New Britain herald., 1927-11-19
CAVE MAN TACTICS
 NOW OUT 0F STYLE
Docile Husbands Keep Down
 Wiie-Beating Records
Whether or not the existence of

Whether or not the existence of the prohibition laws has any con- nection with the situation, court of ncials have observed that for some time past there has been a notice able decrease in the number Of cases Of wife beating and tt is not an infrequent occurrence 10 have entire dockets disposed of for seV- eral days in succession without any mention of an assault complained ot by a married woman.
 Some years ago, wife beating eases comprised q considerable part of the business before the court and many instances of serious results from fights in which husbands were the aggressors are recorded in the ar- uals of the court proceedings. Some offenders were before the court so often that they became notorious and 1t seemed that regardless or the punishment meted out, they could not or would not refrain from slN- ing vent to their feelings by striking IHtlI WIVES anu Il4tlN44io tAAtlii AAiA' the street bofer a shower of pieces of furniture, Long terms in jail ire auently had a staying effect in such cases but eventually the old offend- CTS came back and the judge heard the same story from the wife and children, with the same identical at tempt at 8 defense on the part or the husband.
 "PrOfessionals" Disappear
 Few serious cases of wife beating have been in court Of late. In fact, there are no chronic offenders since a long jail term was ordered in an especially brutal case. Occasionally, the judge or prosecuting attorney finds 1t necessary to warn a man that unless he refrains from certain actions in his home he will find himself jailed, and the probation of- fcer also runs across an occasional case where strict treatment IS the only remedy. But on the whole the wife beaters have disappeared, ap- parently with permanency.
 Of the men who have come be- fore the court of late on complaint of their wives, many expressed sln- cere regret over the circumstances surrounding their plight and were given another chance to prove that they meant what they promised, by behaving In some instances, the cause of the trouble has been found to be nothing more than a tempo rary rupture in the harmony or marital life which could have been healed without coming to the atten- ton of the police had either prlh- cinal been reasonable. A nasty slap in the face or push which landed the weaker party against taple and caused bruise has been known to cause husbands first appearances in police court whereas nothmg might have been known of the incl dent outside the immediate house hold had not the wife, in her anger insisted that an arrest be made
 Want Meals on Time
 Court officials have noticed thal a great many cases of wife beatlhs are brought about through the tall ure of wives to provide meals on time. Time after time, alter the court has heard the recital Of the mifes part of the story the nus band has taken the witness stand and started his rebuttal by saying T came home from work and there was no supper" Another reason TOT husbands displays of temper IS the question of leaving the nome al night. It has been brought out Ill many trials that some wives expect the bread winner to remain at nome every night, while many huspah"S appear to have been sold on the ldea of going out as soon as the evening meal is eaten. Naturally. an attempt by either to carry out such Ideas cannot but start a row, and the standard result is a long hearing ln court.
 Asa general rule, observations covering period of years prove that most wife beating cases nave excessive drinking behind them, lit a very small percentage Of eucIl cases, the offenders have been fouha to have been sober when they com raitted the assaults, but tarrylng LOO long near the flowing bowl in the pre-prohibition days, and too re ouent trips to the corner store back room in the more recent era have had much to do with the trouble re- lated to the judge the next morning.