The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-11-22
DIVORCE STILL
HARD To GET
BY F. A. WRAY
Interna tiOnaI News Service


gained credence that London, be.
cause of the new secrecy" law,
may vie with Paris as the mecca
of divorce"
Nothing could be further than
the truth.
First Of all. the secrecy" in
England, applies only to the evil
dence actually given in court.
Names of the parties, names of
the witnesses. names of places
where incidents affecting the case
occurred, the judgment and find.
ings of the court-all can be pub
liShed. l.
In addition, the judges. with
whom the new law is mostly un.
popular. frequently give their
judgments in such form that
every material detail given in eVi.
dence Is available for publication
in every newspaper.
And, as might be expected, the
attempt at suppression of evidence
leads to more public curiosity than
ever there was when publication of
evidence was general practice.
Act Not Popular
In point Of fact, the Secrecy"
act never had any popular support
in England. 1t was rushed through
the Commons. az a Prime Minis
| ter's Bill, in one afternoons de-
bate. When it went to the House
of Lords, the members of that
House were told that they could
! not amend it and they were allowed
only two hours debate.
Apart from the secrecy question,
divorce in England simply bristles
with difficulties as compared with
France. 1t is far more expensive
| to begin with; in Paris, unless a
fashionable Franco-American law
yer is specially engaged, an ordi-
nary divorce need not cost more
than about $3.50. In England, this
amount will easily be exceeded by
an attorney out.of.pocket expenses
before the proceedings are really
begun.
II the case is defended. and fash.
tonable counsel are involved, the
cost may be as high as 500, 900.
The very cheapest, undefended.
straightforward case would cost
from $4OO to $500. This is assum.
ing that only two or three wit.
nesses are required and there are
no expensive travelling expenses.
Again, in England, the legal re.
quirements are far more strict and
difficult than in France. In every
country, of course, under interna.
tional law, the causes of divorce
sought must be such as are legally
recognized by the court hearing
the case. In France, grounds for
divorce are fairly wide, and any
American seeking divorce can prac.
tlcally put forward any ground &C.
ceptable in the United States, and
have 1t upheld by a French Judge.
Must Be Proven
In England, misconduct is prac.
tically the sole ground of divorce.
Proof must be positive, the evil
dence irrefutable. The general at.
titude of the law is against di.
vorce, and suggestion of connivance
between the parties will either
drive them out of court, or il proved
after divorce is granted, will be
sufficient to annul it. And, an
official of the court known as the
Kings Proctor. inquiries into the
circumstances Of every case where
a divorce has been granted.
In england again, petitioner, If
ne or she has committed a matri-
monlal offense, must disclose il to
the court and ask for the courts dis.
erection to be exercised in his or her
FAVOR. II this Is not done, and the
Iact afterward comes to the knowl.
edge OF the Kings proctor-and it
Is not amazing that such information
does very frequently come to the
ears of that official by the jealous
offices of third parties--the divorce
IS annulled. In any event. this dis.
erection Of the court is only exer.
clsed in exceptional cases. In.
France no such application from the
petitioner would be needed.
Usual Method
In France, on the other hand, the
usual swift method of divorce is a
writ summoning him or her to return
to the conjugal domicile, IL evidence
of service of the writ is produced,
and that 1t has been disobeyed, the
divorce is usually granted at once.
The fact that both parties have
agreed to this course does not nullify
1t In advance as 1t would in England.
Under French law, agreement by
husband and wife, to obtain a di.
vorce is-unlike England-not a
ground for refusing 1t.
Also, in France. a judicial separa-
ton Is only postponed divorce.
Either party has an absolute right to
convert it into divorce two years
later.
Altogether, getting a divorce in
England is neither a speedy, mex.
pensive or easy matter. In fact, out.
side the purely Roman Catholic
countries, it is probably the most