Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-05
FAMED NORCUE OF ROMANCE
Life in the Clearing House Of Matri.
monial Mishts.
1oUx FALLS DIVORCE INDUSTRY
IhRdy Business Conducted without
Unnecessary Publicity and Mora
Jobs smOthered by
the Coin.

The chief clearing house OF matrimonial
romances gone wrong IL Sioux Falls, the
granite rooted town In the land Of the
Dakotas, where the mismated gather from
many quarters Of the land. Divorces are
not now granted while you wait" recent
laws requiring sufficient residence so that
hotel keepers and lawyers get fairly well
acquainted with the plaintiffs and size up
them up as a business asset. How the
industry thrives and what II thrives on
is sketched by J. w. Foley, a Dakota
newspaper man, in the New York Times.
Some OF his statement are Instructive II
not e%difying. A few are appended;
A great many families prefer to send
the washing out to doing It at home.
II spares us the steam and smell about
the house. 30 a great many unhappily
married couples. learning that the Da-
kotas had set up a washery for soiled
linen, preferred to send their linen over
for cleansing and airing. It spared
them unpleasant notoriety at home.
The ~ninety-day divorce law brought
in transient matrimonial misfits, first
by the dozens, then by the scores, and
then by the hundreds. The business
grew because the system gave perfect
satisfaction to customers. Ninety days
was purely more imam an OUTING, ana
the cost Of II could be made to fit the
purse. 1t was almost as cheap to get a
divorce as to remain married. There
were rumors Of wealthy applicants and
big fees. easily earned.
An attorney Of the old ninety-day period.
who had obtained a decree for a wealthy
woman, was called upon at the end Of the
case to fix his fee. He turned his face
auay aa ~ In study taNna1 tnOp b{c daek
with his fingers, wrinkled up mis- forehead
as II recalling the quantity and difficulty of
his labors, and suggested $4,000. He said
afterward that his heart beat wildly and
came up In his throat. So magnificent a
sum seemed impossible of gaining in one
case. He expected fully his client would
RNZ pale and sick at the infamous sug-
n Of a $4,000 fee. She drew her check
e sum as though she were paying
sekly milk bill. To her it was a
more than a months income.
nds OF business shares In the
Pal profits Of the system. The num-
Z colonists in Sioux Falls reaches as
as 400 or 500 a year. Their average
PendItures are more than $l,COO. Various
mates are placed upon the total annual
kpenditures-from $500 O0 TO $4,000. The
,otel keeper sells rooms, hot and cold
ywater, baths. table d'hote, and such Other
7 things as are kept in stock. The hotel bar
sells various liquors, including liberal
quantities of champagne for high rollers
The lady with the boarding house sells hail
bedrooms, prunes, advice, and eminent
responsibility of association at dinner. The
attorney sells typewriter documents, lore,
loquence, and legal services, The dry
goods merchants sells quantities of mer-
'handise. For the divorce colonists-those
( the weather. class are prone to dress
Htravagantly. stylishly. and stunningly.
md the women of Sioux Falls, they say,
ire better gowred than those of their
listers Of other smaller towns In the west.
or the reason that Divorces bring out the
reIy newest in styles and fabrics, and the
initiative capabilities of women are proven
Lal
The local garages end automobile liveries
rotit from this transient business. One
;arage at Sioux Falls numbered at one
line seven customers Of the divorce col
ony whose monthly bills averaged each
more than $3.50 for livery and repairs. Local
\ sabmen are alive to the opportunities, and
get a Sc fare where the real resident is
transported for a quarter. What cabman,
summing himself on his box at 50 an hou:,
which is the sum cheerfully paid by the
divorce of the richer class, does not see
the merits Of the system?
They are what are known as good
spenders'' these wealthy persons who seek
freedom from unhappy alliances. They
pay the best prices for lodging. for accom-
moda tons Of all kinds, for cab hire, for
whatever is desired. Some of them may
be q bit noisy O. nights, but this is ex-
cused from the readiness with which they
draw checks. Money in hand is a great
sedative.
When a few wealthy members OF the col.
ony took charge of the bar at a local
caravansary one night, discharged the bar
lenders, constituted themselves an enter
tainment committee. and served all sorts
of liquors to all sorts Of corners without
price, they footed the bill to the house
without complaint or inquiry. It was only
one OF many little nights out, the desire
of ennui for real entertainment and money
was plentiful. The time must be passed
somehow for six months. What's the use?
All sorts and conditions Of men and
women have been numbered at one time