The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1910-02-18
MRS. B.R. TlLLMAN, R.,
RECEIVERS CHILDREN
STATE SUPREME COURTS DE-
CISION ANNOUNCED. -.>
Immediate. Possession Granted to tha
Mother.-A Case Which Has At
tracted Wide Interest.

tracted Wide interest.
Columbia, February 15.-Mrs. B.
R. Tillman, Jr., by a decision OF the
Supreme Court of South Carolina,
secures immediate possession OF her
two little daughters, who were deed
ed under an Act now declared uncon@
stitutional, to Senator and Mrs. B.
R. Tllman, the parents OF the nus
band. of the young Mrs. Tillman. "
The decision in the case was hand
ed down by the Supreme Court this
morning, the court having considered
the matter for two weeks. 1t cannot
be said that the Courts order in the
habeas corpus proceedings brought
by the mother of the children is
wholly unexpected, for it was felt
that she would get her daughters II
there was any law that would. war
rant the action. On the other hand
T the statute appeared o.give the nus
band the right to deed the chlldretu
|. to whomsoever he pleased without
the wife's. consent. A contention
| that seems to. have had its weight
was that, theEAet was intended as a.
testamentary. statute, and that It
! was, never the purpose Of the Cen
eral.sAssembly, to give father the
right to deed away children IN h1s
life time. >"1;s,.....y
A wider breach than ever is made
to-day between those who jwere the
chief actors in this tragedy Of real
| life. Around two young children
cenered a legal battle that brought
out in the court room everything OF the
bitter fight within the home and that
hatred Of the two old, families rep
resened on the one hand by the
proud young mother and on the 'oth-
er hand by the SOD of one whose po-
litical career in this State and, in the
EUnited States is known the world
over. Separated almost by fate, as
! it were, the young father and moth
er brought their troubles home at
first, and then when the father made
that tep@which the mother could
no longer endure-the separation of
| her from her children-she came to.
tie highest tribunal in this State. z,
And here( she got what every
mother in South Carolina prayed for
her-the possession of her own chA-
dreu. To bring them up according
to her ideals had been the fond wish
of this mother, and when she saw
that this hope was, apparently, about
to be nipped in the bud By law
that she could not understand, des-s
perately, she sought Court Of Equi-
ty. And; that Court listened to such
a plea as has never before been
placed before it. The whole mar
riage life Of Mr.. and Mrs. B. R: Til
man, Jr., was laid bare before the
four Justices and those: within the.
Court room, letters Of a private na-
ture were read and 'afidavits toueh-.
ing the most sacred things in Life,
we're placed in that open book and
given to the world. -. It was only by
this means that the mother could
tell the.story Of her yearning for her
daughters with whom she wishes to
be in all their days.: The Court must
have been touched by that appear,
for, as some one said on that day
",They are only human But it was
mot through sentiment that Mrs. Till
man is given her children; the Court
found that the laws Of equity could i,
not sustain the position Of a father
giving away his children without a
mothers consent.
No one would argue that the chill
dren would not have met with the.
best of attention at the hands OF
Senator and Mrs. B. R. Tillman and
the contention as to the point of the
ones "ft to care for them' could
have had no weight. Even those
who prayed that the mother should
have the children, admitted that Sen
ator and Mrs. Tillman were very fond
of the two little girls and would have
been good and kind to them had they
been permitted to retain possession.
But "a mother should have with her
the children she bore" was an ar
eument that met with no refutation