The Washington times., 1922-02-19
RENO RING DIVORCE
MILL IN COLLAPSE

Manipulators 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 when Q
witness testified. as Mrs. Bassett
did. that lis persons made their
homo with her. the ''inferencs 10
clear and these records show con,
clusively that there IL cause for
action"
Citizens Warned Moncwo.
Judge ]. X. M. Norton. also Q
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 were Examined In
detail and 1913 were stin pending,
making . total Of 1000 covering the
period from May. 1920, to the pres
ent time.
That tho 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 returned In
275; publication was delivered in 1873;
there was personal or substitute
service In 270; there was no process
in 70 cases.
Only 1874 Answers Filed.
OF the S07 cases, an answer was
filed in 1874 cases. Desertion was the
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 were found to be not
regular.
The subcommittee was authorized
to go still further with its work and
learn the whereabouts OF the papers
I'm the twenty missing cases and
make report at the formal hearings
to begin on Thursday morning, Feb.
ruary %. at 10 o'clock i'm 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-enforcement
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 declared the 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.
nhnV, - he
! 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 it's checking
Of the records show that of the SO7
cases disposed Of under the Moncure
regime, they were spportioned as
I follows:
| BudweslSy & 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 Hin
tcolored), SO; Smith & WoolIs, 40:
l.. n. Duffey, 90; w. s. Snow. IS;
f. p. Russell, II; Nicol & Son. II:
F. G. Duyall, Z; G. l.. Boothe, Il,
r. w. Stump. 10; Leo p. Harlow.
| u; o. c. Thomas, 8.
! 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
ington. people in Alexandria, and
that no Alexandria witnesses APP
peared TO testify az to residence
Of these persons in Little Reno"
Queen In IA Cases.
Mrs. Baggett, Little Reno's Di
vorce Queen. who will appear in
Alexandria police court Tuesday
next to answer charge of per.
jury, led the list OF professional
divorce witnesses. She testified in
/ I