The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-03-20
NZRH
9HESTA7E And DIVORCE.
The Extreme Leniency of
the Laws Considered a
Very Grave Evil.
THE MOST SERIOUS FLAWS.
The Person A~djudged Guilty has
as Much Right to Marry Again
as the Innocent One.
THE MOST SERIOUS FLAWS.

"A lawyer thoroughly IN C0ucn WIN the
times and possessed with an Intelligent
and comprehensive knowledge of law has
an advantage over ordinary mortals in
that he can see a certain distance into the
future with reference to the effect of this
or that statute, and can. therefore, shape
his actions in anticipation of what he
may reasonably belle We ia bound to come.
This legal foresight. or whatever you may
call it, is not always felicitous in its work
ings. This is particularly true with ref
erence to the statutes in New Jersey law
governing the granting of divorces. and
IT is of this that the writer wishes to
make somewhat extensive mention.
The increasing frequency of applica
lions for divorce Is a subject OF great aud
growing gravity, rs nearly every on Q
knows. Here in New Jersey the older
aud more efficient members OF the legal
profession have long looked with keen ap-
prehension at the unmlstakaDle tendency
to make the attainment OF separation be-
tween man and wife more and more easy.
In talking about the matter some days ago
a prominent Newark attorney was most
pronounced in his opinion. A few years
ago it was necessary for man ana Wife
when suing for divorce on the ground for
uesertion To have been separated for five
consecutive years. Soon the required
| DCi lO0 "QD " Wy Jaw ~ NPRAot
and now ir is down to two.
A DISTINGUISHED JURIST'S DISTRESS.
Tn Newark lawyer said Luat he had
learned that when the last change Was
made one Of the m lst eminent jurists in
the State had paced his study Tor hours,
so distressed was he over the continued
tampering with matters OF divorce. He
sat down TO his desk and actually started
to write out his resignation from
the public Office which he then
held. He was interrupted by a
caller, and in the course of the converse
! ton the jurist, unable to keep back That
| with which his mind was so full. told the
friend how deeply concerned he was
over the new divorce law: that he con-
sidered it u positive menace to the future
prosperity and happiness of the State,
etc. The friend counseled him to take
more time for dellberatton before he ten
dered his resignation, and after mucn
coaxing the jurist consented. The friend
tnen hustled about briskly. Great pres
sure was brought to bear on the
iurist, aud he nnaliy gave up the idea
OF reslgning then. AS often aftefward,
however. as he had opportunity to speak
on the subjecs he inveished
against the tenor Of the States
divorce laws, and expressed the gravest
apprehension for its future welfare.
When lawyers at the top notch in their
profession express such opinions as these.
it is certainly high time that laymen
should become alarmed. Laxity in such
laws works evil Ill many ways. They put
a premium on pc jury and all sorts OF
maiverSation, but, worst of all, they have
a baleful aud demoralizing influence on
the sacreduess of the marriage vows. anu
therefore strike deep at the very
ton of modern civilization.
AN EX-GOVERNOR HOODWINKED.
A former Governor of this State, while
a practieing lawyer received a call from
a woman who seemed TO be suffering
from a great afniction. She wss poorly
clad, but there Was all air of neatness
about ner despite her shabby cloth
lug. With tears and sobs but
poorly res rained she told a long
story of her husbands brutality.
II was plain TO the Governor that
this woman had the life nearly worn
from her by a long series of prosecutions
at the hands Of an unnatural husband.
He did not hesitate to tell the woman
what he thought, and promised TO aid her
IN securing legal separation from the
monster. The woman thanked him pro-
fuselv, but said she was SO poor she
didn't believe she could ever repay him.
The Governor said he should not expect
remuneratIou ii she WAS III destitute cir
cumstances. He wal as good as his word,
for he pushed the matter in the courts,
and it wasn't long before the woman re-
ceived her divorce papers. A few days
afterward the roma called to thank
him for using his influence in her
benalf. But this Time she was
splendidly clad. Her worn and tat
tered garments had disappeared, aud she
was brave in the feminine .inery of the
period. She had lost the air of sweet, hu-
mility and long suffering under oppres-
| sion and was quite lively, not to say jubi-
laut. She said she was now in a way to
recompense the Governor for his services.
The bill was q small one, and the Cover
nor insisted that he hadn'5 expected
| much. The woman handed hin a check,
| however, for an amount considerably
more than his bill. He turned itover aud
to his great surprise saw it was a cef-
| titled check from the womau'5 old hus-
band, with his signature. He was SO be-
| wildered that it took him some moments
| to appreciate the situation. Then he be-
| gan to question the woma2 vigorously
| aud soon learned that man and wife had
| put their heads together and hit upon the
| plan described above to get rid of each
| other. The woman had donned thread
| bare garments 10 WORK upon his sympa-
! thy aud tnat of the court. and as the hus-
baud was as much in the scheme as she
was, she had carte blanche to tell all the
narrowing tales concerning his treatment
| of her that she wanted to. The Govern
| or's Indignation at having been hood
| winkej in this barefacel manner was
great. He told the woman he should at
| once submit what he had learned of the
true state of affairs to the court. She
| begged aud implored in real earnest this
time, II offered the Governor q
large sum if he would keep the
matter quiet. But he was firm. u
it WASN'T long before the decree for a
divorce was annulled. This story was
told the Newark lawyer by a judge, before
whom he had been suing Tor u divorces for
a client. The Judge had put the lawyer
| to great trouble and Inconvenience TO get
together and produce a great mass of tes-
| timony, which he (the lawyer) felt was
not necessary to establish his clients
right to separation. The Judge was after
ward explaining why he had gone into
the matter SO exhausttvely, and cited the
! experience of the Governor as the latter
had told it to him as proof that in the
granting of divorces a juror could
scarcely exercise too much care in getting
at the ms and outs of the case.
SERIOUS FLAWS.
One of the most serious flaws. In the
opiuion of many Of the most eminent
members of the legal fraternity, to be
found in the New Jersey divorce laws Is
that after a divorce Is granted the person
adjudged guilty by the court has as much
| right TO marry again as the innocent one.
The injustice of this can be seen at d
| glance. aud the average man needs no
| legal light to enable him to see the great
evil engendered by such a provision. IL
| simply puts the seal of the courts upon a
long list of practices which cannot be