Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-18
STORY Of INCOME
MAY BAR DIVORCE
Mrs. Ruth Bell Explains Family
Financial Affairs in Judge
Conrey's Court
COIN FROM A FARM IN TEXAS
Woman Declares Husband Left
His Home and Neglected
to Aid Household
COIN FROM A FARM IN TEXAS


to $1,000 year, may act as a bar to
the divorce Mrs. Ruth W. Bell seeks
from Charles f. Bell on the ground of
non-support, even though 1t be true, as
she says, that he squandered 1t all and
never earned a dollar toward provid-
ing her a home. A bride of three
months, forced to pawn her jewelry
with ships steward to obtain funds
to come home from Honolulu, Mrs. Bell
took the witness stand yesterday In
Judge Conrey's department of the su-
perior court when her action for d.
Yorce from Charles +. Bell was called.
With quivering lips and eyes contin-
ually filling with tears, Mrs. Bell told
her story in such low and lugubrious
tones that the court and her attorney
frequently admonished her to speak
more loudly, that the court reporter
might hear She told Of having met
Bell, an English lecturer, In San Fran
cisco where they were married more
than a year ago. Skilled In the subtle
ties of the language In general, Bell
completed a whirlwind courtship by
marrying her.
SAYS SPOUSE BORROWED $500
For four weeks following the mar
riage the couple lived In San Francisco,
their intention being to go to Australia
as soon as Bell received remittance
which he said he expected from there.
When 1t did not come he borrowed $500
from his wife, who has an income of
$1,000 O year from a Texas farm she
owns. He promised TO repay as soon
as he received the money from the
island continent, and he again prom
ised to repay another $500 which he
induced her to loan him. That made
5000 in all, and 1t was all she had.
Still she trusted him, and though 1t
was her money which was defraying
the cost of the trip, she started with
him to Honolulu, where the husband
said the desired remittance from Aus
tralia might reach him.
Arriving at Honolulu, the Bells
passed a week at the Alexander Young
hotel and then sought more modest
quarters in lodging house. For about
two months the couple remained in
Honolulu, the husband continuing to
live entirely upon the money he bor-
rowed from his wife and often speaking
of the Australian remittance which did
not arrive.
Then Bell began begging his wife for
more money, but already she had
loaned him all she had. Then he re-
quested her to cable to her sister, Mrs.
Mary w. Masac. wife OF an official of
the Tonopah &, Tidewater railroad, who
lives In Pasadena, to send her money.
She refused to ask Mrs. Masac for mon
ey, and then one day Bell told her that
he had spent the last OF the 5000 she
had loaned him for a ticket for himself
to Australia. If she could buy ticket
for herself he said, she could go with
him. otherwise she could remain In
Honolulu.
SHIP STEWARD ADVANCES MONEY
without a cent and in despair be-
cause of the treatment she received
from her husband of three months, Mrs.
Bell bethought herself of her jewelry.
She took her gems to the steward of
the steamship Alameda, obtaining
enough on them to purchase passage
back to San Francisco. Her husband,
who told her his ship would sail for
Australia three days after hers start
ed for the American mainland, accom-
panied her to the pier In Honolulu
when she started home alone. She ar
rived in Pasadena and remained there
as the guest of her sister until another
installment Of rent from her Texas
farm reached her, when she redeemed
the jewelry she had pawned with the
steward.
Mrs. Bell told the court that she fire.
uuently had tried to locate her hus-
band but had failed. She asserted that
though he was in good physical and
mental health and earned sums by his
lecturer, he never had given her cent
nor contributed in any way to her sup
port.
"On what did he lecturer" asked
Judge Conrey.
.Oh." she answered, "he lectured on
everything. He delivered 300 or 400 lee
lures"
"Name some OF them" commanded
the court.
Mrs. Bell recited christianity Versus
Churchianity," "The Use and Abuse of
the Tongue" and "Tom Paine, Citi-
zen of the World and was about to
go on indefinitely when the court
stopped her.
COURT DEFERs ITS DECISION
Judge Conrey took her case under ad-
visement, saying that her charge
against her husband was that he failed
to provide for her, and that there was
A. question of whether woman with
an income of $1,000 year could obtain
a decree on such an accusation.
Another case heard yesterday was
that of Mary w. Settles against w. M.
G. Settles. The charge was desertion
and as she did not prove her case she
was given leave to amend her COM
plainI so that her accusation should be
failure to provide.
Mrs. Settles told the court that her
husband was a broker IN Montana,
where she met him. their marriage fol-
lowed, and he brought her to Los Ange-
les for her health. Here he left her.
returning to Montana and promising to
send for her. He did not ask her to
return home, however, she alleged, and
he never has sent her any money.
with her little daughter she strug-
gled along the best she could, starting
a. private school. which failed, and then
engaging as a public school teacher.
Her funds finally became so low that
She had not cent. and 1t was when
she reached that condition that she
asked for a decree.
w. C. T. U. .PosTPoNEs MEETING