The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-12-23

MARRIAGE DISSERTATION
The Divorce Jugglers Of New York
Law and Decency Set at Defiance
How Evidence is Manu-
factured by Professional
Perjurers.

Much has been written concerning the loose
divorce laws of Indiana Illinois, and Conuec-
ticut, and it is generally supposed that those
States offer facilities for severing the marriage
relation which can be found in no other section.
The statutes of this State refusing divorces eX-
cept for the crime of adultery, it would seem
that New York should be the last place in which
person would apply for divorce on trivial
grounds of complaint and there is a popular
idea that with all the evils which society suffers
in this city the divorce business has not attained
"A foothod here. This impression is very erro-
neous. The accommodations afforded at western
railway stations, where trains are said to stop
fifteen minutes for divorces, are equalled, if not
surpassed in this respect in New York. and any
married man or woman who discovers new
affinity can here be cut loose from matrimonial
partner in the most expeditions manner.
But there is class of men who make regu-
lar business of procuring divorces, who keep
about them retinue of professional perjurers
to manufacture evidence, and who will get
decree of divorce for any person at short notice.
Not only are false atlidavits made out but
judicial signatures are forged, and, in nine cases
out of ten, the credulous applicant receives for
his money decree of divorce which will not
stand moment when disputed by regular legal
proceedings.
There is one class of applicants who are always
furnished by the procurer with genuine dl-
vorce. This includes married persons who may
be still living together, and whose position in
society is such as to make it certain that the
defendant would contest a divorce decree unless
based upon positive and genuine evidence of
adultery. Such parties, If living in New York,
generally insist upon having divorce in con-
formity with the laws of the State, and are
willing to pay the procurer sum sufficiently
large to induce him to work up the case in an
elaborate and perfect manner. Two illustra-
tions will suffice to show the exact nature of
this class and the means employed by the pro-
curer in obtaining valid divorce.
These cases are among the least villanous
operations of the regular divorce procurer, and
aside.
tunately they are comparatively few in number,
but the other class of divorces includes immune
rable cases and involves complete system of
perjury and forgery from beginning to end. To
lllustrate:-
Mrs John Smith, residing in New York, writes
to the divorce procurer that her husband has i'll
/ Gated her, that she suspects him OF adultery,
and that she wants a divorce. The procurer re-
plies that if she will forward a formal complaint,
accompanied by certain sum of money. and
pay another amount upon the divorce being OBJ
tanned, her wishes shall be gratlfied Next mail
brings the complaint to the procurer, who calls
in his professional perjurers and acquaints them
with the contents of the complaint. If, how
ever, it is not strong enough the procurer makes
out another forges the signature OF Mrs. Smith,
and, enclosing the new complaint in document
signed with bogus name as plaintiff attorney,
sends it to the referee appointed by the court
to take testimony IN divorce suits. The law re-
ouires that the defendants shall be summoned
10 appear; and to get over this difficulty the pro-
"a
and attaches to it y bogus name:-
Superior Court of the City of New York, --,
being duly sworn says, that on the - day OF -
deponent served the annexed summons on -,
the defendant in this action, by delivering to and
leaving with said defendant, -, personally, a
true COPY OF said annexed summons, at -, in the
city OF -, depouenJ knowing the person on
whom he served the summons, as aforesaid, to be
the defendant in this action. - ---.
Sworn to before me- this - DAY or -.
The following is the form Of summons above re
(erred to- and which, of course is never served
upon the defendant
-, plaintl, against -, defendant
Summons for relief.