Arizona republican., 1917-02-17
THE BANE OF THE MiD-
 DLEMAN IN DlVORCES

The simple method of calling the parties into private consultation has ended many divorce suit and re- established many a home. This has been the experience of every judge. and the need fo such an effort pre- sents serious problem in social eff ciency. A conciliatory agency to deal with divorce cases before they are brought into court should not be '-in the nature of a censorship or a rigid regulatory process" think two writers on this theme for The New Republic (New York), Manuel Levine and Ray mond Moley The attempt at such a delicate task ought to be in the hands of some one devoted to this form of social service and connected with the courts. The liklihood of success in such an undertaking is illustrated by d case in point:
 "A husband and wife well past mid- dle life had not spoken to each other in many months. All communication had been carried on~through the medi- tation of lawyers. The parties direct ly concerned were called into the of flee of the judge, who left them there for a while with the door locked. Stormy wrangling followed. But the voices gradually descended to lower tones. and two hours later when the judge reentered the office, the parties were willing to go home together
 If differences can be settled after legal strife has begun, it is reasonable to demand that efforts looking to d settlement be made in the first in- stance. It is the part of advanced thought to eliminate community waste by preventing the growth of the anti social. We save most of the cost of combating disease by seeking to pre- vent it's cause. In like manner we can eliminate the infection of modern di- vorce proceedings.
 The wise, worthy lawyer is con- stantly performing social service by bringing about readjustments before filing suit
 The difficulty lies in the afct that 'the element of the profession which handles most of the divorce cases in America owes it's very existence to such discord." Therefore. it is an act of folly to expect effort toward peace i from that source
 The more bitter the strife the more ample the profit. The wife consults one lawyer, the husband another. Pe- | titions pregnant with charges ana counter charges are prepared. Trifles | light as air are magnified to give the case added seriousness. Society and the law have decreed that divorce must not be granted except for serious cause Hence to secure the divorce and to earn the fee, the lawyer com piles a debit account which often works serious and irreparaole destruc- | tion. Even in those cases where ef- forts for peace are successful the | seeds of future disagreements have frequently been left.
 The lawyer is a middleman. He
 exists because a mass of technicalities
 separate the citizen and his courts Blindly must the average man trust his lawyer to go into the maze and
 bring him back satisfaction of some desire. Whether he gets it depends
 less upon the object sought than upor
 the skill of the expert employed
 Such problems as are involved il
 the ordinary divorce proceedings re-
 quire for their solution d branch oi
 the public rervice which is equipped
 to investigate and advise. The cour
 as now constituted can not do this
 It is equipped merely to decide whicl of two eXpositions of law should b, given precedtnce. Too often th' judge IS merely q highly dignifiet referee in 9 technical game. The cour must be equipped to meet the concret . demands of human life. Decision
 must cease to partake of the mysti
 art of an ancient ceremony. It mus 2 become place for the taking of
 trial balance in the immediate prob e lem at hand. Justice in order to b I worthy of the name should be tn 2 determination Of the balance in hu 9 man relationships"
 f Cleveland has taken the lead in es tablishing conciliation court, wher
 small suits are dealt with .n an in = formal way. Lawyers, bondsmen, an = other middlemen of the law are elim '. mated, and the judge acts as invest < gator and peacemaker. The writer U think that "the process which worl 2 for peace in adjusting differences b, a tween strangers could, at least, = equally helpful in dealing with the a o fairs of estranged partners in u n business of matrimony." = Literal .f Digest.
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