New-York tribune., 1921-04-03
All "Divorce
Mill'' DEGREES
Held Invalid
Even Legitimate Actions
Are Declared Illegal if
Fraud Charges Against
II. F. Miller Are Proved
Warrant Issued for Him
Score Subpenaed to Testi-
fy Before Grand Jury
OH Acts of "Attorney''

Tho alleged divorce mill" activities
of Herbert f. Miller, tho unlicensed
lawyer who is missing from the city,
appeared yesterday to have opened up
complications the end of which no Off
cial concerned with the matrimonial
genie's apprehension is willing to esti-
mate. 1t was said that every action.
whether framed" or legitimate. that
Miller supported as an attorney is au-
tomatically invalidated once the several
charges against hin: are judicially sub
stantiated.
A warrant has been placed in the
hands of the Sheriff of Westchester
County calling for the arrest of Mil
Ter on sight. 1t charges with a
felony. Yesterday Deputy Sheriffs
from White Plains served subpnnas
on twenty-five witnesses who must ap-
pear before the Westchester grand
jury next Wednesday. when an in
quiry into Miller's activities will be
put under way. These witnesses in
clude mon and women who appeared
as plaintiffs or defendants in divorce
actions.
Added the already existing complica-
tions revealed by District Attorney
Davis of Westchester County, it was
learned yesterday that a number of
complaints against Miller had been
filed in the New York County District
Attorneys Office by persons said to
have appealed to Miller for divorce and
annulment proceedings in the Manhat-
tan Supreme Court. Joab H. Banton,
chief assistant to District Attorney
Swami, said that the complaints had
been turned over to Assistant District
Attorney O'Neil and Mr.. O'Neil author
lzed to turn over the information to
the Westchester County District At
torney.
Operated in Every County
Miller appeared as counsel in matri-
monlal litigation in every county of
Greater New York, it has been said,
ana IN addition to the twenty-five to
thirty cases uncovered in Westchester
County, he has appeared as the attor-
ney for litigants in Nassau County.
District Attorney Lewis, of Kings
County, said there were at least a
dozen cases on record in Brooklyn
which he has found to be part OF the
unlicensed practitioners work.
The office of the clerk of West
chester County in White Plains has
and telephoned inquiries from persons
who's have either remarked after OBJ
tainihg DEGREES" through Miller or
are contemplating remarrying. District
Attorney Davis expressed the opinion
that the number of bigamous mar
riages contracted as the result of Mil
ler's alleged freeing" process may
prove startling
Even such DEGREES as were obtained
said, are invalidated by the fact that
ne had no certificate of practice in
New York Of the total humber of
both kinds of cases uncovered by the
District Attorneys and County Clerks
off1ces at White Plains, the papers have
been found in twenty and a majority
OF these were said by Assistant District
Attorney Walter Ferris to have been
forgeries or frauds of one kind or
another.
An incident in the Office of the West
chester County Clerk yeste rday indi
Gated that the district attorneys reve-
lations prevented at least one techni-
CARLY bigamous marriage.
Womans Romance Spoiled
pretty, fur-wrapped woman ap-
peared at the clerks window with
request that the files be searched for
decree supposed to have been granted
a client of Miller's whom she was
about to marry. The record contained
no trace of the alleged case, the names
IN which were not given to the news
papers. The caller dissolved into tears
and exclaimed:
"Oh, that man Mi11ert If co,1L -.o.
him now!"
She explained to the clerk that her
intended husband had proposed and
been accepted on condition that he was
really free to marry her after a decree
OF divorce obtained through Miller.
Inc final papers, she told the clerk,
nad been shown her by her intended
husband
~ am glad I found it out before it
was too late" she commented. tear
fully.
Mrs. Lillian Loughran, an exception
ally attractive young woman, who lives
IN New York, appeared at the same
place yesterday with another attorney,
having been unable to find Miller since
she received from him. she said, an in
terlocutory decree of divorce from
Ihomas Aoughran about two months
ago.
The interlocutory decree was looked
up. 1t bore the signature of Supreme
Court Justice Arthur S. Tompkins.
Justice Tompkins declared the sigma
ture to be clumsy forgery.
Richard Germain, of 251 Sixth Ave
nue., Brooklyn, wrote to the Westches-
ter County authorities, stating that
his wife. Ethel, had boasted that she
had obtained a divorce from him
through the efforts of Miller. He said
the divorce was fraudulent.
Retail Coal Men Indicted