self to make the husband good. The clergyman said he and the Rev. El wood Worcester, rector of the Emmanuel Protestant Episco pal church of Boston, experimented on about a hundred children of depraved minds and that thirty-live were cured entirely, forty-live were helped mate rially and that the treatment failed only in twelve cases. In describing the case of the woman who tried the sleep cure on her hus band and thereby stopped hiiu from neglecting bis home for his club the clergyman said that the wife sat by tier husband's bed and told him that the next night he would not goto his club to drink and carouse, but that he would couie home, have a good din ner and spend tlie evening with her. "The next day the husband came home as ills wife said lie would," the Rev. Mr. Rose asserted "lie forgot his club, and soon, after persisting in the treatment, the wife cured him en tirely. If such treatment is beueticial to tlie husband It will be good for wives too. They might be kept from extravagance In dress, and many un happy homes might be brightened." Lambs For Spanish Children. Directly after Lent there is observed in Spain a custom that is particularly Interesting to children. It is what may be termed the sale of the lambs, for on Monday morning after Easter the shepherds have their lambs and goats on sale in nil the cities. The animals are kept in temporary pens, and It Is the rule for parents to permit their children of from five to twelve years of age to purchase a pet lamb or goat. After the animal is selected It Is tak eu to the home residence and given the freedom of the courtyard und quite often the greater part of the house. It is every child's ambition to train the pet so that it will at least follow its owner like a dog, and if a few simple tricks are added to the lamb's or kid's education the master or mistress is proud indeed. Girls especially delight in these pets, and often the animals are so bedecked with bows and ribbons as almost to hide their bodies. The sale of the lambs Is a very old custom and Is supposed to have originated through some form of the church. The Dog's Tail. A prominent citizen was on trial charged with harboring a vicious dog The attorney for the defense had been consulting a dog expert and had learned that If a dog holda his tail up over his back when be barks he is not angry, while if he holds it straight out behind him he is in a belligerent, bloodthirsty frame of tnlnd. Anxious to air his newly acquired information, the lawyer began cross questioning the prosecuting witness thus: "Now. did you notice the position in which this dog's tail was held when he came at you?" "I did not," said the witness, "for that was not the end from which I anticipated injury. 1 had another end in view. Now, if the dog had been a hornet" — "No levity, sir!" thundered the attor ney. "Answer the question. In what position was the dog's tail when he came at you?" "I believe, sir," faltered the terrified witness, "that it was behind him."— Chicago News. Nothing but Cod. Kate Field once visited the Isles of Shoals and went fishing with a New England skipper. During the voyage she interviewed the old salt on the fish question, with the following re sult: Said I to the skipper: "What do you consider the best fish for boiling?" Skipper Roiling? Why, cod. to be Hire. I—And what is best for baking? Skipper—You couldn't have no better tlsh nor cod for bakinjr. I How is it with broiling? Skipper I never tasted no better fish for broiling than cod. I—What Is your opinion about fry ing? "Frying!" repeated the skipper, scratching his head. "Why, what would you fry but cod?" I -What fish is best for general pur poses? Skipper—General purposes! Cod can't be beat for general purposes. I tell yon! Know All About George. "Do you know, my daughter, that every name means something? For in stance. Charles means brave, William resolute, George"— "Oh, I know what George means, mother." "Well, what Is it?" "George means business. He told me so last night."—Chicago Inter Ocean. Apt Pupil. Friend—You took your son Into your establishment some months ago to teach him the business, I understand. How did it turn nut? Business Man (venrlly)—Great suc cess! He's teaching me now. The Return. Magistrate-1 112 I remember rightly, this Is not your first appearance in court. I'Wsoner—No. your honor: but I hope you ('on't judge by appearances. —Harper's Weekly. a "Demis| 9 By EPES W. SARGENT. 9 I Copyrighted, 1908, by Associated T Y Literary Press. V "Billy," announced Daisy solemnly, "I gotter die." Billy Sea ton's big bine eyes grew round with surprise. "Don't," he urged. "Tommy Bind- I ley's birthday party is next week, and they're goln' to have tive kinds of cake and three kinds of Ice cream. Billy was sick last year and this is last year's party too." "I'm not going to bo dead that long," explained Daisy. "This is only a little dead." "I don't see no fun in dying just for a little while," scorned Billy, his fears allayed. "If I was to die I'd want to stay dead—but I don't want to die," he added hastily. "I don't want to," admitted Daisy, j "but 1 gotter. You know my lace shawl?" Billy nodded. lie had reason for re- J mombertug the shawl, for had he not j been spanked for throwing a bit of j Jelly cake at Daisy when she was | wearing it? It was old and yellow, but j they had made a terrible fuss about it. j "I cut a teenty piece offen it," con- j tinned Daisy. "It was the littlest bit I of a piece, but"—her voice hushed to j an awed whisper—"l'm goln' to be! spanked when ma gets home tonight." ' Billy nodded understanding!}'. It was Mrs. Dimlop's principle to permit at least twelve hours to elapse between the detection and punishment of ju venlle offenses, during which period , the culprit was permitted to suffer ■ cCV lUI ' Mm Hal: J023 I "ALL TUB SAMIf, PROMPT PATMEfTS MARK I GOOD FBIKNDB." those agonies of anticipation far more j effective than the gentle spanking | which constituted the nominal cxpira- j tion. Billy preferred his mother's plan, in i which the sole of the maternal slipper j followed hot noon the heels of