The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1911-11-15
HOME Often
Scene OF
BATTLE
Wife Testifies Mate Beat Her
and Once Fired Revolver
at Her
CASE REPLETE WITH
DOMESTIC DYNAMITE
She Says Husband Beat Her
With Fists; He Charges She
Fought With Fingers
ADMIRAL PHELPS NAME
IS BROUGHT INTO SUIT
ADMIRAL PHELPS NAME
IS BROUGHT INTO SUIT

~ RUNKENNESS. jealousy. rage.
brutality. the husband fighting
- with his fists, the wife lighting
with her hngers--those things
were the habitual customs of the
household of John j. Moore, Pacific
Union cluhman and president and prin-
cipal owner of-the ]. j. Moore company
and his wife, the handsome Lillian L.
Moore, resident of San Mateo and So
ciety woman of the peninsula set, if
one-tenth of the allegations and coun-
ter allegations made by that couple
in their divorce suit are true.
The bitter action for divorce, or to
be more specific, the fight over alimony.
started yesterday before the most
placid jurist in California, George II.
Buck of San Mateo county In the
courtroom at Redwood City Judge Buck,
sitting with immobile, serene express
sion, gave ear all morning to the read
ing of the complaint OF Mrs. Moore
and the cross complaint of her hus-
band, both of which were overloaded
with domestic dynamite. and during the
afternoon session of the court he
listened to the testimony of Mrs. Moore.
which was filed with the most startling
allegations OF her husbands violence
and cruelty and included 4 charge thai
he once fred revolver at her.
Charged jealousy
Names of men of whom Moore was
jealous, which were not mentioned in
the complaint, came to the surface in
Mrs. Moore's testimony, in particular
those of Frederick M Fenwick. the
wealthy lumber man of this city, and
Dr. Beverly MacMonagle. Both are out
of the city. Fenwick in Tuolumne coun-
ty. MacMonagle in Europe.
but + was innocent of all wrong
doing" exclaimed Mrs. Moore, passion
ately He told me that he would kill
mo and Mr.. Fenwick ard Doctor Mac
Monagle, too. He was sitting in an
arm chair and 1 went down on my
knees before him and swore by the
body of my dead boy and by my two
living children that I was innocent.
but he pushed me away and swore at
me-"
That was one of the few moments of
high feeling in the recital by Mrs.
Moore Her tale was such a long story
of blows and bruises and an occasional
bullet and a bite that there was a
safety of revulsion. The horrible life
which she pictured seemed almost te-
dious in its recital, there was such a
monotony of abuse, such a prolixity of
vilifcation, such a redundancy of re-
elimination. such an overdose OF refer
ences to inebriety.
Her eyes were being continually
blackened. Mrs Moore testified, but she
had had her revenge at one time; she
reta1iated by blacking her husbands
eyes and she knocked out one of his
teeth.
Oriental Touches
Once she protected herself with an
Alpine stock, repeatedly she took the
family pistol and threatened damage.
At times her story had oriental touches,
as when she described how her hus-
band. on one of his rampag while
she was in bed, "crawled toward her
like an animal and then attacked her.
He was clad in a silk kimono. at this
time. she testified
Mrs. Moore was continually under the