The Savannah morning news., 1902-01-26
DENIED Her CHILD
MRS. PAULINE WADE REFUSED
ITS CUSTODY BY THE COURT.
HABEAS CORPUS DISMISSED.
GRANDPARENTS AFTER sENsA-
TIONAL HEARING WON THE CASE.

Proceeding of Two Years Ago
Mrs. wade's Effort to Recover Her
Chi1dren-The Character of the
Living and the Dead Bitterly As
sniled-The BOY in Indiana nnd
the Court DiscIaimed Jurisdiction.
r.. j. wnde's Sensational Evil
/ dence.
BY the decision of Judge Barrow,
rendered in the Superior Court last
night the custody of Lillian Heard
Wade was refused the child's mother
Mrs. Pauline H. Wade, of Atlanta, and
the little one was committed for her life
to- the care and protection of her grand
parents, Mr.. and Mrs. Robert j. Wade.
1t was 10 o'clock when the decision
was rendered. Judge Barrow had de-
clined to hear from counsel for the
respondents, thus indicating in advance
what his decision would be, and the
hush that had fallen over the court
room was broken by the stified sobs of
Mrs. Wade, who sat with her head
resting upon the desk in front of her,
her handkerchief hiding eyes that were
red with weeping.
When Judge Barrow had concluded
the reading of his decision and the
court had adjourned. Mrs. Wade was
still weeping and led from the court
room by her counsel, Judge H. D. D.
Twiggs.
| 1t was the application of Mrs. Pau
line Wade for writ of habeas corpus,
against Robert j. Wade and Mrs.
Irene Wade, his wife, in which the
plaintiff sought to recover the custody
of her children, Robert ]. Wade, Tr.,
and Lillian Heard Wade, upon which
the decision was rendered. The hear
ing began before Judge Barrow in the
morning and continued until 4 o'clock.
at which hour the Introduction of evil
dence had been concluded. At night
the only argument to which the court
cared TO listen was made.
The children, the custody of whom
the mother sought to recover, are the
son and daughter of the late William
| 9. Wade, who ended his own unhappy
| life in Atlanta. 1t was the second eff
fort the mother had made to recover
her children, the first habeas corpus
| proceedings, which were dismissed,
while the hearing was in progress. nv
the complainant, having been instituted
nearly two years ago, during the life
time of her husband and the children's
| father.
The hearing yesterday brought to the
surface again the old tale of marital
unhappiness, of a husbands cruelty and
evil habits, of a wifes alleged unfaith-
fulness to her marriage vows. Charge
and countercharge, villification, abuse
| and vituperation of the living and the
dead followed in quick succession
throughout the entire introduction Of
| the evidence.
The boy was not produced in court
To the surprise of the complainant and
her counsel it appeared that he is now
in Indiana, living with his uncle, An
drew B. Wade. To this uncle the boys
| custody has been committed and early
in the hearing Judge Barrow, an
nounced he had no jurisdiction as to
him, and that the only question at is-
sue was the custody of the little girl
Mrs. Wade was the first witness
placed upon the stand by her counsel,
Judge Twiggs. On the direct examina-
ton her evidence was unimportant. She
testified to her relationship to the
pretty little girl who played in happy
and careless innocence about the room,
seemingly unaware that in the scales
of justice Judge Barrow held poised
with steady hand was hanging her life's
destiny. She told of her circumstances,
of her present ability to care for her
children, of her mother-love and her
unending desire TO have them with her
again.
The cross-examination, conducted by
Mr.. Robert M. Hitch, was in it's es-
sence an attack upon the character
of Mrs. Wade. 1t was sought to show
| by her own admissions that she had
been improperly intimate with wo
young men in Atlanta, but she stead
fastly denied the imputation. She was
asked If she had not lived on a GER
tain disreputable street in that city;
she denied it, and the evidence showed
that the places where she had lived
were in the most respectable residence
sections.
A letter was shown her by Mr.. Hitch,
which she was asked to identify. 1t
was addressed to her at Moultrie, Ca,
where she was living with her hus-
band, and signed with a hieroglyphic
that bore some resemblance to the ini-
tials "E. A." This letter and the quar-
rel that followed its receipt by the hus-
| band, who had opened and read it,
were the causes that led to her leav
ing Moultrie and her husband and go
ing to the home of relatives in At
| lanta.
Mrs. Wade said she had never read
the letter. When her husband brought
ii home he was in an intoxicated con-
dition and had accused her of infidel-
ity. Throughout the night they had
| quarrelled, he charging her with I'M
faithfulness, she denying his charges.
In the quarrel he threatened to kill
her, himself and the man from whom
the letter had come.
The letter asked Mrs. Wade to come
to Atlanta and made an appointment
for the Jackson Hotel. 1t indicated
that such appointments had been made
and kept in the past, made sighting
references to some "other fellew," who
the writer assumed had enjoyed a
share OF Mrs. Wade's favor, and over
flowed with the most enthusiastic ref
erences to her personal attractions.
On the stand Mrs. Wade said she
did not know the handwriting, did not
know from whom the letter had come,
and positively denied any intimacy
with the man whom counsel for the
respondents identified with him by
whom the letter was written and
signed.
Sensational charges against The COM
plainant, couched in terms of the most
violent abuse, characterized the evil
| dence of r. ]. Wade. one of the re-
spondents. He said she was a drunk
ard, a scold. cruelty treated her chill
| dren. was a common woman of the
streets and other things too numerous
to mention. He told of an incident
when she had come to Wilmington ISL