The Washington times., 1922-02-19

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| MILL IN COLLAPSE
ManipuIators Of Fake separa.
tons in Alexandria on
Anxious Seat.
Continued from First Pase)
get out Of my office. won't have
anything to do with you"
Judge L. C. Barley. another mem
Der Of the committee. said whom Q
witness testified, as Mrs. Baggett
did. that lis persons made their
homo with her. the 'Inference 10
clear and these records show con,
clusively that there IL Cause for
action"
| Citizens Warned Moncure.
Judge J. X. M. Norton. also O
member Of the probe committee. an.
nounced that two reputable citizens
had told him that many months ago
they had warned Judge Moncure
against the practice Of accepting the
testimony Of professional divorce
witnesses and demanded that II
cease.
The subcommittee's report, made
yesterday to the committee Of seven,
showed the following:
That 807 cases wero examined IN
detail and 1913 were stin pending,
making . total Of 1000 covering the
period from May. 1920. to tho pres
ent time.
That the papers in twenty other
cases were missing from tho court
files.
That in the S07 cases completed,
final DEGREES were issued in 72s
cases; publication was returnkd in
275; publication was delivered in 1873;
there was personal or substitute
service in 27O; there was no process
in 10 cases.
Only 1874 Answers Filed.
OF the S07l cases, an answer was
ihCu al LOT toStS. was inc
grounds on which 709 divorces were
sought.
The fact that desertion was the
principal cause will be given con.
siderable attention by the commit.
tee. 1t has been charged that the
leading divorce lawyers of Alexandria
usually advised desertion, since no
witnesses would be required and the
final decree could be obtained more
easily than on any other ground.
There are about twenty-five spe.
cial cases, the committee reported,
which will be reviewed at length,
since they We're found to be not
regular.
The subcommittee was authorized
to go still further with its work and
learn the whereabouts Of the papers
In the twenty missing cases and
make report at the formal hearings
to begin on Thursday morning. Feb.
ruary %, at 10 o'clock in the cOrpo.
ration court room.
Stuart Declines to Appear.
Frank Stuart, member of the Alex
andria bar. who has made charges
against Moncure of non-enforcemen
Of the divorce laws, yesterday sent
to the committee a letter declining
to appear before il and present his
case. He said he was not familiar
with divorce conditions in Alexan.
dria, but relied on the committee 10
use the records of the court to prove
the charges.
The committee again voted to ask
him to appear because he made the
statement before them that he could
prove his charges.
Judge BARLEY decla rod tho charge
that the committee was planning to
whitewash the divorce ring was UNI
founded. He pointed to the compre.
hensive report Of the subcommittee
as evidence that the" meant to go to
the very bottom OF the divorce evil.
4 While a member of the State AS
sembly some years ago. Judge Bar
, ley said, he introduced a bill and
worked for its passage. which was
aimed at the divorce evil in Alex
andria. He said that he had for
several years sought to clean it up
in Alexandria.
MOncure's Partners Lead
! Little Reno's' leading divorce
lawyers, as shown by the commit
tees report following its checking
Of the records show that of the SO7
cases disposed of under the Moncure
regime, they were apportioneG as
follows:
! Budwesly & Davis (Moncure's
former law partners, leading with
2lO cases; R. B. Washington. 1872;
Charles Henry Smith. IS; Charles
Corgan, 81; II. Noel Garner. %; Tom
Watson (colored), 81; Edmund Hill
tcolored), SO; Smith & woolls, 40:
l.. N. Duffey, 90; w. S. Snow, IS;
F. p. Russell, II; Nicol & Son. II;
F. G. Duyall, {: G. l.. Bocthe, Ii,
r. w. Stump. 10; Leo p. Harlow,
u; o. c. Thomas, g.
Many others appear in less than
five cases, several of them being
| Washington lawyers.
The probe committee will bring
out at the hearing the fact that
many divorces of Washington
people were granted on testimony
taken by dispositions in Washing
ton: that Washington people testi.
fled as to the residence OF Wash.