The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-08-11
CRUEL TO WIFE?
NO! NO! NO! NO!
SAYS BILL HART
Tell 1t to the Judge,'
Is Mrs. Harris !,
Response.
BIZ FORREST WHITE.


Consolidated Press Correspondent.
Copyright, 1922, by The Argus.)
Los Angeles. Calf, Aug. 11.-Bill
Hart, the good bad man of the
screen. who has made. it just about
Unanimous" at Hollywood, vowed
today that he would not stand for
any charges OF extreme cruelty on
the part Of his wife, who II about
to sue him for divorce. Mr.. Hart
says he cannot let such heartless
charges 60 before "his public"
The Hart explosion has nearly
completed the wreck Of Hollywood's
domestic domain. It Is truD that the
Jack Pickford- -Marilynn Miller
marriage was a sort of happy inter-
lude in q sea of scandal and d.
vorce, but the wedding bells of that
happy romance had scarcely ceased
to peal In movie land when good old
Bill Hart went wrong"
The sad part Of this latest epi-
sode is thAt Will Hays, grant CEN
sor and ambassador of . new moral
life in the movies, had just given
Bill Hart a clean bill of health.
On his visit to Los Angeles and
Hollywood two weeks ago the for
mer postmaster general pointed to
Hart and referred to him as ian
adeal example of what American
home life can be-"
Bang! Goes the Ideal
Hays was hardly out of town be-
fore the first public rumhlihgs ol
the impending break at the Hart
fireside were heard. These rumb.
lings were to the effect that the
young wife, soon to become q moth
er, had found that "the ideal ex.
ample Of what American home life
can be" as she learned It from
Hart, is no atmosphere TO ra gentle
and loving lady. ~.
Just what Bill Hart will be ac-
cused Of formally is not yet of rec
ord but Bill himself steps quickly .o
the front with denial that he car
be charged with cruelty. which may
be . good hint in itself. He says
he has never done a wrong to man
or woman. Tears swell in his eyes
,, and his mouth twitches with emo
ton as he says it But these arts
fail to impress Mrs. Hart.
Tell it to the judge" she says, IN
effect.
But Bill and his friends DOM
want it told to the Judge.
It'll Cost Bill q Lot.
They are trying to arrange nice
quiet little movie divorce, with nc
public scandal or anything of the
sort. Mrs. Hart has not as vel
agreed to the plan. She is very bit.
ter and the money settlement fol
herself and her unborn child will
have to be extremely heavy to ap
pease her anguished feelings. Har1
has a large fortune. Mrs. Har'
knows it. She herself, as Winifret
Westover, has been a star of the
screen and she knows something o.
the extravagant salaries of a shor
time ago.
Hart has always been considered
in movie land a thrifty person. HI
says he has made what he feels il
a most liberal offer" to Mrs. Hart
Her attorneys laugh hoarsely. The!
say that Bill hasn't begun to ap
proach the right figure yet. There
fore negotiations still are undel
way. 1t would appear that Hart i!
in pretty much the same position
that Charlie Chaplin was when hi,
loving wife, Mildred, decided sh.
wanted her freedom and a larg,
cash settlement. Chaplin also il
on the thrifty side, but it was a cas-
of business before pleasure and b.
had to come through handsomely
It was painful experience. Nov
Bill Hart wants to start out max
ing pictures and resume his writin,
for the boys and girls magazines
A divorce, with lot of unpleasan
notorfety, is about the last thin,
he wants. But a divorce, withou
notoriety, is something else again
Sympathy for Hays.
Whatever comes Of it, however
Bill Hart has made it unAnimou
by joining the screen stars in tn
divorce field, for it is quite sure tn
differences with his wife cannot b
patched up. The roll can be calle,
from A to q now and it is difficul
to ind q movie home which has no
been scorched. Bill Is in goo
company at the moment for Blanch
Sweet has separated from Marshal
Neilan after q brief married csree
OF less than two months.
Meantime there is great sympa
\ thy ~ Los Angeles for win HAY,
He has such an easy Job.
hnnDcRH