Arizona republican., 1922-06-26
3. Frederick J. Haskin

bany. which is usually quite over
shadowed by the dazzling personal
ity of its sister, New York City. has
recently acquired a brilliant fame all
it's own. 1t is the home of the new
Enoch Arden divorce law.
AS such. it 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 existence
now. The desks of officials are piled
high daily like those of movie stars,
with letters from enthusiastic di-
vorce fans all over the country, eager
to know if their matriconial status
may be ended under 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 elabor.
ate, monogramed and family scented
kind to the cheap scratch pad warn,
ETY.. About five out of every six are
from women, showing that the male
sex is more inclined to leave home
and forget to send a forwarding ad-
dress than is the feminine Many in
quiries have also been received from
law firms both in and out of the
state, indicating that numerous di-
vorce suits of the Enoch Arden yari-
ETY. are in preparation.
The first edition of the law in PAM
phlet form has already been exhaust
ed and another is now rapidly giving
out under the constant demand. In
deed. as one state official dryly re-
marked. if it keeps up, the new di-
vorce law will rank as "one of the
six best sellers of the year"
While some of the letter writers
merely request copies of the law,
others sieze the opportunity TO pour
forth all their grievances to Secre-
tary of State Lyons. to whom NOSE
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. Al
any rate, they spare no details. One
woman confided that while her hus
band had been gone five or six years,
she was very happy to get rid of
him and now looked forward to the
complete preservation of that happi-
ness bv the divorce decree.
One Who Drifted Away
Another woman is asking for a
copy of the law casually informed the
secretary that her husband, who had
been a professional baloonist, per-
forming for the benefit of county
fairs, must have "drifted away as
she had heard nothing from him
since 1915 when he was in the Mid
die West.
Many of the letters consist of long
and eloquent praises of Governor
Miller who signed the. Swift act
thus opening an avenue of escape
-as one woman put it ito thousands
of helpless women who would other
wise remain tied hand and foot for
years" Mr.. Swift, who is the author
of the la wand therefore the real
hero of the situation. seems to have
been rather overlooked in dealing out
the applause. While the law bears
his name, one woman evidently as
sumed that the word swift" referred
to. speed rather than the author. TOR
she wrote for q copy of the quick
divorce law"
Since the law has gone into effect,
some puzzling cases have come 70
the attention of the secretary OF
state. One man stated that he was
a former resident Of New York state
but that he had married CANADIAN
and had been living in Canada Tor
the past seven or eight years. Hls
wife suddenly left home about five
from since. The husband, still living
in Canada, wants to know II under
the new law he can obtain divorce.
Other inquiries of a complicated
nature rave also been received from
hundreds Of alleged New workers.
dwelling in other states. Apparently
everybody who has ever lived IN New
York and has since been deserted py
a nomadic spouse wants 10 take du
vantage of the Enech Arden feature
Most of the cases however, are
briught by permanent residents mere
in the state of New York, who nave
hitherto been handicapped by the
stringency of til cold divorce law.
The tremendous popularity OF the
new Swift act is probably due TO tne
fact that it is regarded as essentially
fair and Just. When one of the part
ners TO a marriage contract suddenly
vanishes without warning, leaving
no trace. and remains in silent re-
tirement Tor a period of five years
the deserted partner--most people
will agree-is justified in taking
steps to end the marriage. In the
past, the New York divorce law maze
no allowances for such a situation
A married woman had to present the
court( and at the same time all OF
her friends and acquaintances) WIN
certain hnelevating facts concerning
her husband before she could OBTAIN
her freedom. This necessity, always
regrettable, was also impossible When
the husband had completely dlsap-
peared. AS result. the Enoch Arden
drama occurred rather frequently u