St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1888-07-14
FOR DESERTED WIVES.
The Odd Set of Books Kept by New Yorl
Police Court Serpeants.

The Odd Set of Books Kept by New York
Police Court Sergeants.
To be a sergeant in a police court in
wolves peculiar and somewhat bur-
densome duty, that of acting as banker
for the receipt and disbursement OF
the weekly stipends paid by husbands
to deserted wives. A sergeant is fort
innate if he has not above thirty such
bookkeeping accounts on his list,
and in busy court the number may
run up to one hundred and fifty or one
hundred and seventy-fve. The obi
cation of the husband to support his
wife assumes not romantic aspect in
a police court. The obligation is not
to the woman as her desert for serv-
ices rendered OF for affections sake,
but to the city, that it may not have
pauper on it's hands. This attitude
of self-defense of the community as
against the husband colors the pro-
ceedings which woman must go
through before she can compel her hus-
band to provide for her. The first step
involved is visit to the commissi oners
of charities and correction and an ap-
plication for a requisition from them on
the police justice in her district requir-
ing him to issue an abandonment war
rant for the arrest of the delinquent
husband. The law being framed di-
rectly to pre- vent the increase of pau
pers and not to punish the man, the
wife is called upon to swear on the face
of the warrant that she will be a
charge on the public unless her hus-
band supports her. That is all she has
to do with the matter as a principal.
In the police court it is the city against
the husband, with the wife merely as a
witness. She is called upon to testify
a second time that she is in the posi-
ton of a pauper and that the city will
have to support her if her husband
does not. Under such circumstances the
amount awarded the woman is seldom
large, the object being simply to keep
her out of the poor-house. The weekly
sum which the husband is put under
bonds to pay her varies according to
his wages, but more closely accord
ing to the ages of her children,
they can work and help
support her-or, whether she can
get work and support herself. Four
dollars a week, or S., is as high as it
often gets, and sometimes it is not
above So. 80 Or s.. Women who brace
themselves for weeks to submit to the
notifying ordeal of swearing out such
against their husbands are
surprised to learn the exact
basis of the law. If man has beaten
3 woman and made her life an almost
burden to her but as
serts that he. has not abandoned her,
that he will go home with her and live
with her, then that woman is not in
Danger of becoming q pauper and the
police justice, though he may feel the
Utmost compassion for her, can only
ell her to go home with him and have
lin up for assault if he beats her.
The woman often will not venture to
appeal to the court again, for
IN assault complaint, she hav-
ng learned that any other is use
ess, will mean her husbands i'm
'risonment and stoppage of the family |
income. The man very naturally |
ONES to the conclusion that whatever
le does his wife will have to put up
nth it and acts for the future very
much as he pleases. A man who has
ecent income has his wife even more
n his power. She imagines she can
ecure his punishment for deserving
er for a prettier face than her own.
he tries. She opens her eyes when
he finds the abandonment warrants
pen the door to so many dollars a
eek only. If he can support two
omen that is his business, not the
ourt's. He gives bonds to secure her
read, with not too much butter, and
oes back to his newer flame. It is
ouples of this sort largely for whom
lie police sergeant is banker. They
ont care to meet personally, and the
burt official collects, pays and takes
lie receipts. It is getting to be quite
business in its way.-N. Y. Mail and
cypress.