Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-01-28
GUESTS SERVED
CHICKEN; HUBBY
GETS WEINIES
Ben Miller Accuses Wife oil
Kicking Him in Presence of
Policemen; Plaintiff Has
Different Story.


Judge Day in district court yes
terday afternoon granted Nellie
Miller a decree of divorce from Ben
| L. Miller; also custody of three
children, $50 per month for main-
tenance of children and the Miller
household goods.
The children are: Claire, 3 years
old; Robert, 10 months; Grace, s
months. The Millers were married
in Council Bluffs, October 20, 1914.
and during part of their married
life lived at S004 North Twenty
seventh street.
Husband and wife were bitter in
their denunciation of each other,
and each denied most of the charges
uttered by the other on the wit
ness stand.
A sample of the husbands testi-
mony follows: "If she smelled beer
on my breath she concluded that /
was drunk and then she would bring
up old matters and tell me what a
wonder she was and what a rummy
was. She was disappointed in
finding out that l did not have much
money after we were married. /
married her because | loved her and
wanted a home. Four weeks after
our marriage she said she wanted an
automobile. I suppose she thought
that / was a millionaire. | was
only managing my mothers picture
show.
Threw Quart of Milk.
Zone morning, as l was leaving
the house for work, she threw a
quart of milk at me, and if the milk
had not struck the door, ! would
not be here today. | have been
economical. The suit ] am now
wearing was bought in 1916. She
kicked me twice one day in the
presence of a policeman and the
policeman told me that he would
not let his wife kick him like that.
She kicked me on another occasion
and l went down in a heap, and /
though was put out. She had no
provocation to kick me, particularly
where she did. never slapped or
struck her, but l have held her
hands to prevent her slapping me.
On one occasion she slapped me
II times and at first I thought she
was joking, but when l looked at
her | saw that she was serious.
81 did not promise her when /
married her that would quit drink
ing, but that l would not get drunk.
I did quit drinking, and then mat
tiers grew worse, and she would
make some new demonds. She al
ways wanted her own way. When
she had company to dinner she
would serve chicken and when !
got home, I would get wing.
Wife Tells Story.
Mrs. Miller told a different story
when she testified:
Il stood my mother-in-law's
abuse for three years and then l re-
taliated when she called me shanty-
Irish. | was tired of being under
obligations to my husbands peo-
pie. The dress | am wearing was
given to me by my mother-in-law.
These shoes l have had for five
years. My mother-in-law is not
washing my dishes now, nor is she
cooking my meals, and l have been
much happier since / left her house,
at 1904 Davenport street. She was
the mistress in her house and had
no privileges at all.
Eyes, | did throw a milk bottle
at Ben one morning when he pulled
all the dishes off the breakfast table
and then he told me that when /
went to the hospital he hoped that I
and the baby would die. While l
was at the hospital and expecting to
return home in four days, he told
me that he had ordered the gas,
water and electric light all turned
off in our home"
Blames Mother-in-Law.
The wife filed a petition for di-
vorce, alleging that one of the dis
turbing factors of her home was
her husbands insistence that she
should live with his mother. The
husband filed a cross-petition in
which he charged that Mrs. Miller
swore. at him and struck him.
did Mr.. Miller drink when you
married him?" asked attorney for
Miller.
Yes" the wife replied.
And you knew it2"
81 did"
"And yet you married him?"
Il did on his promise that he
would quit"
How soon after your marriage
did he come home drunk"
"On the second or third day."
Mrs. Miller related that on an oc-
easion when her husband threatened
to take their boy, Claire, to his
mothers home, she took the child
into a bath room and that Miller
gave her "l0' to open the door, or
he would break it open.
Il was going to drop the baby
out of the bath room window, but
it was too far to the ground, so /
called to neighbors, who came and
took us both out of the room
through the window" the wife tes-
tilted.