The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-11
ENOCH ARDEN LAW MAKES ALBANY FAMOUS;
STATUTE PROVIDES GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE

NEW YORK CITY, July 11.-4Albany,
which is usually quite overslnadowed
by the dazzling personality of its sis
ter, New York City, has recon thy ac-
quired brilliant fame all its own. 1t
is the home of the new Enoc b Arden
divorce law.
AS such, 1t is attracting muoh atten-
ton, distinctly f1attering to one whose
Importance has at times been faighted.
People who never heard of Albany
before know of it's existence ntpw. The
desks of officials are piled high daily
like those of movie stars, with letters
from enthusiastic divorce fans fau over
the country, eager to know if their
matrimonial status may be en6hed I'M
der the new statute, which makes five
years absence second ground dor di-
vorce in the state of New York.
These letters are written upon all
sorts of stationery, from the elaborate,
monogramed and family scentedi kind
to the cheap scratch-pad variety.
About five out of every six are from
women, showing that the male aax is
more inclined to leave home and for
get to send a forwarding address, than
| is the feminine. Many inquiries shave
also been received from law f1rmsaboth
in and out of the state, interchangeable
numerous divorce suits OF the EsI.och
Arden variety are in preparation
First Edition Exhausted
The first edition Of the law in pam
phlet form has already been exhaust
| ed, and another is now rapidly g1 ing
out under the constant demand. In
deed, as one state official dryly remark
RnnT05 y, 4 III
will rank as zone of the six best s ell
ers of the year."
| While some of the letter-wriAars
merely request copies of the law, 9th
/ ers seize the opportunity to pour fla til
all their grievances to Secretary of
State Lyons, to whom most of 1he
notes are addressed. Perhaps thiss is
because they think he may be ables TO
offer them legal advice upon their @ wn
particular problems. At any rate, tIbay
spare no details. One woman confllhd
! that while her husband had been gene
five or six years, she was very happ
TO get rid of him and now looked for
ward to the complete preservation ef
that happiness by a divorce decree.
One Who Drifted Away.
| Another woman in asking for a coIIy
of the law casually informed the sec,
rotary that her husband, who had been
a professional balloonist, performin &
for the benefit of county fairs, mu 81
have "drifted away as she had hea1E
nothing from him since 1916 when hi
was in the Middle West.
Many of the letters consist of lon 2
and eloquent praises of Governor Nit
Ter who signed tho Swift act, thus
opening an avenue of escape"-as one
woman put it "to thouIands of help
less women who would otherwise re
main tied hand and foot for years. -
Mr.. Swift, who is the author Of the law
and therefore the real hero of the sit
uation, seems to have been rather
overlooked in dealing out the applause
While the law bears his name, one
woman evidently assumed that the
J word Swift referred to speed rather
than the author, for she wrote for q
copy of the quick divorce law
Since the law has gone into effect
some puzZling cases have come to the
attention of the secretary of state One
: man stated that he was former resi-
. dent of New York state, but that he
, had married a Canadian and had beer
living in Canada for the past seven o.
leight years. His wife suddenly 1ef
| =
been heard from since. The husband
? still living in Canada, wants to know
] if under the new law he can obtain {
, divorce.
y Receive Other Inquiries
> Other inquiries of a complicated ma
( ture have also been received from
/ hundreds of alleged New Yorker
\ dwelling in other states, APPARENT!
everybody who has ever lived in New
York and has since been deserted b.
:, a nomadic spouse wants to take ad
vantage of the Enoch Arden feature
Most Of the cases, however, ar
q brought by permanent residents her
, in the state Of New York, who hav
!. hitherto been handicapped by tn
, stringency of the old divorce law.
A The tremendous popularity of tn