The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-25
FILES HIS ANSWER.
Lieut.. Commander Rodney Responds
to Wife's Shit for Divorce.
From the Washington Star.

The marriage of Robert Burton Rod
ney. paymaster with the rank of lieu
tenant commander. United States navy,
retired, and Margaret Edith Owen, oc-
Cured in st. Anne's Church, Dufferin
swer and cross bill to his wifes petit
ton for divorce. which he placed on
record this afternoon, Lieut.. Com
| nader Rodney asserts that the mar
| riage was brought about through a tel
egram from the petitioner, which lured
him thereto, as follows:
Dear Robert: All trust and love.
Come at once. Margaret"
His reply was: with whom do the
mermaids fiirt? With the swells of the
ocean,"
Yet they soon hopesessly quarreled
over her having brought along a Miss
Cole, with whom, he says. his wife in
sisted on constantly associating, not
only all day, but all night, to the COM
plete exclusion of the husband
How came he to marry her, any
how?" sets forth the retired naval pay
master in his cross bill. "It was be-
cause of the union of the titled families
of Owen and Rodney in England many
years past; and he was Influenced by
the fascina ting memories of his early
Owens (see Burke's Peerage) came to
Canada when a child, and was raised
apart from the gentle conditions of her
ancestry"
Lieutenant Commander Rodney de-
clares to the court that his wife does
not wish divorce unless 1t carries ali
mony.
She has alimony on the BRAIN" he
contends, land she says, Were she
ever to bear a girl infant she will have
1t chrstened Ammonia, to commence
rate the triumphs of her beauty and
magnetism.
The Suit for Maintenance.
II will be recalled that several months
ago Mrs. Rodney filed suit against her
husband to compel him to provide for
her maintenance. During the pendancy
of that suit he was required to pay her
s45 month. The proceedings were ul-
timately dismissed, however, at the in
stance of Mrs. Rodney, the explanation
being that the parties had reached an
agreement out of court. The troubles
of the pair were again called to the at
tention of the court the 30th of last
month when Mrs. Rodney asked that
she be granted an absolute divorce. She
appealed for alimony pendente lite and
after hearing Justice Clabaugh of the
Supreme Court of the District of Co
lumbia, the 10th instant, renewed her
allowance of $45 a month.
Additional Charges.
Lieutenant Commander Rodney
charges that his wife's utterances and
practices have been and are that "a
husband has no rights whatever and
that a wife is always to be supported
to the utmost expense possible, and
without her having thought of keep
ing any VOWS or performing any du-
ties or rendering any equivalent what
ever. That is, marry a man, however
kindly and loving and patient and viz
tuous, and then at once throw off the
mask, shirk every wifely duty and do
nothing but Islander, plumber, betray
and ruin him. All which extreme
cruelty the plaintiff has wickedly done,
and to her utmost opportunity"
During the temporary alimony peri
cd, which ended April Is last, so the
defendant maintains, his wife eXpend-
ed on strangers the alimony wrung
month by month, under alternative of
the prison, from her deserted, betray-
cd and outraged husband" 1t was
cruelty in the extreme of baseness,
he asserts. Furthermore, 1t is stated,
by her conduct she dared to deceive
the court, the generosity and trustful-
ness of which had been so freely dis
played toward her. According to
Lieutenant Commander Rodney, he
was a martyr to his wifes. deliberate
cruelty and heartlessness, and declares
she said her only use for him was to
supply her with money, and she strain
cd merciless ingenuity and persistence
of provocation to snatch legal occa-
sion against him.
Makes General Denial
In his answer to Mrs. Rodney's petit
ton for divorce. the defendant makes
general denial of her accusations of
cruelty and failure to properly provide
for her. The cross bill is fled he says,
to protect himself. He adds that he is
member of the church and opposed
to divorce on principle, and simply is
acting under the advice of his attor-
ney.
Briefly" says Lieutenant Comman-
der Rodney, referring to his wife, "she
is a beautiful devil" He goes on to
say, however, that it is with sorrow
and despair that the cross bill is
brought, for he dearly loves her. Still,
he adds, she, being possessed of an
ungovernable and stanic temper, and
losing control of 1t at the least chance,
and without any provocation whatso-
ever and without fault on the part of
this defendant. has ben guilty of ex-
IRENE cruelty in that. commencing i'm
mediately after their marriage, she has
always treated this defendant in said
manner"
The defendant points out that his
wifes petition has to support 1t only
two little loving letters of her hus-
band. He characterizes as "the very
refinement of her cruelty, heartlessness
and shamelessness" the action of "a
wife, the supreme custodian of a hus-
bands honor" who, 'wantonly. runs
to lawyer and the court and the public
with that husbands confidential love
letters, relating to nothing else than
his ardent love for her"
Alleged Premium on Weakness.
In concluding his cross bill. Lieuten-
ant Commander Rodney takes occa-
sion to state to the court las a fact
terribly pertinent hereto. that alimony
is simply a standing premium the law
offers for wifely weakness, treachery
and worthlessness. But for it's seduc-
tions, his beloved wife would not have
fallen, nor have deserted him He does
not presume to say here that alimony
is widely a demoraliZer of matrimony;
but this much is both certain and rele-
vant-that IT has wrecked and destroy
ed his own married life"
Lieutenant Commander Rodney asks
the court to grant him a divorce on
the alleged ground of cruel treatment
of him by his wife.
Prof. A. w. Bucker, professor of
81 G