Omaha daily bee., 1917-01-19
JLERGYMAN'S WIFE
GETS HER DIVORCE.
Rev. H. K. P. Cornish Neglects
Family Larder to Save Souls,
She Charges in Testimony,
FAMILY FIRST, SAYS JUDGE

While she admitted that her debo-
nalr prcacher-husband, the Rev. Har-
old X. P. Cornish, pastor OF the Inter
denominai onal church, South Side,
was rather nee ornament to have
about the house, being an accom-.
plished musician, brilliant dramatic
reader and warner Of others a to the
pitfalls of Gociety, Jessie Griffin Cor
nish, formet Nineland IN. j. society
woman, who was granted decree III
Judge Days court, insisted tina, he
was practically worthless as pro-
wider.
Judge Day upset precedent in his
own court when he freed Mrs. Cornish
from. her undesirable soul-saving
spouse. 1t was the first decree he had
ever granted to a clergymat, 5 wife
and the initial time he has ever had
occasion to censor the conduct u
husband supposed to minister ~
the spiritual needs Of others, but who,
according to the wiie's testimony,
failed to properly minister to the
wants of his own family lardcr.
Whirlwind Courtship.
A unique phase OF Judge Days de-
cison when he gave the former east
ern woman her freedom from the
western "sky-pilot,' whom she mar
ried less than year ago after whlrl-
wind courtship, was that in case
preacher is unable to support his fam
lily, when he could swell his income
by other lines of work but refuses to
do so, the wife should have a divorce.
"A preacher as we'll as any other
man should look after his family
first and society afterward," Judge
Day remarked THE welfare Of
preachers family should be his first
thought-that of society is second
ary."
The preachers wife, who is in the
forties, testified that she met the Rev,
Harold X p. Cornish while she was
visiting in Omaha. / She had lately
come from the exclusive colony in the
New Jersey town.
The Omaha preacher. who could
twang the Tyre of melody and inspire
with howery oratorical readings, APP
pealed to the eastern woman, she
told the court. She said she believed
him to be irst-class preacher of
the gospel sufficiently able to keep
the family exchequer at high tide, as
we'll as to pilot the members OF his
congregation through the tangled for.
ests of modcrn-day temptations. \
Thu ,,,:tn tri
Of only months duration resulted in
the sounding of the wedding tocsin
at Lincoln on February 2, 1916. And
then-well, Mrs. Cornish related that
her preacher-man didn't seem to have
been properly tutored in the art of
getting the coin. She declared that
he was smart--yca, brillant-and was
a bear along musical and dramatic
lines, but somehow or other didn't
bring home the bacon"
Asked Her for Money.
1t was not long, Mrs. Cornish told
Judge Day, before the Rev. Harold
K. P. began asking her for money!
Il realized that sometimes a profess
sional man has hard time getting
started, SO | advanced him sums OF
money at different times. Once he
fairly begged me for money to buy
an automobile--said he need it in
his business. | gave him what he
asked for, Altogether ! gave him
about $500 in six months"
The Judge remarked at this juno
ture that it someone kept drawing
on him at that rate they would break
him in less than that time.
Mrs. Cornished sued for divorce
October 30.