St. Paul daily globe., 1885-07-26
AN EXODUS AT LAST.
Washington Society Preparing to Follow
the Leadership of Miss Cleveland
in Leaving the Capital.
Everybody, by Fleeing to Seashore and
Mountain, Will Endeavor to Escape
the TOrrid Heat of the City.
The Ease With Which Matrimonial
Ties are Observation-Disclosures n
Promipent Feature.
Lawyers Who Lose Fees by Dissuad-
ing Misnated Couples from Seek
ing Divorce.

correspondence VI lnc dlODe-
WASHINGTON, July 23.-At last Wash
ngton society is preparing to escape to
the seaside and mountains. Miss Cleveland
has packed her trunks and gone, the preSi-
dent has announced his intention of going,
the cabinet pepople will go before the end
OF another week, and so the people who
APE royalty" find themselves not only en-
abled to flee from the blistering heat of
Washington, but positively required TO do
so. For OF course it would not do TO re-
main here after the president and cabinet
officers and the respective families of these
functionaries had taken their departure.
so there is activity in every direction.
Trunks are being packed. time tables being
examined, rates of boarding houses and no
tells being discussed, the prospective lOca-
ton OF friends and rivals inquired into, and
next week the shutters will 90 up, and
Washington will be a deserted village"
This has been curious summer here. Not
for many years has the hot sun of July
seen so many people at home. except in
cases OF the presence of congress here.
Usually before this time the fashionable
quarters Of the city present an
ARRAY OF BARRICADED DOORS
and closely shuttered windows. Your ave-
rage society person, upon leaving with his
family for the fashionable summer resort, an
nOunceS to the world of Washington that
he is out of town through the medium of
society papers, and emphasizes the an
nouncement by putting up a storm door at
the front entrance of his mansion. and COW
ering the windows, front and rear, with
heavy wooden shutters. Some of the serv-
ants are taken along, but most of them are
left here to take care of the lawns and pro-
fpct fEfa hnrrgo hrrrrrlor- DiIa ohn,f
the fashionable section of the city any even
ing after the summer exodus has taken
place and you will see top and bottom of the
houses lighted up and the remainder dark.
The servants are permitted to burn gas in
basement and attic, but to give any signs of
light in the portion of the house occupied
by the family would be treason.
THE SEASON AT THE SEA
and the mountains will be short one. The
president expects to come back early in Sep
tember. and when he comes the cabinet
will come too. And when the president
and cabinet are here society will soon find
its way back TO Washington. Probably the
majority of those who go now go in the di-
rectiOn of the sea. Those returning will
many of them come from the mountains
1t Is considered the proper thing to 90 first
to the seaside and wind up the season with
few weeks on the mountains. Some re-
verse this rule, while some content them
selves with the full season by the ocean.
There are some business people who are
quite willing to see this exodus. Among
these are the parsOn whom it may bring a
wedding fee, the merchant who is to set
them up in housekeeping. and the divorce
lawyer who reaps a harvest from the jeal-
OuSieS and worse things that grow out of the
summer at the sea. 1t is perhaps not gen
orally recognized that Washington has be-
come popular divorce market. The num-
Der of divorce cases filed and quietly pushed
through is surprisingly large. Divorces are
cheap here, and easily obtained in most
cases. You can get rid of
AN UNSATISFACTORY WIFE
or husband here, if you have any reasonable
grounds, for a $50 note. Il have taken
some plain, simple cases for S50,' said di-
vorce lawyer of this city. talking of the
matter. ''Out of which / have paid the
clerks, the marShars and examiners
charges, the docket fee being SO, the mar
shal 81 and the examiner So per session, at
least When the incidental expenses were
counted in there was not much of fee left.
l doubt whether you can find any member
OF the bar who will take any case for less
than $50, and am quite sure that the
1 lnOol VI NhC luCllloCAo VI lllC Ddl W III HUI
take one of these cases at less than 500,
and then all expenses must be paid by the
party. As have intimated, this applies
TO unconteSted cases; Of course contested
cases cost much more, especially if both
parties get their blood up. Sometimes.
however, before the real fighting begins,
friendly parties will interfere and bring
about a cessation of hOStilitieS. / know of
cases, and good ones, too, in which the
lawyer has acted as the mutual friend of
the parties and brought about a recOncilia-
tiOn, cheating himself out of a good fee.
There.are cases now on the books which
will result finally III decree of divorce,
the annulling of
THE MATRIMONIAL TIES,
the separation of children and the loss of
the homestead where every effort was made
by friends and lawyers to make peace
Some cases result from put-up jobs and
others are aided by such jobs. A case in
which a job is involved is necessarily a
costly one, especially if one or both parties
have money and influence. Sometimes
there may be nothing whatever in the cases
but mere suspicion at first, but it can be
worked up, and there are parties who will
do It As a rule. most cases may be settled
in the lawer's Office if the facts have not
been made public"
''HOw does the cost here compare with
the cost of divorce in other placeS?"
lit is far below cost in most places. be-
lieve," said tine lawyer. I'm an uncon-
tested case, witha a proper bill, supported by
proof, 500 will certainly defray all ex-
penSe. The standing of the parties, too,
has something 10 do with the cost, for
where they are rich the fees will be larger.
There is no way of estimating what con-
tested cases will cost. Some decided here
have
COST THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
"a good many of them are not prosecuted
to completion. Probably of the pending
cases twO-thirds will be prosecuted to de-
gree and the others will stand over. for
most of them, should say three-fOurthS,
are brought by wives, and when an order is
made for alimony pendente lite and COM
piled with they appear satisfied with getting
a support and seem to have little further
concern so long as the alimOny is paid"
''Is that your eXperience?' was asked.
Eve should not be too particular in Civ
ing our own experience, was the smiling
reply, ''but that there are numbers of ap-
plicants for divorce who only want the ali
mony anyone can seel 1t is seldom that
the bill asks only a Separation-a divorce
from bed and bOard-but when once the ali
mOny IS given it acts as a soothing lotion to
lacerated hearts. There are several grounds
| for which divorce is granted. When
either party has a husband or wife
living from whom they have not been
legally separated, where the marriage was
contracted during lunaey, matrimonial in-
capacity, adultery, habitual drunkenness
for three years. cruel treatment and wilful
desertion and abandonment for two years,
constitute lawful grounds for an absolute
/ divorce Cruel treatment. endangering life