New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-06-12
For Wife Deserters
Washington Makes Them La
Dor and Support Families.
By william III. Baldwin.

Experience under the family desertion
and non-support law In Washington has
proved that IL is possible to bring de-
sorting husbands 10 time and make them
support their families, however much they
may want to skip out and leave wives and
children to shift for themselves.
Punishment In itself profits nobody The
law aims not to punish but TO secure sup
port The man decides whether he VIII
work In confinement or out OF IL. and
Judge William II. DeLacy, OF the Juvenile
Court, sees that he does work In one way
II he will not in the other. The judge Is
a good tinker and has mended SO many
broken families that he knows what ne
can do; and the men know, too.
When a man brought up for non-supporr
promises to furnish il he is put on probs-
ton. and ordered to pay specified amount
from his wages each Saturday night at
the police station nearest his home The
sergeant turns the money over to the Juve-
nile Court, and then the wife gets IL In
full on Monday morning. her pay day. The
money Is pretty safe here, and the plan
heads off many a Saturday night spree.
The man is kept at work. which is a
mighty good thing of itself. and the family
is kept together.
Men who are not willing to furnish sup
port under this arrangement and those who
default in payment or desert a second time
are promptly sent to the vorkhOuse- There
they are made I'D into gangs and put TO
work in Rock Creek Park. where Mr..
Roosevelt when President used to take his
afternoon gallop. They have a hard days
work in the open air. with good food. and
for this the law requires the government to
paw 80 cents a day TO the wives, as for any
government employee The work in the park
would cost 81 80 a day IL not done by prison
ers so 81 is left TO pay for boarding and
guarding the men. after the wages have
been taken out. Congress appropriates
5000 year for this purpose. thereby set
ting a good example to state legislatures
and city councils.
II pays TO do so. A man who can get out
at any time will not work long in this way.
Last year only one man out OF nine had to
be sent to the wOrkhOuse. and he got out
after an average Of six weeks. The govern
ment paid 81. $40 for work. but the men out
side earned s3s. 319 50. which was collected by
the police and paid to the families through
the Juvenile Court.
Beyond the money value Of the labor.
however Is the moral effect of the work
and its compensation on che man in his
relations to mis- family Instead of escaping
the punishment which he deserves, and so
failing to realize that he has done wrong
the issue is squarely made and the work
house sentence, il inflicted. reveals his con-
duct TO him in its true character. Many
men have reformed after this experience
and IL is due I'm large part to the com
pensation provided that the Judge is able
TO infiict the punishment without hesita-
ton where he thinks It necessary.
Judge DeLacy's execution OF the Law Is
effective because II is certain. Family de-
sertion is a misdemeanor or a felony In AL
most every state and IS punishable with
hard labor in many. But to punish the
man In jail the judge must also punish his
wife and, children BY cutting or his wages
That means in many cases that the wife
must go TO work or accept help from, a
charitable society or the CITY.
The Washington law does away With all
that In the three years and nine months
curing which the law has been in 1pe-a-
tlon the amount paid To prisoners h. the
government has reached a to:al OF & S7s
while the amount collected from them
through the Juvenile Court Is sgn Ss5 :.
ms proves the success OF the plan and
the writer believes it ought 10 &c generaII,.
adopted. any