The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1892-05-08

From the government Report on Mar
riage and Divorce" the following cases are
taken verbatim. They are given to show
those who are fearful of being unable to
obtain q divorce that there is hope for
them. The original numbering is pre-
served:
Cruelty, or extreme cruelty, or cruel
and lnhunlan treatment, when alleged, af-
ford wide field for judicial discretion. In
the course Of this investigation some of the
facts which have been offered as substan-
tiating these causes have been furnished
the department by its agents. The follow
ing are few of the instances under these
causes where divorce has been granted to
the wife:
20 Defendant does not speak to plain
tiff for months at a time, thereby making
life burden.
"Q3) Defendant got drunk day after the
marriage, causing this plaintiff TO conceive
violent disgust for him. Divorce pro-
ceed1ngs begun on the day after marriage
"(Plaintiff says that when she was sick
| in bed the defendant, for the sole purpose
OF harassing her, said he meant TO suicide
and did then and there drink a bottle of
paregoric, which said action of defendant
sorely grieved plaintiff in body and mind.
"(23) When defendant suffers financial
loss ne lays it to plaintiff, and censures her
| in bitter terms. He treats her as a child.
claiming his right to DO SO On account of his
age and sex.
"(27) Plaintiff says she is subject to sick
headaches that grow worse when she smells
tobacco. Defendant uses tobacco and thus
aggrsvates her headaches
"(3D Plaintiff says Immediately after
marriage defendant began importuning her
to deed him her property, which said i'm
portunity caused plaintiff mental anguish.
'(3+) Defendant threatened to knock
! plaintiff cold as a wedge w hereupon he
did clutch her by the throat aud pound her
! head against the wall.
''(3S) Defendant quotes verse from New
| Testament about wives obeying their hus-
! bands. He has even threatened to mash
i plaintiff and drew back his hand to do it.
! In the decree granting this divorce appears
! the following: Il find that when plaintiff
| was sick and unable to work, defendant
] told her the Lord commanded her to work
| that lie was also in the habit of frequently
quoting Scriplural passages in order to
show her she was to be obedient to her hus-
band
''(40 Defendant cut off my bangs by
Eorce
! "(5G) Defendant was cruel in this: He
caused letter to be written. saying he
was dead. Plainuff ordered a mourning
garb, and grieved long time, but at last
learned the letter was a fraud and that de-
PENDANT was not dead.
"(63) While defendant was confined 10
his bed by lameness, he threw cups and
.hucers at plaintiff and threatened to run
nts crutch down~her throat"
THE following instances" saws the
above report, "show the Interpretation OF
courts as TO cruelty where this has been al.
legged py the husband as coming from the
wife,
In three cases the husband secured his
divorce:
"(3l Defendant violently upbraided
plaintiff and said TO him: You are nc man
at all, thus causing him mental suffering
and anguish.
90 Husband says: My wife refused 10
keep my clothing in repair; she refused to
cook, aud never sewed on my buttons A
witness testified that he had seen plaintiff
with only one button on his vest. Z aintiff
further alleged that his wife would not let
him so to see fires at night; thatif he went,
she would keep him awake until 3 O'Clock
quarreling.
40 Defendant pulled plaintiff out of bed
by his whlskers.
"Q2) Defendant took all the covering of
the bed, leaving the plaintiff TO SILVER until
morning. On one occasion she jumped on
him with her knees and ran knitting
needle four inches in his arm.
"Q4 Defendant struck plaintiff violent
blow with her hustle.
"(21) Husband says: My wife would not
walk with me on Sundays. Once in a tan
trum she heaved teapot at me. She hi,
me on the side OF the jaw because refused
to be worked into a passion; once she pulled
out quite a quantity of my hair Among
the papers was tuft of hair marked Eek.
hibit A.
400 During the last year the defendani
has struck plaintiff with pokers, f1at-iron:
and other hard substances"
I est those in search of a .divorca NAV h.
msed by the obove causes into thinking i
as easy as marriage, it is well to remint
them that judges insist that proof of tht
allegations must be forthcoming. II will
not do to allege sufficient cruelty to call fol
divorce unless there is proof
In summing up the divorce statistics fol
al the states, the report says: "Our courts