Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1909-10-16

clever English artist, now in
New York, declares that every
American girl tucks divorce
papers into her trousseau.
Whether the analogy be just or I'M
just, certain it is that the American
woman proves almost as fertile in the
matter of excuses for securing a di-
vorce as she is in marshaling wiles
with which to net a husband, writes
Anna Steese Richardson in the New
York World. For while scarcely more
than a round dozen causes are cited
by the law as grounds for divorce,
even in this country of liberal and
varied state divorce laws, the average
woman can interpret the most COM
mon cause, cruelty" in a hundred
and onesways, each of which will go
straight to the hearts of judge and
jury.
For instance, the superior court in
Seattle, Wash, was recently asked to
decide whether dyspepsia and
cruelty were synonymous terms.
Harriet Bendick Kohl was a culinary
artist. Aher V. Kohl, her husband,
was a dyspeptic. So long as Mr.. Kohl
stuck to a diet, he was a companion
able spouse. When he yearned for
some of his wife's tidbits he would
surely fall from grace and into
tantrum- One Sunday he induced his
wife to make waffies. After eating
plentifully of these, floating in maple
strip, he threw the family canary in
its cage through the window. A batch
of especially fine soda biscuit led
him to stray from his diet, and that
afternoon he kicked the family watch
dog into the neighbours back yard.
When no family pet was at hand, Mrs
Kohl was the butt of his displeasure
and dyspeptic rage. After eating an
unusual quantity of her very best
strawberry shortcake, Mr.. Kohl act
taily refused to speak to his wife for
48 hours. Mrs. Kohl urged this in
gratitude for her culinary ability so
effectively that divorce on the grounds
OF cruelty was granted.
Cruelty in Restricted Diet.
Mrs. Anna NJ. Hodge of Pittsburg
Pa, secured a decree because her hus-
band limited the daily bill of fare
breakfast, dinner and supper, 365 days
in the year, to sausages and rice pud-
ding. He throve on the diet, but
Mrs Hodge called it cruelty, and the
court agreed with her.
Mrs. ]. B. Stetson of San Francisco,
in applying for divorce from trac-
ton magnate of the far west, cited as
cruelty" the fact that she had to eat
pumpkin pie three times day and
was denied the privilege of adding
soup and salad to the family menu.
Mrs. Harry Maremount's divorce from
a Chicago carriage maker was due
largely to difference in opinion over
sauerkraut. She liked sauerkraut,
but her husband could not endure the
smell of it. When she persisted in
cooking it he struck her and fed from
their home in anger. Mrs. Joseph T.
Colvin of Pittsburg secured a divorce
because her husband, a prominent
secret society man and an all-round
fellow, insisted upon supplying cham
payne when she asked for bread. The
court agreed that no woman could
live on champagne alone
Goldfish Cause for Divorce.
In the little town of Union, Bergen
county, New Jersey, Mr.. and Mrs.
Theron c. Knapp amiably agreed to
secure a divorce because Knapp, in
a moment of extravaganza. brought
home a box of prepared Goldfish. Mrs.
Knapp had always humored her hus-
bands fondneSs for Goldfish cakes with
the good-oldfashioned brand of cod
fish which you soak over night and
pick by hand. Shocked by his ex-
travagance in buying the prepared
article, she pulled his hair. The rec
ords do not show which constituted
cruelty, the Goldfish purchase or the
hair pulling
a Marquette (Mich.) man cited as
one instance OF cruelty, in his petition
for divorce, the fact that his wife had
invariably refused to make for him a
lemon pie, of which delicacy he was
extremely fond, much to his discom-
fort the papers set forth.
Family pets have often figured in
petitions for divorce. Mrs. Andrew
Mahu of Alton, ILL.,, had 40 picked Leg
horns, which she kept at the rear of
her cottage. Her landlord served no
tice that his property could not be
converted into a chicken ranch Her
husband announced that he could not
afford to sacrifice his trade as a piano
tuner by moving into a different neigh
borhood- The two had been married
Is years. but Mrs. Mahu calmly
packed up her personal property, in
GLIDING the chickens, and moved away,
leaving Mr.. Mahu to the cold comfort
of a divorce court.
Poodle Separated Fond Hearts.
William B. Entrinkin of Chicago OBJ
5ected to the attentions showered on
French poodle by his wife, and took
st out on the poodle, to the latter's