Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1891-09-09
MONEY FOR NEGLECTED WIVES.
Irregular Methods of Compelling Rus-
bands to Pay Through Police Court

DOuSdn0S OF OOlIdTS are received anu
paid out every year by the clerks of
police courts, and no record is kept and
no official report Is made OF the amount.
TShlx L. net tho naSay s~ssivsA cor
fines. which amount TO nearly e1os, 900
year, OF which accurate records arc
kept and full returns made to the
comptroller, and regularly verified by
the commissioner of accounts, but
large sums of money received and paid
out by the clerks, acting under direc-
ton of the court without direct author
ity of law, but Rnder custom which
has been for sosls years in vogue in all
the police courts and appears to have
arisen out Of a,desire to mitigate the
hardships OK the law. The custom has
grown out OF ths function of the court
to compel husbands to pay some thing
out of their earnings for the support Of
their families This power is confined
to cases in which wives or children are
likely to be burdens on the county for
support The Justices have the power
to inquire into husbands peeuniary
resources and then to order the husband
TO pay to his wife for her support a
to pay that sum in weekly payments
for one year. In default of the
payment of the money in lump
sum or the furnishing of bond to
pay it, the law reads that the court
shall have the power to impose a sem
tence of six months imprisonment in
the county Jail. This penalty is often
inflicted on lazy, idle, drunken brutes
who have made no efforts to provide
for their wives and children. Besides
neglecting their families, they often
compel their wives and children to sup
port them and to furnish them with
liquor,
But in some cases the law works with
hardship. The man may, for instance,
be merely little .hittloss or incident,
or he may not have looked for work
diligently, and the display Of the pow
ers of the law may have brought him
to contrition. But he has no friend
who is willing to go on his bond and
agree that he will pay the money him
self in case the husband neglects the
duty. The wife is in dilemma She
knows that if her husband is locked up
she cannot get anything from him, be-
cause he cannot earn anything. She is
asked: care you willing to take his
word without bond?" In many cases
the answer is: No; | cannot take his
word. I have been outraged by him
long enough. He can find money to
support himself in idleness and rum
drinking; let him find it for his family
I want the full power of the law
brought to bear on him, and let his
friends give bouds.' In other cases
the woman replies: 81 do not want him
locked up. l only want him to do what
he can to support his family. If he
will do that l will trust him on his
promise Then the magistrate says
to the husband: "As your wife is will
ing to trust you, I will rot lock you up;
but you must pay her this money every
week" Then comes the locating of the
place where the money shall be paid.
Sometimes the husband agrees to leave
it at his wife's home. Sometimes she
agrees to call for it at his place of bust
ness on pay day. Generally, however,
the wife does not care to have the man
near her anywhere, and the result of
the investigation is that the magistrate
says to the husband: "You come to the
court every week and leave this money
with the clerk for your wife. You,
madam, come to the court every week
and get this money, and if your hus-
band does not pay it let me know and
will send an officer after him and lock
him ups
It is under these circumstances that
many men pay their wives a weekly
allowance through the clerks of the
police courts, who are thus the custo-
dams of the money without any specific
provision of law, and the custom is to
keep no record of it. to give no receipts
and to make no official report Some
times husbands pay ia this way for
years. Sometimes they pay a few
weeks, then stop and run away. Some
times they are rearrested Often a
poor wife is deluded into accepting the
promise of a worthless fellow, who
ought to be locked up, but promises
only as a means of getting chance to
escape. Many times the poor wives re-
pent too late for their clemency, and
are laughed at by their worthless hus-
bands, who escape to adjoining states,
where it is difficult to recapture them.
Only the clerks of the courts know
how much money is received and paid
out in that way. Only the clerks know
whether any money is ever received
which is not called for. AS no record
is kept there is no way of finding out.
AS there is no system of giving and tax,
ing receipts there is no possibility OF
tracing it. Occasionally poor woman
complains that her husband has not
paid according to promise and the
husband insists that he has paid,
but there is seldom much trouble
about it. In case in Jefferson market
court not long ago hickman who had
agreed to pay money to clerk for his
wife was rearrested for non-payment
He insisted that he had paid. and, as
there was no receipt taken and no ac-
count kept, there was no way of verify.
ing his statement, but the money had
been mislaid and was found by the
clerk. L appears to be an unbusiness'
lilo of Il