INDIANA
743
INDIANA
law to any creed, religious society, or motle of wor-
ship; and no man shall be compelled to attend, erect,
or support any place of worship, or to maintain any
ministry, against his consent. No religious test shall
be required as a qualification for any office of trust
or profit. No money shall be drawn from the treasury
for the benefit of any religious or theological institu-
tion" (Art. I, §17-51).
Marriage and Divorce. — The statutory grounds of divorce arc: adultery, impotency (pre-existing), abandonment for two years, cruel treatment, habitual drunkenness, failure to make provision for two years, or conviction of infamous crime. There has been generally considerable liberality upon the part of the courts in granting divorces. In 1907 there were 29,- 804 marriages and 39S0 divorces. It is estimated that the divorces of residents of the cities are fifty per cent above those from rural communities. The marriage of negroes and whites is proliibited; all parties contracting marriage must iirocure a licence; solemnizing without a licence is punished by a heavy fine. Recent enactment has yielded to the public sentiment against easy divorce, and greater restric- tions have l)een thrown aliout the procurement of the marriage licence. But legislation is far short of check- ing the evil.
Sale of Liquor. — Temperance sentiment has grown stronger in Indiana each year for the past twenty years and has voiced itself in increasingly restrictive legislation. The majority of voters in any township may by petition prevent the sale for two years there- after of intoxicants. And by the most recent enact- ment it is provi<led that, upon petition signed by twenty per cent of tlie aggregate vote last cast in the county for secretary of state, an election must be ordered to determine whether intoxicants may be sold within the county. A majority of the votes cast at such election shall determine the issue. Since this law was passed (Sept., 1908) about ninety per cent of the counties of the .State have been made " dry" terri- tory. The general sentiment of the community therefore is overwhelmingly opposed to the evils of intemperance, and the influence of the saloon in politics. Even where tolerated there are many statu- tory penalties, such as for selling to minors, to intoxi- cated persons, for maintaining "wine rooms" and the other evils incidental to the traffic. The disposition is growing stronger in favour of a drastic enforcement of these statutes.
Matters Affecting Religious Work. — The title to the property of the Roman Catholic Church in this State has of recent years Ijeen vested in the Ijishop of the dio- cese and his successors in office, in trust. This has been done to avoid the inconvenience of lay trusteeship of church and cemetery property authorized by statute. The .statutes relating to wills have not hampered the devising of property for charitable or religious pur- poses. Married women may (when of age) devise by will their real or personal estate since the statute of 1S.52. Foreign wills proved according to the law of the country where made are admissible to probate in this State in the manner specially prescribed. Under the constitution (.Art. XII) no person conscientiously opposed to bearing arms shall be compelled to do militia duty, l)ut shall pay an equivalent for exemp- tion. By recent statute clergymen are exempt from grand jury service. But, although there is no special statute exempting them from petit jury service, it has been the invarialsle custom not to draw clergymen for such service. By common law (no statute contra- vening) they are exempt from jury or military service.
Catholic Schools and Religious Houses. — Notre Dame University, in St. Joseph County, in charge of the Fathers and Brothers of the Holy Cross, is one of the largest Catholic institutions of learning in the United States. It was started in 1844 by Father Sorin, assisted by several brothers. The students
in 1907 numbered 8.33, and the faculty, 09 professors.
It has some 600 acres of land ; upon this estate, over
a mile distant from the university, is situated a large
school for young ladies, called St. Mary's of the Lakes,
started in 1855 and directed by the Sisters of the Order
of the Holy Cross; the number of students in 1908
was 297. A similar school, called St. Mary's of the
Woods, west of the limits of Terre Haute, tlates from
1845, when six Sisters of Provitlence, from Ruille-
sur-Loire, came with Mother Theodore at their head;
their mother-house is located here; there were 208
scholars in 1908, and they have several other schools
in the State. The Congregation of the Most Precious
Blood took charge of the Indian School at Rensselaer,
erected by Mother Katharine Drexel, and continued
it until the withdrawal of government support in
189G forced a discontinuance of the work. The col-
lege (St. Joseph's) started in 1891 is in a flourishing
condition, having been enlarged in 1897: the number
of students in 1908 was 200. The Poor Handmaids
of Jesus Christ have a mother-house at Fort Wayne;
they have charge of St. Vincent's Orphan Asylum
and a hos]iital at Fort Wayne. Since 1887 they have
had a sanatorium for consumptives at South Bend, a
hospital at Laporte, and numerous schof)ls.
The Sisters of St. Francis of the Perpetual .Adora- tion have a hospital (St. Elizabeth's) at Lafayette; the mother-house adjoins the hospital; they are also in charge of St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum (for boys) and St. Anthony's Home for the Aged, in the same city. They have also founded hospitals at Hammond, Logan.sport, New Albany, Terre Haute, and Michigan City; and elsewhere are in charge of schools. The Sisters of St. Joseph (founded by the Jesuit Medaille in 10.')()) have a convent school near Tipton, an acad- emy in Tipton, and schools at Delphi, Elwood, Ko- komo, and Logansport. The Sisters of the Most Precious Blood began their labours in Jay County in 1853; they are in charge of the Kneip "Sanatonum near Rome City, and several schools. The School Sisters of Notre Dame conduct several schools in the State. The Sisters of St. Agnes have been en- gaged in similar work since 1872. The St. Francis Sisters of the Sacreil Heart have a Home for the Aged Poor at Avilla, and nine schools and two orphan asylums. The Felician Sisters teach the parochial school at Otis. The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth teach two schools at South Bend. The Sisters of St. Dominic have charge of schools at Earl- park and Mishawaka; the Sisters of St. Francis con- duct the Wabash Railroad hospital at Peru.
St. Meinrad's Benedictine Abbey and College in Spencer County has a stately Gothic church of stone, connecting with large community and college build- ings. To the abbey belong 40 priests, 12 clerics, 6 choir novices, 42 lay brothers, and 1 novice. There are 80 ecclesiastical students, and in the college 271 students. St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum for boys at Lafayette was founded in 1875, with an endowment of 580 acres bequeathed by Rev. George A. Hamilton and a gift of 51 acres from Owen Ball and James B. Falley. It has ample brick buildings and cares for 133 children. The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ are in charge of St. Vincent's Asylum for girls at Fort Wayne, with 106 children. The Franciscan Fathers have at Oldenburg a monastery and their theo- logical study house with 24 clerics and 7 lay brothers. They are also engaged in pastoral work at Indianap- olis and Lafayette. The Little Sisters of the Poor have a house at Indianapolis with 136 inmates, and at Evansville with 101 inmates. The Sisters of the Good Shepherd have a house at Indianapolis. The Sisters of Charity have hospitals at Evansville and Indianap- olis. The Poor Clares have a monastery at Evans- ville. The Nuns of the Order of St. Benedict have a convent and academy in the same city. The mother- house of the Sisters of St. Francis is located at Olden-
