Mexico Missouri message. (Mexico, Audrain County, Mo.) 1899-1918, 1902-05-29

AN EDITORS TROUBLES.
Defends Himself in a Di.
vOrcc Suit.

editorial personality is furnished
by the Montrose, Iowa, journal .
Montrose is quaint little town of
about 800 inhabitants situated at
the head of the DesMoincs rapids of
the Mississippi river. 1t is one of
the oldest towns in that section, Il
frontier army post having been cS-
tablished there early in the 3Os.
and traders having located there
before that. At one time it was Il
great trading and lumber manu-
featuring point, but its glory has
passed and only memories of its
former importance remain
&. Il. Clngman, an odd genius,
has been publishing the newspaper
there for several wears Not long
ago his wife sued for divorce. On
the trial of the case CllngmaH en-
tered no defense and the divorce
WAS granted. But Clingman got
his side of the case before the To-
cal public by printing an editorial
defense. The fact itself is humOr-
Gus and some Of the things he said
are amusing, but undcrncutl it all
there is IA note of pathOS and do
nestle tragedy. This is his de
Tense:
My wife has applied for n dl-
yorce, and will get one, on at least
this act of hers means that we,
who became husband and wife on
August ), 1890, for better, for
worse, are to separate from the Sa-
cred ties of matrlmony forever,
We must live apart, and under
different shelter. We never have
lived as one, but that was her
fault. do not wish to mention
her faults, but | do believe that
there is not man III the State of
Iowa, with mind and body, that
could live happily with II woman of
her disposition. She always had
her own way and never gave me n
fair chance. She was willing for
me to take the buzzard and her
the turkey, or her the turkey and
me the buzzard, and that had to
end it, and generally did. She
took for her motto, Heads | win,
tails YOU lose, and never dcviatcd
from it. She never smilcd-she
never cheered me, and always
pulled in an opposite direction.
"When we got married she had
a mother and daughter, who,
with herself, turned against me,
but, like the foolish ass, bore
the burden with only an occasional
bray. My load was heavy and my
work was burdensome, but | had
"a hours to do my work in, and on
more than one occasion | have
worked every hour Of the n. |
realized that it was long lane
that has no turn, and | was look
ing for turns Finally my wifc's
mother was called to the other
shore; then her daughter got mar
ried, leaving my wife, mylittle son
and myself in the family. The
turn had come sure enough
My wife turned against her daugh-
ter and renewed her enmity against
me, and there was not Il ray of
hope in the Clingman family
things had gone from bad to worse
and had continued so.
"If Mrs. Clingman had weighed
all matters on the scales of justice
instead of Jumping them off with
eyes of prejudice, she would have
learned to love, instead of hate,
the husband who so faithfully
shaved for her so that she might
live in luxury. She never wanted
for clothing, medicine, food or
fuel, and on the very day she filed
her papers for divorce the cellar
was filled with fruit, the flour bin
was filled with flour, the hcuhOusr
with eggs-and there We're grocer
les enough on hand to supply an
ordinary family a fortnight. She
had every obtainable luxury at her
command. Her railroad fare was
paid from one end of the line to
the other; she went and came AS
she pleased, and 'Clingman paid
the freight and the bills, too
land did the cooking while she
was gomez.
As she goes through life with
her soul burning with revenge and
spite, they will cease when she ar
rives at a point where the paths
.,.a,>o,,, 30 ,,,oot--,b a mill tL;,I. P,,t