The New York herald. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1920-1924, 1922-11-19
The New Reno
Continued from Page Eight.

written decree to the presiding Judge, OBJ
tains his signature, and in a few minutes
has arranged with the clerk for publica-
even the misspelling of a name does not
violate the sanctity of the courts decree
Perhaps three weeks later the decree
reaches the office of the recording clerk
but unlike the American system, all he does
is to fill in a small index card with the
names of the plaintiff and the defendant
and the date of the decree and file it alpha
betically. The copy of the decree in a
bundle of anywhere from forty to a hun
dred other verdicts of the same date, is
then shelved, subject to public inspection
if the clerk is in a good humor, for at last
the case becomes public record But the
casual visitor in the official record rooms
cannot merely ask for the bundle for a
certain date. He must tell the number of
the court rendering the judgment and the
names of the parties concerned which i'm
plies a definite knowledge that the case
had been terminated. Should the recording
clerk in indexing on his cards make a
slight error in the date of the decree, which
thousands of handwritten folios might
eventually reveal the lost decree. The court
officials point out that these numerous OBJ
stacles have been created to prevent scan
dal mongers reading divorce records and
possibly besmirching family regulations
This explanation, however, doesn't "hold
water" for the decree, as heretofore ex-
planned, does not give the true charges
upon which the divorce application was
based. at least in the case of Americans
who are anxious not to have their marital
sufferings indelibly recorded on the pages
of French justice. In a dozen important
cases which have come under my attention
during the last year all DEGREES were
granted on grounds of what would in
America be called "willful abandonment"
yet the original complaint and the subse-
quent proces-v verbal of reconciliation meet
ings would show. We're they maintained
public, scandalous conditions.
But the divorce rings qualifications ex-
tend even to members of the French
journalistic profession. Those covering
court rooms belong to a special syndicate,
known as La PresSe JUdicidre and the ma
jority, working for French newspapers, are
barred by law from publishing any more
than three lines regarding divorce DEGREES,
and usually do not even worry their read
ers to that extent. But should an enter
prising member. representing an American
newspaper, endeavor to follow the secret
proceedings and tell the whole truth of
the Paris divorce scandals. he is imme-
diately set upon by other members Of his
syndicate and menaced with protest 10
the Proeureur-G General of the Republic. As
this would mean the exclusion of the guilty
but enterprisins reporter from the courts,
discretion proves better than a valorous
battle with this new point d'GppW OF the
Divorce Ring-and the public merely learns
that Mrs Etcetera has divorced her hus-
band because he refused to live with her
any longer. Interesting, but not in many
cases. an accurate presentation of the in
cidents leading up to the divorce.
Whether this secrecy really benefits di-
vorcees is not so certain, as the public
after watching the French procedure. is
beginning to realize that in nearly every
case there is black spot which has been
covered up. and the reception accorded
many successful Divorces in recent func-
tons has been none too warm.
One thing, however, Is evident-it pays
the lawyers. especially the American side
of the clique. Their fees for decree, ex-
elusive of all court charges, are said to
run from $4,000 to $4,000 in the case of
well known society clients, with $4,000 as