The age-herald., 1899-05-28
.INHUMAN ACT -l
 OF 4 HUSBAND
Forced His Child Wife Into a
 BrotheI to
MAKE HIM A LIVELIHOOD
Child Now Seeks Divorce Sequel to Marriage of Charley Jenks to Matte Snith-He Was s8I
 Then in Jail

The sequel to a story which was printed in the Age-Herald in December, 1897, con- corning the relations of Charley Jinks, a young white man, and Mattie E. Smith,
 mere child who were shortly afterwards
 married to prevent criminal prosecution, has appeared in the form of a divorce suit,
 in which the child-wife is the complainant.
 The allegations set out in the bill are
 heart rending and charge the husband with
 most inhuman treatment.
 links lived with Mrs. T. E. Smith and
 her daughter Matte at Woodawn and was
 arrested at the instance of the mother,
 who charged him with criminal intercourse
 with the child. He was placed in the
 county jail and sought a settlement of the
 case by proposing to marry the child, who
 was said to be under II years of age.
 In order to shield her daughter, Mrs.
 Smith went before the probate judge and
 procured a marriage license, making an
 affidavit that the girl was over II years of
 age.
 There was some difficulty in getting the
 ceremony performed, and in the meantime
 the mother was arrested on an indictment
 charging her with perjury in having sworn
 falsely before the grand jury as to the
 age of the child.
 Through the tender-heartedness of Judge
 Banks and Solicitor Ferguson, the indict-
 ment against the woman was mol pressed
 and it was thought that the unfortunate affair had been happily settled.
 The Unfortunate Girl The bill for divorce which was filed in the circuit court several days ago, witnesses, if it's allegations be true, that all has not gone well with the unfortunate girl who is at present under the protecting care of some of her half-world friends whose sym pathies have been aroused by the reyolting circumstances under which she was com peled to live. The bill was filed by Attorney 1T. c. Bullock and sets out that the oratrix and | links were married in 1897 and lived to- gether until the latter part of April, 1899, during which time she did what she deemed | was her duty to her husband, what she could to aid in their maintenance. She all | leges that she was a good, obedient and | faithful wife and endeavored as much as | possible to make him happy and to live l happily with him, until the latter part of ! April last when she was forced to seek pro- l lection from his cruel conduct and inhuman | abuse.
 J Into a House of Prostitution | It is further alleged that after their mar | rIage her husband became addicted to ha- | bitual drunkenness and refused to support l her and forced and compelled her soon | afterwards to live in a house of prostitu- l ton in the city of Birmingham and to ply l the vocation of prostitute for the purpose | of making their support and to furnish | him with funds for dissipation against her | protests and persuasions.
 | It is further alleged that he often cursed | and whipped and cruelty treated her be- | cause she could not provide him with | means to maintain him in his debauchery
 and disspation and that when she would | protest against living at houses of ill-re- | pute and endeaVor to get him to desist l from his cruelty and take her to a decent | place to reside, he would curse. threaten, l beat and abuse her and compel her to re- | main and further prostitute herself for his | maintenance and support
 1 Lived Upon the Child's Character | Complainant further alleges that her
 husband had no employment and made no | effort to get employment during the time she lived with him; that he was indolent, l impecunious and thriftess and never con- | trbuted anything to her support but per- | mitted her to go without food and in scant | clothing not fit for her to be seen upon the 1 the streets and scarcely sufficient to hide | her nakedness; that while in this condi- | ton he cursed and beat her and so cruelty l mistreated her that she was compelled to | seek place of shelter and food and cloth l ing from other persons who knew of her 1 impoverished condition and who kindly l aided and sought to give her protection | and support until she could be better en- abled to seek protection from the courts
 and relief from the cruelties of her hus- | band.
 l She alleges in conclusion that she is | afraid to see or meet him, and asks that a | decree of absolute divorce be granted and l such other relief as in equity and right | might be deemed proper.