The Washington times., 1936-02-17
Tells Victim
ToReport
Case
Bv BEATRICE FAIRFAX

Famous Authority on Prob
lens of Love and Marriage
A suppressed snicker, during
a French lesson, brought a
rubber hose down on the backs
of two 14-year-old schoolboys
in the Takoma Silver Spring
High School. The flogging,
administered by Superintend-
ent w. D. Marks, may put an
end to an ancient Maryland
law which permits SC h o o l
teachers to flOg pupils in that
State.
The mother Of one Of these boys,
Mrs. Mehserle, revealed the first
she knew Of the whipping was
when she attended a club meeting
at Woodside, Md, and heard the
charges aired, with suggestions Of
repeating the law.
She went home and interviewed
her son, who, for stoicism, seems
to be a second edition Of the Spar.
tan lad who, without flinching,
allowed the fox to perform may
hem on his vitals. Ford Kelley,
the other boy, did not squeal on
Mr.. Marks, either.
Various wonien's clubs in the
State of Maryland are all steamed
I'D about responsibilities Of corp
oral punishment likely to be ad-
ministered to their sons with Q
rubber hose or g double-twiSted
telephone cord.
PitifuI Letters
But what Of the wife-beaters-
not only in Maryland, but all over
the United States-who pummel
their wives constantly, as sort
of favorite indoor sport?
If anyone had told me ia my
youth that I would approve Of a
return of the whipping post for
wife-beaterS, I would have dis
missed the idea as fantastic. I
would have had all of the pat ar
guments on the tip Of my tongue
that to beat man, even at the
behest of the law, was brutalizing
to the beater.
But I have received so many,
many pitiful letters from women,
beaten almost daily by their hus-
bands, that I find myself heartily
applauding a certain judge who
DEGREES for a man two blows for
every one administered to his wife.
This is not a pleasant subject
to discuss, but, Heaven knows,
there is nothing pleasant about .
woman being beaten up by some
brute of a man who is passing the
buck administered to him by his
boss, or perhaps because he has
had too much to drink.
Women have written me letters
which beggared description about
the effect of beatings given them
In the presence of young children.
frequently the children have
turned in and tried to follow in
the footsteps of father.
After the mother Of a family
has been degraded to that extent,
respect for her vanisheS. She is
considered no longer worthy Of
love or consideration.
Responsibility
And let me remind these hus-
bands, who strike their wives, that
wife-beating is one of the finest
recipes for making gangsterS and
gangster's molls Of their sons and
daughters.
In the most impreSsionable
years of their lives, children come
to regard brutality, as shown by
their fathers, as q thing all in
the days work.
Why do women put up with it?
In the majority Of letters I've
had from women, victims Of this
bestial behavior stick it out be.
cause they have no means Of sup
porting their children, and will
not walk out on brutal husband
and leave children to fend for
themselves.
A woman whose unborn child
had been permanently injured by
a beating received from her huS-
band, told me she did not care
to go to court, because she did
not want the neighbors to know
how she had been treated.
A wife-beater Is not a subject
for delicacy from any point Of
view, and a woman should take
her case to the Domestic Relations
Court or the Legal Aid Society,
so that she might not be degraded
in the eyes of her children. She
has some responsibility to them.
y HER PARENTS OBJECT
"'Dear Miss Fairfax:
"GeOrge and / have been en-.
gagged for two years, but my par
ents will never consent to our
marriage, are hateful to George,
Just because his parents were d.
vOrced, and their four children
were shuffled around among
friends and relatives.
II think, IL anything, this has
given George a greater idea of the
blessings of a home and the
worth Of a happy marriage.
George has been seIf-suppOrting
since he was Is, and at Is, took
over the support of two younger
brothers: He makes a splendid
salary. We're thinking Of marry
ing in spite of the family.
PATIENTLY WAITING"