, 1873-04-15
TWO DIVORCES.
4 Separation Obtained Before the
Suit Was Begun. .
How Young Wife Committed Bigarny
Aftor Less than q Month Of
Marriage,

Whnt IN Eminent Icgal Gentleman Did for
Ills Son tn tho Divorce Way.
"Divorco without publicity" Inns boon stigma"
ized ns another torn for unmltigatod fraud and
outrage; but 1t appears that parties cnn now DO
divorced In Chicago not only "wlthout public
tty," but without coming into court ut all until
aftor tho docrco. a divorce waa granted In
Chicago court last week. In which not oyon tho
formality Of entering tho caso on tho records waa
observed. Tho ronder will soo at glance, II ho
docs not know 1t already, how necessary ii lB that
tho records should DO absolutely perfect. Es-
atos, Legitimate births, tho history Of liti-
CATION, title to property, all dopona
upon tho reliability Of onr records. Once tho
records arc allowed to DO tanporol with, and
etriot md necessary ruloa become tho sport Of
conyouionco and individual interests, gooa-by
to tho ontiro structure that 30 many generations
havo built up for our safety, called law. Yot,
my ono searching tho records OF tho court i'll
question, up to tho day whom tue tlocreo waa
ontored, d period Of oyor two noniha after itH
commencement, would fail to find tho namo Of
cithor party to this particular suie.
It Was done in this way Tho lawyer entering
tue suit husband against wifo, for divorce on
the ground Of dcsortion and bigamy)
chose q moment when tho roportora
woro not prcsent; slipped in Ills papers paid
tho 50 feo; represented to the Clerk that ho had
motion to mako before Judge Blank III the
Blft; was allowed to curry OF tho papers tenn
pornrily for that purpose; wont to tho Judge,
md, By Homo means or other, obtained IN ordor
to tako tho papors to his Office. Meanwhile, to fill
the gop thus 'cronted in tho consecutive Num-
borB, slip of paper WIS inserted in tile place
where the papers in tho cause ought to bo, in
aorsod: "No. $3.50. Suppressed for soryice."
(Juat hero, lot us inBert q limo o1onorating tho
Clerk, whose responsibility WIS assumed by tho
5ndEc.1 Whom tho reporters inquired
for tho papers, thcy wero told that
they were Withdrawn, but should DO
produced as Boon as tho purpose for which they
lad been Withdrawn had been Raeurod. Those
suppressed cases aro 30 common, and tho dutioa
Of the law reporters aro so humorous during
tcrnl-titno, that tho 1attor may well DO excused
forgetting all about this particular caao. A In1n-
USE representative. howoyor, who has conso-
eratoa his Bparo hours to tho benefit OF Conata-
hlcs Justices, AAslgneos, bankruptcy bankcrs
and tho like, made 1t his duty to visit tho vault
whore tho papors ought to be placod as Boon as
rcturnod, az we'll as tho court tlles, twice oycry
tsy subsequently. This won't on for some months
without result. At last. ono day last week, de-
cree OF divorce was entered on tic Clorl'a min
ueos in tho cause numbered 5000. a gauco
1t the Judges docket turned up tho number;
but thoro VIVA no order; md even tho names
tsere fictitious. Worse tl1an oil, tho papers Ind
not boen returned. Meanwhile, tho attorney
vent to tho differont newspaper Offices and OBJ
salned promises from some OF tho city editors to
suppress the fact that divorce had bcon grant,
ed. Tho editors, not being awaro Of the oxcep-
tonal circumstances Of this nut, and UNDER
not be seriously injured by tl,e more omission Of
m ordinary divorce caao, moro or less,
nf course aasentod. But whom tho lawyor
went to TIE TRIBUNE Office ho was told can
tive Of this journal had boon on the track Of this
very case for causea which lo too well UNDER
stood, for many weoks. AS no harm, however,
could possibly happen By tho omission OF nero
namos. and as it really does appear that sorious
tho publication Of names, TINT amount OF cor
cession was readily granted. But, in tho inter-
osts Of morality and tho purity Of our laws, the
facts must come out.
All tho parties In the suit are highly rospcct-
able otherwise, Of course, no such proceedings
% are here related would have been possible.
Instead OF entrusEing his case to q Bhyster-
Ing divorce lawyer. tho complainant proceeded
to gentleman much trusted by tho Court aud
the profession; and to him l1o related his tale,
Ho WAS engaged tn business, be said; WAS young,
Nss highly connected, and, il tho facts came out,
not only would his own prospects in life he Beri-
2naly Affected, but many hoarts would be pierced
bo gauged by any machine hitherto inyouted.
tto wanted to know, IN tho etrictest confidence
whether ho could obtain relief from lis married
Fo"s without tEo 0 reporter follows finding ont
anything about it. Divorce without publicity |
tleue would not suit this highly respectable aud
leAdor-hcarted young 1nnn, but not oven lie
people about tho courts must know anything |
about thia distressing affair.
Iho attorney could not undertake to say !
Thothor ssts ~ Snch inTiolablo secrecy could DO OBJ
ett could only bo secured BY aupprusylug the I
Records Of Cook County, anl tho attorney Gould |
hardly D.! PROMISE to SO to such a longth as that,
ihn uno unhappy husband might call agsn and in
whether it could 10 done.
IL 10 cut long story, short, the attorney undor-
took to engineer tho bnslneRs. The papers wore !
naao =, out and taken to tho Court, indorhed !
ii ioa bsfor. sa9a and a. such 49, day md thon whps
to aeo the namea, as related above. Some |
Eays LATER the writer inquired Of the Olork how
much longer the papers we're going to DO with |
ne, ana sns inter insisted they must 10 In the
vau!t; visit to tho vault satiaaed him that |
reeded to inspect tho Judges docket, in order to
rec whether they had boon takon away In tho |
ordinary course, by rDferonce to Master, or On
application p Of IN attorney lin the latter caso,
she .4'1eceipt-book" woulds ,yhoro they woro).
l pus there was 20 entry on either. The mattor
tnen . dropped, aud tho reporter resumed |
!!!s, hs daily ,pilgrimnagos to tho vault and
tles. and his fruitless examination Of the
lockot. In tho meantime, tho Clerk several
tlnos met the attorney and warned him that tha |
papors must be returned without further non
aense, or there would bo trouble, and he attor-
1oy answered gaily that it was all right" The
Clerk, up to this time, had not oven obtained tho
namea OF the parties, aud, attcr come further d.
iay, was given the names which were ontorod
whether Intentionally or by aooidont, the 11attes
soe,e not those Of Me parties, and: could
not, by tho most liberal stretch Of tho
Imagination, or the most faithful use
Of fonetik principles, be made to resemble
thon. Whom the attorney did finally como into
court for his decree, it Is wonderful that 30
at,o yrorl nf Eafan1sr,& fyGft