Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-25
The HQSkin Letter By ' + %s2z
NEW YORK's ENOCH ARDEN LAW

denly 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 a divorce.
Other inquiries of a complicated ma
ture have aso 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 by
a nomadic spouse wants to take advan-
tage of the Enoch Arden feature.
Most of the cases. however. are
brought by permanent residents here
in the state of New York. who have
hitherto been handicapped by the
%stringency of the old divorce law.
The tremendous popularity of the
new Swift act is probably due to the
fact that it is regarded as essentially
fair and just. When )1e of the part
ners to a marriage contract suddenly
vanishes without warning. leaving no
for a period Of five years. the deserted
justified in taking steps to end the
marriage. in the past. the New York
divorce law made no allowances for
such a situation. A married woman
had to present the court land at The
same time all of her friends and ac-
quaintances) with certain underwriting
facts concerning her husband before
she could obtain her freedom. This
necessity, always regrettable. was
also impossible when the husband had
completely disappeared. AS a result.
the Enoch Arden drama occurred
| rather frequently in family life. m
times with ugly complications.
An Unusual Case
There is the case of one woman. for
instance. who was cruelty deserted by
her husband. a young actor of rowing
| disposition, when their baby was only
! three months old. The young wife. her
self scarcely more than a child. worked
and supported her boy for ten years.
| At the end of that time she received an
offer of marriage from a wealthy bus
mess man. She did not know what to
10. She had never heard a word from
her missing husband. and her friends all
! assumed that he was dead. SO did the
man who wanted to marry her. She
could not afford to go to some other
state and secure a divorce on the
grounds of desertion-chiefly because
She did not have the necessary money,
Int also because she could not rely on
the patience of her wealthy sutton. AS
she confided to a friend, 1T was a
chance that had to be snapped up quick
". And | took it"
Three years later. as they say IN the
movie captions. the actor husband re-
turned and found his wife happily mar
ried to another man. enjoying an at
tractiye home and social position and a
delightful baby girl. 1t was manlfestly
m To him to melt patheticaily out OF
the picture and in the tlme-honored
Enoch Arden fashion, but he refused to
accept the proper cue. Instead. it oc-
cured to him that there was a fine OPP
nortunity for blackmail. Not long after
that, the whole melodramatic story was
reported in the newspapers. me wife
had finally disposed of her Enoch Ar
den hv shooting him.
The advisabilitv of making a five year
neriod of desertion one of the national
grounds Of divorce is now being consld-
cred bv prominent clergymen and other
reformers who are interested in secur-
ing a national amendment creating I'M
form divorce laws. If it is ever ac-
complished. Mr.. Swift will appear in
future history as one of the greatest
lberators of the ages.