Evening star., 1902-05-24
HAD TO PAY. AL|M0NY
Strenuous Experience Of a
New York Actor.
LONG EVADED DECREE
FINALLY TRAPPED BY PATIENT,
SUFFERING WIFE.
Club Whose Members Have All Been
Divorced From Their Wives
for Cause.
l Correspondence of The Evening Star.


NEW YORK, May 23 1902.
1t is natural enough that the members of
this towns Alimony Club should have fre-
quent exciting experiences One of the
members. an actor of some note, was scien-
tiically shredded of little matter of $1,000
and odd accumulated alimony, with inter-
est, due the wife who obtained a separation
from him) early this week.
1t should be explained that the New York
Alimony Club. composed exclusively Of
theatrical men. is made up of two entirely
dissimilar kinds Of members, viz. the resi-
dent members who really pay their alimony
and the fitting members who don't. The
resident members are fellows who pay be-
cause they have to- not because they want
to. They get the bulk of their stage en-
ployment here in New York and their in
comes are attac.iable by their ex-wives.
They are a gloomy lot in comparison with
the fitting members, who, having taken
the iron-clad VOW that they'll never pay
soumarkee of alimony long as they live
and breathe, remain entirely away from
New York except on Sundays. If they are
within reaSona BILE hitting distance of New
York, numbers of this large class of roam
ing members filter into New York from the
stroke of midnight on Saturday. They
can't. of course. be seized Sundays for
the non-payment of aimony and they are
exceedingly careful to catch the II :55 ferry
boats for Jersey on Sunday nights.
They Need to Be Careful.
They need to be careful in this respect,
too. for there are always detectives hover
ing in their wake, ready to nail them if by
any chance they fail to make connection
with the last departing ferry leaving New
York jurisdiction on Sunday nights. Most
of the fitting members are perfectly well
aware of the personality as well as the
proximity of the lowering detective and it
is of their sources of fun to guy him
as they step over the ferry gangplanks on
Sunday mdnights.. Such a fine edge have
the fitting members of the Alimony Club
on the situation owing to the illegality of civil
arrests on Sunday that many of them, when
they get into town on the Sabbath, proceed
to array themselves in all the purple and
fine linen that they possess, charter line
rigs or automobiles and then Whlrl by, in
state, the houses or flats from the windows
of which they are confident their baftied
ex-wives are gazing. 1t is a gloating Sab
bath pastime and it is plain from the man
ner of the Alimony members on these oc-
casions that they enjoy themselves vastly
One of them who did this last Sunday,
however, gloated too much. He is a chap
who, with an income of about S40o a week
and a big bank account, had not, during
the two years since his vile obtained a
separation from him, paid her silver of
the $50 a week alimony which the court
granted her. He passed up all New York
dates from the day Of the separation, out
of sheer determination never to surrender
a cent of aim Ony money, and he always made
his New York visits exclusively on Sundays
having been from its organization one Of
the stars of the Alimony Club. His wife,
a tidy, nice little woman. not of the the
atrical profession has been supporting her
self as miliner since the separation, liv-
ing in a tiny ground-fioor Harlem fiat
Was Caught at Last.
On Sunday last, when he got into town,
the actor chartered the SWEETEST automobile
to be had for money, and took fellow
member of the Alimony Club out for ride
Feeling the need of his regular Sunday
gloat the actor steered the machine by
the modest little fat of his ex-wife. He saw
her sitting pensively at the window. There
fore he pulled the automobile up short.
stood up in it, made his former wife
sweeping salaam, accompanied by a de-
risive grin, and then, having enjoyed him
self, swept
The patience of the little woman, sitting
pensivdy in the window of the Harlem fiat,
stretched to the swapping point by many
repctitions of this queer stunt on the part
of her eX-husband, gave way altogether
under this final flout. The outcome of her
period of hard thinking was developed that
same Sunday night
About forty of the members of the ALI
mony Club were dining that night at one
of the Broadway restaurants, and the actor
who had executed the automobile gloat
that morning was in the finest feather of
all. About IL O'Clock, when the fitting
members were about to bestir themselves
to catch the 1855 ferries. he rose and made
a little speech. When he sat down. amid
the applause of the outfit, a short, thick
set young fellow, seated at a table some
little distance away, got up in his place,
and in a hoarse, strident tone, he yelled:
THAT was a pretty bum speech, you
bogus!"
His One Time Brother-in-Law.
The actor, who is considerably on his
muscle, made for the short, thickset young
man. All too late he recognized the short,
thickset young man as his ex-wifes broth
er. When he did SO recognize the young
man he naturally suspected some sort Of a
job, but by that time the young man had
handed him a swift punch, and the two
We're rolling on the floor. Then the cop
on the beat, summoned by the walters,
pranced into the restaurant and arrested
the pair Of them for disorderly conduct.
They were both led to the Tenderloin sta
ton the actor by this time in a cold per-
spration for fear that he wouldn't be able
to get out of town before midnight. The
bondsman he sent hurry message for
made his appearance to go the actors bail
a quarter Of an hour before midnight, and
then the actor expected to make sprint
for the ferry. But the desk sergeant,
knowing all about the theatrical man s
. formalties in connection with the accept
ance of the bail bond, SO that it was mid
night before this end Of 1t was all arrang-
ed Then the actor made a quick dive for
the door of the station-and ran into the
arms of a detective who'd been trying to
catch him mapping for long while.
Nice Monday morning, this, isn't it?'
said the detective, and then the actor was
led back before the desk, where he was
required to give bail bond amounting
to the sum of his non-paid alimony. His
bondsman fixed this for him, too, and the
actor, trapped, had nothing to do but to
drive to New York hotel In the police
court on the following morning he and
his ex-wifes brother were fined s. each
for scrapping, and the actor was made to
see what a good scheme it would be for
him to pay the 81 900 and odd back alimony
If he expected to leave town and keep
about ten straight weeks of stage dates at
a compensation Of $4O0 per week. He paid
up, with interest, and then his tidy, nice
little ex-wife, who was present, availed
herself of her turn to gloat. Her little
scheme had gone through on creased skids.
She had sent her brother to the restaurant
to engage her ex-husband in little game
of fisticuffs for the sole purpose of keep
ing him in New York beyond the midnight
hour. The actor has resigned his members
ship in the Alimeny Club. He feds, proba-