he
right man for Dolly. Even a smile that never comes off, great
lubricator that it undeniably is, is not sufficient foundation for a
"till-death-do-us-part" contract.

Little Things vs. Big Things

When we hear of a divorce we assume that it was caused by the
inability of those two people to agree upon fundamentals. We suppose
that they found within themselves wide divergences of opinion, feeling
or attitude regarding really worth while questions--social, religious,
political or economic. We are inclined to imagine that "the little
things" should take care of themselves and that only the "big things"
such as these should be allowed to separate two lives, once they have
been joined together.

What the Records Show

Yet the exact opposite is what happens, according to the divorce
records of the United States.

These records show that divorces do not arise out of differences in what
we have always called the big things of life, but out of those things
which we have always called the little ones.

Why He Can't Change

We do not expect a husband or wife to change his religion and take on
his partner's faith. We imagine this is an inherent thing more or less
deeply imbedded in him and not to be altered, while we consider it only
fair and right for John to give up his favorite sport, his hobby and
some of his habits for Mary's sake.

At the risk of shocking the supersensitive, it must be admitted that
most individuals get their religious leanings from external
sources--parents, teachers, ministers, friends and especially by the
accident of being born in a certain country, among a certain sect or
within a certain community.

On the other hand, one's preferences in the matter of diversions are
born in him, part and parcel of his very being and remain so to the end
of his life. Accordingly, just as it is easier to change the frosting on
a cake than to change the inside, it is easier to change a man's
religion than to change his activities.

Diversion and Divorce

Most of the divorces granted in America during the past ten years have
been demanded, not on grounds dealing with the so-called fundamentals,
but for differences regarding so-called unimportant things. And more
than seventy out of every hundred divorces every year in this country
are asked for on grounds pertaining to _diversion_.

In other words, more than seventy per cent of American divorces are
granted because husbands and wives can not adap