The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-14
BEAT HIS PRETTY WIFE.
Contractor stephen Leonard Fought
Her in Physicians Office.

Her in Physicians Office.
Mrs. Margaret E. Leonard was as
saulted by her husband, Stephen S.
Leonard, yesterday in the office of a
physician and bears marks of the bat
tie on her face. Leonard is also
bruised about the face as result OF
an encounter in the same place Thurs
day afteronon. At that time his wife
got the better of the fight.
The Leonards first sprang into the
gaze of the public through alimony
proceedings in the Superior Court. There
had been some trouble between man
and wife in the De Soto Hotel ana
separation followed. Mrs. Leonard TOOK
her child with her, and several days
after the filing of the action 1t was
taken from her on the streets by her
husband. She claimed that the infant
was forcibly taken and had her nus
band arrested for assault and battery.
When the alimony suit was heard
before Judge Falligant the child was
awarded to the mother and she was
allowed $40 a week alimony. Her hus-
band is contractor and is engaged on
work in this city. Since the ruling or
the court on the application for tenn
boarded in the city with her baby.
She claims that Leonard has contin-
ually annoyed her by following her,
and that the fights were the result of
these annoyances.
Leonard bears the marks received in
the first encounter with his wife In
the doctors office, while she escaped
unscratched at that time. The result
Yesterday was quite different and Mrs.
7 ri almost closed
by severe blow. There were also
several scratches on her face, and she
complained that her head felt sore.
Lonard could not be seen, and his YER
sion of the trouble was not obtained.
The wife claims that he provoked the
first difficulty as well as the second.
She says that she has been going to
the physicians office for treatment,
and that her husband has been jeal-
Gus.
She alleges that she was waiting
for the physician when her husband
arrived and tried to force her to talk
to him. She says that she was read
ing and refused to listen. When he
continued in his demands she put her
hands to her ears, and according to
her version, he became incensed. Mrs.
Leonard says that she was dragged
into a side office where she was pun
She declares that she was held on the
floor by Leonard, and struck until she
promised several things. Two of them
were that she would surrender the
baby to him, and the other that she
would never return to the physicians
office. Mrs. Leonard charges that she
made the promises believing that it
would be the only means of saving her
life. The doctor had not yet reached
his office.
Mrs. Leonard says that her husband
then bathed her wounds and wanted
her to leave the Office with him. She
did not wish to, she said but was
afraid to refuse. She told him that she
did not desire to so through the street
with her face so disfigured, and that in
broad daylight the use of a cab would
not shut out the public gaze. She
adopted a clever ruse to get aid, she
says and told Leonard that if he
would purchase her a veil to hide her
torn features she would leave the place
with him. He consented and left the
office.
Mrs. Leonard went to the telephone
at once and called up Desk Sergeant
Lingg at police headquarters. She
| asked that an officer be sent to the
physicians office at once and Patrolman
Bradley, doing duty on Bull street, was
sent. Leonard had returned and the
physician had arrived before the pa
trolman reached the office. Mrs. Leon
ard met him at the door and pointed
her husband out. He stated that the
officer could not take him without a
warrant. Bradley smiled at the con-
tractor and was about to effect the
arrest when the physician stopped the
proceeding by taking the bruised wo-
man in an adjoining office. After the
| conversation she stated that rather
| than appear in court as a witness and
thus gain additional notoriety she
would drop the prosecution. She LEFT
the Office, followed by her husband, but
there was no further trouble. The
trouble is not believed to be at an end,
and further developments are ex-
pected.