The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-11-17
MY reply was:

! notict reached me safely l am very
anxious and nervous now that the mat
ter is started and the time seems doubly
long.
could you gwe me any kind Of an
idea when the decree viii reach me?
Write and let me know how tire matter
+, is progressing. You can imagine my
anxiety. Yours truly
81. N. SHERIDAN"
My next from Nh. Bank was this:
Oklahoma City, o. T., Dec. IS, 1895.
Dear Mrs. Sheridan: I will have your
matter all closed Up by January 4. 1896.
and viii be ready by that time to mail
you certified copy Of your decree. Now
as to the balance, $50. that will be due
me. you can either mail me draft for
that amount or / VIII send the decree
c. o. D. You need not have the slight
est fear on the earth but that the de-
cree viii come just as l tell you, and you
are perfectly safe in sending this draft
by express or l will send it to you by ex-
press.
New, if you are satisfied that all viii
be well, you mail all my letters that
nave written you and enclose to me a
draft for $50, and 1 will register your
decree to you January or 5, -. /
have not heard from you since I last
| wrcte; nOx please advise me at once
what course you desire TO pursue to get
this decree safely landed to you. Re-
specially, A. BLANK"
To this I replied:
December 80, 1895. Dear Mr.. Blank:
| Yours of the 26th inst. reached me to-
day. Get the decree and have 1t in
readiness. / will write you tomorrow or
| Wednesday whether to send it c. o. D.
| or whether / viii send the draft Yours
| truly, B. NJ. SHERIDAN
| Mr.. Blank announced the granting Of
| the decree in this way:
Oklahoma City. o. T., Jan. 2. 1896.
Dear Mrs. Sheridan: Your decree grant
ed today. Please send me all my letters
that have written you, and the draft for
$3.50 and / will in return mail you by reg
istered mail your decree and all your let
tiers addressed to me, and this will end
matter that has been Of no little trouble
to me. l hope II will serve you for the
purpose you desire.
Now, Mrs. Sheridan, hope this viii
not end our communica tons, for / want
TO ask you to send me your photograph.
should be very much pleased to receive
it. We are having very delightful
weather here. 1t is somewhat cool for
our climate.
Il wish you long and happy life with
your intended husband. And as it is just
New Year. wish you happy New Year
Awaiting your reply. am, very truly.
"A. BLANK"
FAKE DIVORCE DELIVERED.
In reply I wrote to Mr.. Blank, telling
him to send the decree to me by the
Wells, Fargo & Company Express c. o.
D., having it leave Oklahoma on Jan.
Is. On Jan. q, 1896, I reviewed a noti-
fication from the express company that
there was package at the main Office,
40 Broadway, upon which there was $3.50
to be paid and charges. l went down 20
the Office. paid the $50 and received the
package. which, upon being opened,
proved to be a paper shoe box, contain
ing pair of Indian slippers, a match
case, some sprigs of mistletoe and a legal
envelope Enclosing some typewriter pa
perS.
1 at once took the papers to one Of our
most prominent lawyers, and he, after
careful examination, declared that held
bona fide decree of divorce, to all in
tents and purposes as legal and binding
as though it had been procured in New
York City. The judges and clerks names
were signed, and it was stamped with
the seal of the district court of Potta-
watomie county.
Without ever having left New York
City, without ever having put my name
IN any way to any paper, merely by the
payment of $3.50, the machinery Of the
Oklahoma courts had been put In motion
and held paper which permitted me to
marry legally.
And the question arose in my mind,
how many hundreds Of men and women
have done just this same thing? How
many hundreds Of illegal marriages, then
are there?
l brought the matter before several
lawyers, and in consequence an investi-
CATION was decided upon and a reliable
man sent out to Oklahoma City with cop
les OF the papers, to probe the matter at
the end His investigations proved that
Judge Scott, whose name was signed to
the decree, was in complete ignorance OF
any such papers. In fact, the judge said:
Il have known that such things were
going on but l have had no power TO
stop them. The signature on that fraud
ulent decree purporting to be mine is
barefaced forgery. If I had the papers
which you say you hold in New York 1
should have Blank arrested at once
This is the natural outcome Of the
discrepancies and laxity of our divorce
system. The present state of things is
diSgraceful to our civilization. Through
out the country there seems to be one
eternal conflict of divorce laws. Hearth
stones are guarded no better that chick
en- coops. Our entire divorce system
needs revision, and there should be addi-
tional safeguards for the protection Of
martial rights.
The situation in Oklahoma is very
plain to me, and L have done my best to
conduct everything not only according 10
the letter. but according to the spirit Of
hA 10y
trary rules in order TO prevent fraud in
divorce cases and incurred serious crit
cism OF the bar for so doing"
The outcome of the Investigation In
Oklahoma last spring proved that the
signatures of Judge Henry NJ. Scott and
w. II. Ely, clerk, were forgeries. II
was evident that Blank had never pre-
| scented the case in court and had merely
sat down to his typewriter and drawn out
decree, 10 which he had calmly forged
the signatures of the Judge and clerk.
and, incidentally, as a side issue, TO give
his fraudulent document more anthem
ITCHY, in some manner stolen the seal OF
the district court.
And so the matter had rested. The
political condition OF the country wa.
such that people had little time for re-
forming divorce laws. | had almost de-
SPARED OF being able to bring my story
| before the public. when chance threw
the necessary confederation in my path
About three weeks ago read in one OF
the evening papers a paragraph TO the
| eject that Judge II. W. Scott. lately as
| sociate justice of the supreme court OF
Oklahoma, ex-officio judge OF the United
States court for the Third judicial dis
trict. had come to New York for the
purpose OF entering into partnership with