The daily intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Territory [i.e. Wash.]) 1876-1881, 1879-07-26
THE DIVORCE MILL.

hppliCatlOn 10 lawyers, VINO are 10 he
found in almcs: every large city. who
make the divorce business a spe cislty
Il suppose you know why have call
ed > said the reporter. i am in search
Of divorce. to be procured in the east
est, most quiet and expeditions man>
ner.
How long have you teen married.
About four years.
Any children =
Two.
what is the trouble Have you any
cause Of complaint
Well. no, answered the reporter. in
q hesi.ating sort OF way. To tell the
truth. none
oh. your wife does no. suit you-is
that IT.
We'll. y.s-partially; b,t. to tell the
truth Of the mat,er'-snd here the re-
porter coughed ss he thought Of the lie
he was about to utter-I have got 9
good wife and Q good homo. but do
not love her. and do love another wo-
man. That's why l want q divorce. Do
you understand?'
The other villain thought he did. 1t
would be difficult case to get through,
but have you nothing to complain of,
NO, have not. We have always
lived happily, never had cross word.
and there lies the trOuhle. Ii we had
quarreled. why there might be some
chance to get an application through
Here the reporter thought that If
there was any man at all about the di-
vorcc agent, hardened though he might
be. he would counsel Al abandonment
of such base idea rs that Of divorce
from . loving wife. But it soon became
evident that the shyster before him was
only too willing to assist in any viii
lsiny.
Has she never called you any names
or hurt your feelings in any manner?
NO. she has not
But, has she never called you any
thing in even joking manner
We'll. yes On one or two occasions
she has said oh, you rascal
'AH, HA' CALLED YOU A RASCAL.
That's good. Has <he ever been cold
or Indifferent to you? Now. you must
think of some time when she has
Wei. there may have been times
when she was too engrossed IN some
thing to be over affectionate.
That's the talk Now you are get
ting at something tangible
Yes: but my wife will c,me into
court and swear that there has never
Eeen any difficulty between Us. and be-
side. we are living together still
That's so. You will have to leave
her aud refuse TO live with her. or you
can send her out OF town. aud then we
can apply for the bill and publish the
summons in some obscure weekly that
she will never see. and in that case you
can take judgment by default
What paper do you generally adver-
tiSe your summons In -
In the Golden Era. See. here is II
notice (showing the paper that will
wager anything will never be seen by
the defendant
But the modus operandi OF procur-
ing these divorces-are not the courts
very strict =
Some of them are. but you know
that the case is never tried i'll court.
The evidence is taken before commits
sioner appointed for that purpose by the
Judge. lie submits it and his opinion
Of the case to the court. who reviews
the evidence and decides the case.
Now, l have q particular friend who 10
generally appointed at my request by
the - District Court is the one
l practice in-and he will be
VERY LENIENT IN THE MATTER.
He will do anything to oblige me
Very well. Now have an idea.
Cannot the summons DO served at my
house ?
Certainly. but then your wife will
know about it.
Yes, but can I not sec to it that she
is absent and that tho summons is
served on another who will personate
her =
That's . capital idea; the sheriff or
his deputy will then usks An affidavit
that the summons has been served, and
the case will 60 by default
Yes; but when she discovers the
fraud +
Well, that would not be for some
tims,' said the serpent-l,ke villain. and
then it would not do her = particle OF
good. We could prove that the sum.
mons had been served by the sheriff.
who would be our best witness. He
would be unable through lapse OF time
TO tell whether she wrs the woman or
not, and he would naturally swear that
she was the party who had received the
summons. As soon as you get the di-
vorce you can marry whom you like
aud then leave your present wife
The interview. which had been
lengthy. finally ended by the agent.
stating that be would have the CON-
plsint ready next day. The terms for
procuring the divorce would be $l5,
$40 down, and the balance when the
decree was granted. Out Of this he
wonld pay court expenses, fee the COM
missioner and also fee the clerk of the
court, who would see that the "cussed
newspaper men" did not get wind OF
the matter ard publish the fact that the
divorce had been granted. Promising
to call the next day the reporter took
his leave. At the appointed time be
WAS again on hand, and the complain,
wa. ready for him. 1t Was . remarks.
bic production, and stated things in 8
reckiessly interesting manner that was
AZ, ,,.,c,ii~, charm, of the divorce feuls