Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-06-25

New York City, June 22.-Albany
which is usually quite o~ver-shadowed
by the dazzling personality of it's 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
t%ention, distinctly flattering to one
whose Importance has at times been
sighted. People who never heard-o
Albany before know Of its existence
now. The desks of officials are piled
high daily like those of movie stars.
with letters from enthusiastic divorce
fans all over the country, eager to
know if their matrimonial status may
be ended under the new statute, which
makes five years absence Il second
ground for divorce in the state of New
York.
These letters are written upon all
sorts of stationery, from the elaborate.
monogrammed and family scented kind
to the cheap scratch-pad variety.
About five out of every six are from
women. showing that the male sex is
more inclined 10 leave home and for
get TO SEND a forwarding address than
is the feminine. Many inquiries have
also been received from law firms both
in and out of the state indicating that
numerous divorce suits of the Enoch
Arden variety arc in preparation.
The first edition of the law in
pamphlet form has already been ex-
hausted. and another is now rapidly
giving out under the constant demand.
Indeed. as one state official dryly re-
marked. if it keeps up, the new divorce
. law will rank as o of the six best
sellers of the year.
While some of the letter-writers
merely request copies of the law. 9th
ers seize the opportunity to pour forth
all their grievances to Secretary of
| State Lyons. to whom most 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. At 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 com
pleta preservation of that happiness
BY a divorce decree.
One Who Drifted Away
Another woman in asking for a
copy of the law casually informed the
secretary that her husband. who had
been a professional %balloonist, perform
ing for the benefit of county fairs.
must have 'drifted away" as she had
heard nothing from him since 1916
| when he was in the middle west.
Many of the letters consist of long
and eloquent praises of Governor Mil
Ter who signed the Swift act. thus
opening an avenue of escape"-as one
woman put it ITO thousands of help
| less women who would otherwise re-
main tied hand and foot for years"
Mr.. Swift. who is the author of the
law and therefore the real hero Of the
situation. seems to have been rather
! overlooked in dealing ont the applause.
While the law bears his name. one
woman evidently assumed that the
word Swift referred to speed rather
! than the author. for she wrote for a
copy of the ''nuick divorce law
Since the lew has gone into effect,
some puzzIing cases have come to the
attention of the secretary OF state.
| One man stated that he was n former
resident of New York state, but that
he had married a Canadian and had
been living in Canada for tho past
seven or eight years. His wife sud