Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-13
FATHER FIGHTS TO
REGAIN DAUGHTER
Four Year-0Id Girl Becomes Gen.
ter of Legal MaeI-
Str0m
TROUBLE BEGAN IN CHICAGO
DR.. Schroeder Accuses Wife of
Deserving Him, Taking
Tot with Her

Pretty 4-year-old Alice Schroeder,
who for more than a year has been
living peacefully with her mother and
grandparents at 949 North Lincoln ave-
nue., Pasadena, suddenly became yes
terday the center of a legal whirlpool.
Her father, DR.. Oscar V. Schroeder,
bringing his attorney from Chicago, be-
gan a struggle for her possession by
having the little girl, her mother, Mrs.
Ether Schroeder, and grandparents, Mr..
and Mrs. James u. Charbonneau, all
summoned into court before Judge Will
bur on a writ of habeas corpus. The
powerful writ was served late the night
before by the sheriff.
A year and one-half before, according
to the testimony Of the father, he had
returned tired from work one evening
to his home in Chicago and found
note from the wife saying she had left
him. The baby also was gone. After
few days he heard she was In the
northeast part of the city of Chicago,
and he hurried there, only to find she
had gone the day before to other parts
not known, having obtained money
from some friends.
when 1 did hear where she was
got my affairs in shape as soon as
could and came" said the physician.
WAS UNHAPPY
''Was your married life happy one?"
questioned the attorney in examina-
ton.
'Most decidedly not. My wife was
highly extravagant. She did many
things that were not appropriate, ran
bills without my knowledge in many
places, deceived me, even borrowed
money in addition to running the bills.
i paid her debts after she left.
1--WE quarreled some, too. She would
leave the baby with one Of the neigh
bors for whole day at time. Often
] would return at night to find the
baby in the care Of the woman next
door, and my wife gone to a lodge
meeting or somewhere else.
'I gave her an even 500 a month to
conduct the house with, but she didn't
use it for that purpose"
The wife, taking the stand, denied
the greater part of what the husband
had told, claiming she frequently got
nothing to run the house with.
HE asked me to get out and earn
money, and was so unreasonable about
money matters 1 could stand it no
longer"
Most of the efforts Of the fathers
attorney We're to show the mother an
unfit person to care for the child, the
claim being set up that since coming
here she had left the child with her
grandparents for days at time, while
she journeyed to San Diego and other
points. Except while searching for en-
ployment, the wife denied this en-
phatically.
Something of the spirit actuating the
principals was shown when James
Charbonneau, the aged grandparent,
arose in court to object to his son-in-
law using his name at all. The court
found it necessary to inform him that
such instructions were unsought from
a/witness. When, later, Mr.. Charbon
neau took the stand he stated the
physicians temper to be Of the ungov-
ernable sort, while his daughter, on the
other hand, was Of the unusually mild
type.
An adjournment was taken until 4
p. m. Monday in order to obtain other
witnesses, the child, in the meantime,
being placed in the care of its grand
parents. Permission was given the
father to visit her at any time.