The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-02-22
TRIALS OPEN
 TO THE PUBLIC Recommendation of the Divorce Congress. < WILL PREVENT COLLISION Classification of the Causes for
 Legal Separation. Zach McGee of south Carolina Gets the Floor and Makes Vigorous Reply
 to sIur on His

Washington, Feb. 21.--The Congress on Uniform Divorce Laws for the sev- eraI States and Territories today ex- pressed itself in favor of all hearings and trials in divorce cases Tn open court. It was declared that such pub lie hearings would have a tendency to do away with collusion between par ties to the suit for divorce and that publicity would tend to decrease appli- cations for divorce by people who would shun such publicity.
 The resolution follows:
 Hearings and trials should always be before the court and not before any delegated representative of it. and In all uncontested divorces and in any other divorce case which the court may deem 1t necessary, disinterested attorneys should be assigned by the court"
 Tho consideration of the resolution specifying the causes for divorce under consideration when congress took a recess was resumed this afternoon. It was finally adopted. though consider ably modified from the form as origin ally presented by the resolutions com l mittee.
 Other resolutions were adopted as | follows: If the conviction of a crime | be made the cause for divorce, IL should be agreed that such conviction should be followed by two years con l tinuous Imprisonment, decree should be granted a vtnculo for insanity aIls- l ing after marriage.
 DesertfOn for Two Years. 1 Desertion should not be g cause for divorce unless persisted in for at least two years. A divorce should not De | granted unless the defendant has been | given full and fair opportunity by no- | tIce brought home to him to have his say in court. when his residence IS known or can be ascertafned. l Any one named as correspondent i should in all cases be given an oppor- | tunity to intervene
 l II was decided by @ considerable ma jority of the delegates that not less | than two years residence should be l required on the part of a plaintiff who l has changed his or her state domiclle I since the cause of divorce where Juris- 1 dIction depends on the residence or tne plaintiff This feature of the repor' | was not adopted until after much de- I bate. l Al warm discussion was precipitated over the following section of the re- | port: hrs. l band or wife, seeking a divorce snonlo | not be compelled to ask TOT oIssVlu, tion of the bonds of matrimony, Du' 1 shouId be allowed at his or her option to apply for divorce from bed and hoard. Therefore divorces q mensa | should he retained where alroaoy eA- | isting and provided for in States where no such rights exist" | The proposition was vigorously op'
 nosed by pr. Henry c. Winton or Treh' 1 ion. N. J., who maintained thai separa. I .ta,, should not be granted as It might 1 lend to bring about a wrongtui mooe of life. =,
 Debate Becomes General
 rhatrman smith asserted his oellei that Dr- Winton placed human nature
 oy, too low a plane. A eneral deoate followed. ,s. .ho roor,
 when Miss Fanny Leake Cummings .. 1 inc State of Washington declared t@na' @
 the resolution would put a preinrun re n,,nn | on vice and produced statistics m sup
 mort of her argument. The resolution
 was finally adopted with an amend
 ment allowing the innocent party to
 apply for divorce from bed ana ooaro
 "at any time"
 The Congress adopted unanimously
 the resolution providing for the classi' fication of causes for divorce into cer-
 tain groups that would be approved py
 comnaon consent to all communities
 represented in the congress or substan-
 tIally so.
 while the matter was being thresh- l ed over Zach McGee, of South Caroli-
 m. the only State having no divorce
 laws, was given permission to address
 the Congress and he took occasion te
 resent what he calls a slur on hii
 State when 1t was stated on the tiool
 of the Congress that South Carolina
 has a law limiting the amount oi
 money a man may leave to eoncu' | hine,