The San Francisco call., 1909-02-27
JUDGE FAVORS
DIVORCE SUITS,
ALSO MARRIAGE
P. j. Shields Would Not Change
Present Laws, Although They
Break Up Homes
Women Scored for Leaving Cot
tages and Abandonment of
Their Maternal Duties
Senate Judiciary Committee
Reserves Consideration of Bill
for Public Examiner
Especial DispGich TO The CALI

SACRAMENTO. Feb. 20
We haven't any foo many causes for
diporce. / Douldn't change any of
them. | am a great believer IN diporce
THANK God, some homes can be
broken up. The children are deprived,
not of homes. but of torture chambers.
The best thing woman can do
when she has severed one marriage is
TO contract another.
"One cause for divorce is that people
have left The cottage for the flat or Ne
hotel. Women haze jdlitors 10 do
their pork for them. The raising of
babies has gone out of fashion.
Judge. Peter ]. Shields.
Out of the fullness of knowledge
gained on the bench. Judge Peter ].
Shields of Sacramento today told the
senate judiciary committee some un-
draped truths in regard to marriage
and divorce. The committee listened
with interest and agreed with most of
what Judge Shields said.
Discussion Is Serious
1t was serious discussion; so seri-
Gus that Senator Curtin felt constrained
to tighten the gravity of the lecture
by remarking anent Judge Shields
reference to race suicide, the infant
industry must be protected
With Bishop Moreland and Rev. Dr..
Wills of Sacramento, Judge j. II. Mer-
riam of Pasadena and Charles L. Chan
dler of Los Angeles, all representatives
of the interdenominational marriage
and divorce commission, Judge Shields
appeared before the committee to dis
cuss the bill introduced by Bell of Pas
adena, providing for the appointment
of a divorce examiner
New Official Proposed
The duty of the divorce examiner is
to appear on behalf of the state in
every divorce action, to contest the
divorce at every stage and to ex-
pose and prosecute perjury, fraud,
connivance and collusion. This official
is to be appointed by the superior court
in every county and is to receive 5000
a month. A deputy examiner is to get
$3.50.
Chandler, who was appointed by Gov
ernor Gillett to represent California at
the national marriage and divorce con-
erraS. copvanad IN XNaet,;,orto, =, 1anz
by President Roosevelt, explained the
purpose of the measure and upheld
its constitutionality, which was ques.
toned by the committee. Judge Mer-
riam also spoke. but Judge Shields was
the center of interest.
This divorce examiner will be a
young fellow who will float around.
subpoena neighbors to testify, and so
on" explained the Judge.
Hell have a merry time" smiled
Curtin
Judge Tells Experience
rs it your experience that the ma
jority of divorces are applied for when
one party has struck an affinity
queried Cartwright of Fresno.
Judge Shields answered in the mega
tive, declaring that the causes of di-
vorce were social and evolutionary He
agreed with Willis of Redlands that
most of the people who get divorces
here come from the eastern states and
don't belong in California.
divorce has not yet eaten into the
fiber of the substantial citizenship OF
California, said the judge, with sig
nificant emphasis on the yet
The committee decided that. the ques-
tion was too important to be decided
onhand and gave itself till next week
to digest all that Judge Shields had
told.