The evening herald. [volume] (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 1914-1922, 1915-05-19
PUTS FOCHS
BOY IN CARE Or
SHERIFF
Mandatory Injunction Obtain
ed by Mother to Guard
Against Runaway Pending
Settlement of Dramatic
Case.

Under a mandatory Injunction is
sued by the supreme tourt. custody
Of ~i2-year-oid Wallace Peters over
whom his mother. Mrs +. A. Fochr.
and hts foster mother, Mrs. Mary
munger ~ Estnncia, have been bat
ting In h courts since 1919. paased
today into the hands OF sheriff Jesus
Romero. The reason for the inIunc-
ton, which was obtained b. II. n.
Jamison. ounsel for Mrs. Fochs, j.
TO place the boy In the care OF an
impartial persons charged with see
ing that Wallace docs not run away
or otherwise leave the Jurisdiction of
the court pending the final settlement
OF the case. He does not want 10
leave his foster mother. and ne ls old
enough 60 upset the case on his own
Initiative by running away.
The supreme court reversed the
decision Of the district court giving
Mrs. Munger custody Of the child. hut
az the same time gave the lawyers
Tor Mrs. Munger the customary 20
days In which 10 appeal for a rehear-
ting. Ordinarily Mrs. Munger would
have retained custody % the child
pending the disposition OF the rehenr.
ing question. but the peculiar cir
cumstnnces Of the ease led counsel
Tor Mrs. Fochs TO sue out the man
datory Injunction. IL Is made re-
turnablc May %.
whether or not the supreme court
rcheaIs the case depends on whether
the motion to rehear In pressed or
The courts decision on u. II the mo-
ton II dropped or n the cour refuses
another hearing. the mother will re-
gain possession ~ her child.
The case OF Wallace Peters Is one
OF the roal-life dramas that now and
then are unrolled In tho courts. II
began In Kansas In 1906 when Wal
lace was less than two years old.
His father. Ebert d. Peters. was
divorced by his wife, and the court
awarded her custody Of the child.
Peters stole the baby and fled. He
put IL In the care Of Mrs. Munger la
Colorado. and kept It's whereabouts
concealed from Mrs. Peters.
Mrs Peters started searching FOR
the child, but months heightened into
years and she got no trace OF A.
Year after year she sought her baby,
never losing hope and never nagging
IN her search.
Finally. In 1913. she found the boy
with Mrs. Munger here. In the mean
time Mrs. Munger hnd cared for Wal
lace as FOR her own child. She loved
him. and all that any woman except
tie child's W mother could htyc
been she was to Wallace, The child
knew and loved her as his mother.
ana when his real mother appeared
ne did not know here and did not
want to 20 with her. That decided
Mrs. Munger To fight for him. BE
fore Mrs. Fochs appeared she had
! formally adopted the boy.
Mrs. Fochs sued FOR the boy In the
district court. After hearing the ct-
idencc and an the correlated facts.
Judge Reynolds decided against the
mother. No question OF the mothers
fitness TO care FOR the child entered
or could cnter-in the case. judge
Reynolds said after the verdict wa.
given that he did everything but prnN
over the case. His .Jling that Mr..
Munger keep the child was based ou
! the ground that the best interest ui
the child was the chief criterion by
which TO decide. The evident prefer
encc of the child for his foster moth
or undoubtedly had great weight
with the count.
II. n. Jamison, counsel fur the
mother, lost no time In appcalins the
case 10 the supreme court. That tfi-
bunal agreed with him that a good
mothers right To her child WAS su'
preme. The child's natural prefer
ence Tor his foster mother was dis
regarded as entirely subordinate T.
the mothers right to the possession
OF her offspring.
During the argument before the
supreme court Attorney Frnncil
wood, In tho course OF an eloquent
address. said that Mrs. Munger Wal
an to the boy that his mother coul'
be.
"Mr. Wood" asked n Of the Jus
tices. interrupting. do you mean &
say that another woman can be quite
tho Same 10 "A child as a good woman
whose blood II In his veins
MIR. wood said he thought 30 "uu
der some circumstances but all nj
| eloduence failed to make the cour
see that there was amy reason t"I
F..,.Iuw H.V .RIfI IN Mrs. EDpnu-