Los Angeles herald., 1906-12-04
GIRL OF SIXTEEN
Gets A DIVORCE
Young Wife Tells Of crueIty-Declares
Husband Committed Perjury
to obtain a Marriage
License

Never before in the history of local
courts has the old saying of Marry
in haste and repent at leisure" been
more thoroughly proven than yester-
| day in department FIVE of the superior
court, when pretty little Fern 70. Bur-
nett, child wife of II years, appealed
to Judge Conrey for decree of di-
vorce from William Burnett on the
| ground of cruelty.
According to the statement of Judge
Conrey yesterday, after hearing the
evidence in the case, he will immedl-
ately take up the story of the mar
riage of the young woman to Burnett
with Capt. Fredericks, the district at
| torney, and Burnett may be arrested
on a charge of perjury.
The sorrowful young bride, although
only II years of age, looks much older.
Her manners, however, are those OF a
girl, and the many attendants at the
court yesterday who heard her story
could not help feeling sorry for her.
II met Mr.. Burnett few months ago
and we agreed to get married." she
told Judge Conrey.
"I told him that 1 was only 16 years
of age, but he said that he could fix
that all right and for me to elope with
| him to Santa Ana and that we could
get a marriage license there. Mrs.
Cora Sisk of III Merchant street went
along as witness. They also knew
that 1 was only 16 years of age, but
Mrs. Sisk told me that 1 should say
was over 1S, otherwise 1 could not get
the license. SO l swore 1 was over Is
and we were married there"
Says Husband Is a PerIurer
At that point in the testimony Judge
Conrey interrupted to ask a few ques-
| tions. The California code requires
! that both man and woman, in asking
for a marriage license, swear to facts
as set forth by them relative to names
and ages are true to the best Of their
| knowledge and belief. The girl testi-
fled that Burnett, who is "a years of
age, knew that she was only 16 and
yet he made oath to the marriage GER
tificate in which she had sworn she
was IS years of age and that he knew
| at the time he was swearing to lie
when he said that the facts in the GER
tificate were true to the best of his
knowledge and belief.
Judge Conrey suggested to the girls
attorney that he take up the case with
the district attorney with view to the
issuance Of a criminal warrant charg-
| ing perjury against the husband. The
attorney declined unless ordered by the
court, and Judge Conrey stated his in
| Mrs. Burnett was then told to con-
tinue the testimony.
1--WE were married at Santa Ana on
June 26," she said, land my father did
not know anything of the marriage
until I telephoned him from Santa
Ana that was Mrs. Burnett.
when we returned to Los Angeles
we tried to board on Merchant street,
but we did not get along very well and
had frequent quarrels. My husband
refused to allow me to see my parents,
claiming that they would make trou-
BILE for us.
FINALLY we went to board at my
mothers house, when my husband did
not have much money. One evening
he became insanely mad and demand
ed to know where one of my pictures
was. He had stated his intentions of
destroying the picture and I hid 1t.
Well, he searched over the house,
breaking the furniture and the dishes,
and at last when I interfered he
knocked me down and then left"
The girls father corroborated her
statements and she was granted a de-
cree.