Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-05-11
THE RELENTLESS
WIFE
By Frederic J. HaSkin

| ,o, place where it certainly be-
I nnstio 10 women, and that is the do
called the divorce court Of tbe
poor and again, 1.-THE court of family
rows" OF New York. Here it is the
man VINO pays, while the woman
! stalks grlmIy off with the domestic
| laurels. 1o''4o
Presumably a. man NAV 1odea !.
complaint in this court If his Wiz
uesefts him, but few men do so. Thus
| II is primarily a women's and cISI-
qreh's court, patronized almost who'll
~ by dlsgruntled wives who are anx-
1 Wearv 10 h get even" with erring or
! mother apepars to exact sunnort
| from an irresponsible son, but moth
| dence. wv
AS the reporter approached the
oid' dlngy, red-brick courthouse the
0 Oeder morning, a crowd of interested
| pedestrians was gathered about a
very angry young man and a very
angry old lady, who were shouting
intimate reproaches at one another
Just as If they had the whole street
10 tne s1 The young man wore
and no collar; the old lady was also
| poorly clad in a shiny black cape and
rallish sailor hat.
you've got plenty of money" she
TOLD the young man and the amused
croWd at the same time. "And my
1Tahu a 3,;d goln' to get some of it.
"Nobody1l never make me paw if"
| replied the young man furiously.
III see them in heaven first!'
THE PROUD MALE cR1NGEs
But, alas for the bravado of the
male, a few minutes later this same
young man was standing meekly be-
lore the judges desk in the court
room, noddlng an abashed assent to
all the serious charges against him
ana weakly agreeing to contribute So
| a q, week to the support of his wife.
The wife is earning SIC a week and
living with her parents, so that this
Will make her total weekly income
$24, while her husband will have only
| statement follows:
The court room itself proved in
teresting because of it's utter lack of
tormality and legal pretentions. 1t
is more like private office than a
| court; and the judge, long since hav-
economically at a long table where
also sit the defendant, the lawyers,
the court stenographer, and the pro-
baton officers. To the immediate
| right of this table is the witness
chair. One case is admitted to the
court room at a time to receive a
| confidential hearing.
$50 much nicer than 1t used to
be-" whispered a plump, gray-haired
PROBATION OFFICER to u.s. as we sank
chair near the official table, having
gained our admittance by the divine
right of our reporters card. IT'S
| just like a family caucus now. You
know, it used to be that the women
| had to stand in line and take their
wit q of nrir in oil nd
| the whole neighborhood used to come
and absorb all the gossip. The poor
| things were afraid to say anything
| for fear every house on their block
would have the story by the time
| they got home.
"Now the cases pass through our
! probation department before they
are even brought into the court room.
We investigate conditions, find out
| whether or not the wife is telling
the truth, and often We are able to
| effect a reconciliation between the
| couple before the case comes up be-
| fore the Judge. Most of the cases
which do reach him are pretty hope
less, I guess. Here is one of the
worst ones we've had now"
"A HARD CASE
A nfce-looK1ng woman. neatly
| dressed, entered the room, leading a
little boy and girl. She was fol-
| lowed by tall, slouchy man wear
ing a rumpled suit. The woman ig-
nored his presence entirely, but the
| little girl stared at him curiously
| for a moment and then made
| friendly move toward his chair. The
man started to draw the child to him,
then evidently thought better of it,
and stared straight ahead.
The woman took the witness chair.
| She told the judge that she had been
working in a dyeing and cleaning
S1InnOrt herself
| two children. She made $50 a week.
| Two weeks ago she had been told by
an eye specialist that she would
shortly be blind if she remained in
Her husband had left her and had
contributed nothing to the support
| of his family since the summer be-
| fore. He was now living with an
| of them being employed by hos
| pital in Brooklyn, she said
Upon questioning the man, he free
! ly admitted that such was the case.
just been discharged from the hos
| pital because his wife had made
| such a howl about it." He had been
| willing to return to his family on
| Christmas day, he stated magnani-
mously, but his wife had no home
| for him to return to.
AN ADVANCED HUSBAND
my world exclaimed the proba
wife to provide the home.''
Apparently there are some things
! that can still astonish a probation
officer in the domestic relations
| court. The man was placed under
| bond for two years to contribute so
much per week to the support of
| his family.
The next case was an excited old
| lady, with deeply furrowed face
,4,.s.. +,
plying for support from her son. The
| son, a dismaI-looking creature who
| showed his thirty-five years bitter
| struggle with poverty, took his place
before the judge.
quired the judge of the old lady.
"Anythirfg he can, 1 suppose she
said nervously.
Who pays the rent?"
Nobody"
How much money have you?"
IT amt got no money at all"
"Well, don't you know what your
son does for a living? No, answer
me, don't speak to him"
| HE used to be a driver, and he
worked on the snow for a while, but
I don't know what he does now"
After many questions, the judge
| finally discovered that the man was
he worked, but that he had been
! out of work for a month or more.
This called forth a lengthy judicial
rebuke.
"There is plenty of work for every
body" declared the judge. "You are
| just lazy. Now I will give you until
next Saturday to get a job-you can
get into touch with our probation
department and they will get you
something to do. Your mother is not
an eXtravagant woman, and you
| should not put her to the shame Of
borrowing. If you are not at work
and contributing to her support by
next Saturday, I will send you to
| the workhouse for six months"
A MAN WHO WON OUT
Next came an Italian woman, with
| a. Sullen face and a. fretting baby