Norwich bulletin., 1920-01-29
DIVORCE AND ALiMoNY
 SUIT IS GoNTESTEp

The contested divorce suit of Frances M. Spicer against Joseph E. Spicef, both of Norwich, was on trial ali day Wednesday in the superior court here before, Judge John W. Banks with AttDrhey c. L. Stewart appearing for Mrs. Spieer and At tornsy A. r. Libby for MT. Spicer. The case was still on when court adjourned for the day.
 Mrs. spice IS seeking divorce on the grounds of her husbands intoler- able cruelty and habitual inteTnper- anee. Her maiden name was Park hurst ana they were married on Oct. 3, 1904. She asks the custody of three children. aged IS, 10 and l.. and also alinnohy as she claims her husband is worth $1o.00o and earns $2,4o0 yearly.
 Mrs Spicer was the first witness called. She testified to the cruel way in which her husband had treated her and mentioned times when he had struck her and to the prints of his fingers left on her arms and limbs. She eialHled that he failed to give nlenev enough and, the children were shtabblly clother. She had to 20 to werk GIT esSIaakihg to get money snd she also worked for day or wo 6 the Marlin Rockwell factory but had u give thdt up as IL was 100 nafN for her. The family formerly lived together on Bentley avenue but si;lee February of last year she has teen living on Washington street aud her husband has lived elsewhere .Slnce March he has been paying her SIS week by order of the court.
 Mrs. Spicer gave way on the stand for short time to allow Leena Con verse to testify. She told of an incl dent in the Spicer home when chair was pulled from under MT. Spicer.
 In the afternoon on rross examina- tion, Mrs. Splcer identified a number of rece- pts for bills paid by her hus- band.
 Mrs. Louise Comes, 2s5 Laurel Hill avenue, testified she had worked at the Spicer home from August. 1914. to April, 1915. The spicer baby, John. was born Jan. II. 1915. The witness testified t6 trouble at the Spieer homo early in January over a 10 cent pat- tnent that Mrs. Spicer wanted her hus- band to make 10 g boy who cut some wood. Mf. Spicer didn't pay the mohey, but caught his wife by the wrist and threw her across the room so that she hit a piano and was hys- terical for several hours Mir. Spicer left the house immediately after throwing his wife across the room, the witness said.
 Joseph E. Spiter, the defendant in the suit, was called to tfae stand by the plaintiffs attorney, who asked MT. Splcer to produce s2ny documents showing the amount of his income since the 17th of February last year.
 Mr. Spicer produced three pav en- velopes which he said were aH the records he could show. They showed s22.so received for the week of Aug go, 1919, s20.is for another week. and $SS.5o for another week in teamins for construction company tn highway work. He was paid Se cents an hour for a 10 hour day. His income for the past year, the witness said. had been s90G, and he deniad that 1t had been over S2.000. He thought he had been idle a quarter of the time. He said he was not the owner or had any in- tereSt in rkal estate. Within the last five years the witness said he had re- ceived $3,e0o or s4 900 from his mother. Money was paid to all the children in the family by his mother He denied that his mother had paid or promised 10 pay him $1.ee0 for his faithful at tendance at Sunday school, but said he had attended Sunday school for q years without missing a Sunday. He denied that he had any money in say ihgs banks but said he had bought two s1.0e0 Liberty bonds which had been given away. He bought the bonds through a New York firm from money he had. deposited in a New London bank. He gave the bonds to his brother. John ". SpieAr, of Laurel Hill avenue, with whom he now rooms. The brother had always been good about supplying wood to the witness family. MT. Spicer said. and his brother had loaned him some money. The witness denied he had given away the bonds to escape at tachments by creditors and eaid he had been sued by creditors probably fifteen times. When this divorce suit was brought, last February. the wit ness said he had about ss0O0 in the savings bank at New London, about s50 in the Chelsea Savings bank and about s14 in the Norwich Savings sc- ciety.
 At ss0 o'clock the court took a ten minute recess.
 When Attorney Stewart had con- cluded with the witness and Attorney Libby had cross examined him, Attor- ney Stewart said he rested his case and Attorney Libby began for the de- fendant by continuing MT. Spicer on the stand.
 MT. spicer testified the strained re- latiens with his wife began about the time she began to take boarders He
 
 but she seemed to be more interested in the men boarders than the women. Once Mir. Spicer had been informed by the city attorney that the noises at the Spicer house were disturbing the neigheorhced but the witness said he didn't have anything to do with any disturbance,
 MT. Snicer testified that he had done the best he could to support his fam fly ard had drawn much money out of the bank To DAy the bills. He hadn't saved a cent in the last ten years, but had spent all he earned to pay hls hills for the support of himself and family Referring to the incident where Mrs. Comes had said he threw his wife across the room, MT. Spicer said he was trying to catch a ear and as she was in his way he pulled her out of the way in order to get out of the house. He denied striking his wife in an argument over some cigar ashes hut said his wife had frequently struck him. The chief troubles between him and his wife were over money matters She sometimes threw money back at him, he said. when she thought he had not given her enough. Once $20 was thrown out into the sne~ and nobody got 1t.
 xSnek AAaasR