Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-06-25
N. Y. DIVORCE
LAW ATTRACTS
MANY PEOPLE

New York, June "a. Albany
which Is usually quite over
Swallowed by the dazzling person.
Iality of its sister, New York City,
has recently acquired brilliant
fame all its own. 1t is the home OF
the new Enoch Arden divorce law.
AS such, 1t is attracting much at
tention, distinctly flattering to one
whose importance has at times been
Sighted. People who never heard
Of Albany before know of its exist
ence now. The desks of officials
are piled high daily like those OF
movie stars, with letters from en-
thusiastic divorce fans all over the
country, eager to know If their mat
rimonial status may be ended I'M
der the new statute, which makes
| five years absence a second ground
for divorce in the state of New
York.
These letters are written upon all
sorts of stationery, from the eiah-
crate, monogrammed and family
scented kind to the cheap scratch
pad variety. About five out of ev-
cry six are from women, showing
that the male sex is more inclined
to leave home and forget to send a
forwarding address than is the fem
linine. Many inquiries have also
been received from law firms both
| in and out of the state, indicating
that numerous divorce suits of the
Enoch Arden variety are in prepa-
ration.
The first edition of the law in
pamphlet form has already been eX-
jhausted. and another is now rapidly
giving out under the constant de-
mand. Indeed las one state official
ldryly remarked, if it keeps up, the
new divorce law will rank as ''one
Of the six best sellers of the year.
While some of the letter writers
merely requested copies of the law,
others seize the opportunity to pour
forth all their grievances to Secre'.
Itary of State Lyons, to whom mos.
of the notes are addressed. Perhaps
this is because they think he may
be able to offer them legal advice
upon their own particular problems.
At any rate, they spare no details.
One woman confided that while her
husband had ben gone five or six
Years, she was very happy to get rid
jof him and now looked forward to
the complete preservation of that
! happiness by a divorce decree.
One Who Drifted Away.
Another woman in asking for o
copy of the law casually informed
the secretary that her husband, who
had been q professional balloonist,
performing for the benefit of coun-
| ty fairs, must have "drifted away"
as she had heard nothing from him
since 1916 when he was in the mid
die west.
Many of the letters consist OF
long and eloquent praises of Gov
ernor Miller who signed the Swift
act, thus opening an avenue OF
escape"-as one woman put it ito
thousands of helpless women who
would otherwise remain tied hand
and foot for years. Mr.. Swift,
who is the author of the law and
therefore the real hero of the stu
alton, seems to have been rather
overlooked in dealing out the ap-
plause. While the law bears his
name. one woman evidently as
sumed that the word Swift" re-
ferred to speed rather than the
author, for she wrote for a copy OF
the quick divorce law"
| Since the law has gone into ef-
feet, some puzzling cases have
come to the attention of the secre-
tary of state. One man stated that
he was a former resident of New
York state, but that he had mar
ried Canadian and had been liv-
ing in Canada for the past seven or
eight years. His wife suddenly left
home about five years ago and has
not been heard from since. The
husband. still living in Canada
wants to know If under the new
/ law he can obtain divorce.
Other inquiries of a complicated
nature have also been received
from hundreds of alleged New
Workers and has since been de-
serted by a nomadic spouse wants
to take advantage of the Enoch
Arden feature. Most of the cases
however. are brought by a perma
nent residents here in the state OF
lNew York, who have hitherto been
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