The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1913-05-08
Judge Randall Awards Gus
tody of Beatrice Meyer to
Mr.. and Mrs. Lubkemann
MUST See TO CHILD's WELFARE
Court folds That in Absence of Specific
Law of the State He is Entitled to
Use His Discretion Holding in Mind
the Interests of the Child.

Judge G. E. Randall handed down a
decision in his court this morning
granting the custody Of Beatrice Meyer
an "unwelcome child of Mrs. Ber-
tina Finkbeiner of Chicago, to Mr.. and
Mrs. August Lubkemann of Trevor,
who have acted as foster parents of
the child for a period Of nearly FIVE
years. The mother of the little girl
had sought the return of the child to
her by habeas corpus proceedings and
the case attracted wide attention.
The decision of Judge Randall is i'm
portant as it is one of the first decisions
ever handed down in this section of
the state relating to the custody of an
Legitimate child.
The child was secured by Mr.. and
Mrs. Lubkemann from an institution
at Peoria, ILL.,, to which institution the
child had been sent by the mother at
the time of it's birth. At that time
the mother signed waiver of all
rights over the child. Mrs. Finkbeiner
in her fight for the child had set up
the fact that under the laws of Hi
nois she was entitled to the child as it's
mother and that she had made an eff
fort to revoke the waiver which she had
given to the society and had made a
a demand on the society for the return
to her of the little girl. This de-
mand was nearly three and a half
years after the child had been placed
in the Lubkemann home. In his deci-
sion granting the foster parents rights
over the little girl Judge Randall says
in part:
"The statutes Of Wisconsin do not
expressly determine the right to the
custody Of illegitimate minors and none
of the cases decided by the Wisconsin
supreme court, 50 far as this court has
been able to find, discuss the right of
the mother Of an illegitimate child to
its custody.
Hence, in determining this case this
court feels at liberty to consult the
decisions of other states.
The best considered rule and the one
most nearly in line with the Wiscon-
sin decisions appears to be that while
the mother of an illegitimate child is
entitled to it's custody, that
the welfare and permanent good Of the
minor must control the court in deter
mining it's disposition.
And where the mother Of an illegiti-
mate child has, in the early years Of
its infancy, abandoned, neglected or
surrendered Its custody to others and
she afterwards attempts to assert her
rights as guardian for nurture, and
claims the child in the character of its
mother, the court should not recognize
such right as absolute, but should ex-
ercise it's discretion by refusing to in
terfere if by so doing the interests of
the minor will be best protected.
In the case at bar, petitioner volun-
tarily signed a contract voluntarily
the child to the home
finding society at Peoria, knowing
that her child was to be taken to such
home, and for more than two years af-
ter she became of age and after her
marriage made no attempt to recover
her child and to disafirm such agree
ment. 1t is not deemed necessary to
determine whether or not such acts
constitute ratification of such con-
tract or whether such acts estop her
from now claiming the custody of
her child.
Having voluntarily surrendered the
custody of her illegitimate child; hav-
ing left such child with the respondents
who stand in place of the society at
Peoria; having failed to demand the
custody of such child until respondents
have come to feel the affection of nat
ural parents for such child and she to
regard them as her parents; having
married and her husband not being the
father of such child; respondents be-
ing able and willing to do their whole
duty towards said child, by caring for
and supporting and educating her as
their own daughter, having. ample
means so to do and being persons of
good moral character, the court be-
heves and finds that the best welfare
and interests of the child demand that
its custody be left with respondents. /"