Show r t 9 Q I 9 V A 7 mB or iJ If tF dAd d rl II J 8 3 Nebraska's Proposed Law to Make the N a Mans Man's Wife or a aana Womans Woman's x 4 Husband ana as Much a aas At vt rig r r Felony as Stealing an anor d T Trig j- j obile or f p 1 1 n v rT Robbing a aF 7 B ank a A 4 v 4 r l Ii r i i J I L 7 5 Flo F 1 0 Leeds Lee d s the z vamp who was AY r f at y Madame Du Barry one of the most celebrated vamps of all time making a willing slave to her whims revealed in in the ur z of her infatuated royal victim K King ing Louis XV of France From the famous painting by Gyula of the n now o w reconciled James u. u 0 OMAHA BILL introduced in the Nebraska A ABILL Legislature some time ago is causing a tremendous to-do to in this Commonwealth and elsewhere all of a sudden because somebody has discovered discovered discovered ered it is reasonably certain sooner or later to become a law Jaw State Senator John W. W Cooper the au au- author author thor of it calls it his Anti Anti Bill although the calendar name is the Alienation of Affections Bill Bm Unless the active acUe Mr Cooper is headed off and vamping will be be- become become become come felonies in the State of Nebraska punishable by fines of from 1000 to 2500 2600 and prison terms ranging from one year to five fie By sheik the Senator means any man who tampers with the affections of ofa a married woman and lures her away from her more or less Jess trusting spouse Z A vamp for the purposes of the tho bill is any woman who breaks up an an- another another another other womans woman's home by inveigling her husband into one of those triangular af af- affairs affairs af- af affairs fairs that usually end in the divorce court In no State in the Union Onion is such alienation aliena aliena- alienation alienation tion now a criminal offense although civil actions for alienation of affections are arc very common My bill is aimed not at foolish pet pct petters petters primarily but at wreckers home explains Mr Cooper It is the tho result of thirty eight thirty ight years of observation of men and women as a member of the Ne Ne- Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska braska bar barNot barNot Not all sheiks sheik mark you wear on their hair bair baby burnsides and bottom bell pants Not all vampires vamp go in for rouge lip lip- lipstick stick Black Bottom dancing and naked knees Many Manya a old sheik is an official cial in a bank an elder in a church ac ac- active active ac- ac active tive in the Chamber of Commerce and outwardly as conventional as a black derby hat bat Many a heartless vampire wears sensible shoes the demurest of clothing and sings In the village choir My own observation has been that some of the most sinister and insinuating is done by old boys of eighty not young lads of twenty and that hefty widows of the forty fair type break breakup up a lot of homes Love piracy will increase Senator Cooper feels unless It is made as much mucha a felony as stealing an automobile or robbing a bank Recourse to the civil law the law the alienation of affections damage suit suit suit-is is not deterrent enough When a lady Is lured away from her steam radiator her rubber plant her radio and her husband by some wolf in A Kut Kippy-Kut the husband should be able to lodge a charge against him Instead of hiring a lawyer and preparing for protracted litigation Murders Murden have been committed for r N r. r xo Edward S. S Gallagher the d J k A y well-known well v come come- comedian comedian comen dian n yielding to what his former wife charged was t the lure of Ann Luther whom he later married l 7 lack Jack of such a law says the foe of sheiks and vampires Deserted hus hus- husbands husbands husbands bands and wives naturally desire ven vengeance v en and that is not to be obtained 1 G Gy by y a out long civil suit But if f y 1 y the guilty could be punished with a term r w behind the bars there wouldn't be so so many of these unwritten law Jaw shootings Instead of investing in an automatic the wronged husband or wife would swear out a warrant warr mt and let the law do dothe dothe dothe the rest When a man steals your lawnmower la you dont don't have to go to law with him to r. r d get him punished You make a criminal complaint What about the man who steals your wife Senator S Cooper wishes it understood t that he has no axe to y grind and is making 1 a y his crusade quite sel sel- He is Y P R not mar mar- married married ried tied and anel never has p been Sheiks never never soh ti lured a loved one b from his embrace and his information about i vampires vampire was gath gath- gathered gathered ered eyed from the side never side side- lines They never Evelyn Farris tried their hated h at e d wiles Iles the former stage on him beauty who was The initial tendency unable to cure Ray Ray- to treat the bill as a s 's t mond Bennett of his habits not habits not even by b y joke has vanished him twice as was said at atthe atthe atthe the beginning it has tion would discourage suddenly been remembered t the most ardent and that Cooper A enterprising of homei home home- h me- me presented the i wreckers same samo bill two iS Nor does it refer in years ago and it 4 S' S any way to that army passed the Senate Sen of sheiks and yam yam- vampires yamate ate ate 23 to 10 It r pires P who pet flirt or would have passed 3 Senator otherwise carry on the House but it 1 John W W. with single persons reached rea c h e d the Cooper the whose affections are clerks clerk's desk just avowed foe of their own One step too late later of all love pirates at a time is the Sena Sena- He lIe has plenty of support among the legislators and has received ton tons of letters from all parts of the country commending him for his defense of the American home borne The bill is very specific and defines as enticing a person of the op op- opposite opposite sex away from husband or wife causing such person to desert such husband husband hus hus- husband band or wife and alienating such per per- persons person's persons person's sons son's affections It says nothing about second of of- offenders offenders offenders fenders on the theory that one tors tor's t rs r's motto and he wants to clean up the poachers first Had there thero been such a law Jaw when General Dan Sickles shot and killed Philip Barton Key son of the composer of The Star Spangled Banner Key probably never would have hav been killed Cooper av avers ers Sickles a Civil War hero and hot- hot blooded killed Key Rey for being unduly in intimate in in- intimate with Mrs Sickles The general was tried for murder although he was acquitted under the unwritten law 11 U he could have invoked a law Jaw which would have bate disgraced dl graced the man who w o in in- injured in- in injured injured him and sent him to jail it is doubtful that he would ever have drawn his gun Consider the tho case of Jack Cudahy millionaire packer of Kansas City and Jere Lillis Cudahy found Lillis at the Cudahy home late Jato one night and went after him with a butcher knife The details of oC that grim case are arc pretty well known It would not have reached such a climax if my anti law Jaw had been there for the deceived husband to appeal to The mornings morning's mail greatly encourages encourages ages Cooper to keep up his fight for of all the letters he has received so far not one has been unfavorable Here Dere is a atypical atypical atypical typical one from Judge Judg Frank A. A Bald Bald- Baldwin Baldwin win in of Bowling Dowling Green Ohio Your bill should appeal to every right-minded right citizen You are on the right track More power to you My fifty years in the law has brought to my notice very many Instances of unwar- unwar tr i b e Sot noo Furem e. Ice Lae O ranted disturbance of domestic relations Most of them had their origin in the at at- attempt attempt attempt tempt of a person to alienate marital affections and destroy conjugal relations For the punishment of such practices no adequate remedy is provided by law The law does nothing to forestall the breaking up of a home The action for damages to which the wronged spouse may resort affords neither protection nor satisfaction In many cases the wrong wrong- wrongdoer wro wrongdoer g. g doer is financially irresponsible and if he has property the same villainous pro pro- propensity propensity propensity will be exercised to escape the consequences of his wrongful act We have abundant laws for the pro pro- protection protection of property rights but no practical practical practical protection is afforded against as as- assaults assaults assaults upon the family relation If a n penal law Jaw was available it would certainly thinly have a salutary effect not only in inthe inthe inthe the way of punishment for the wrong done but as a deterrent to others An Eastern Congressman writes from the House Office Building at Washington I cannot too strongly commend your bill It is something that should have havo been proposed years ago I wish you every success in securing its passage From Nahant Massachusetts a woman writes Work to have your bill made na na- na- na Here in the East the ranks of the wrecking home-wrecking vultures are re recruited re- re recruited recruited very largely from the stenographers stenographers stenographers raphers and styled self secretaries on the theone theone theone one side and the very prosperous or ig ignorant i classes on the other A Wichita Kansas I woman responds to the challenge of the holy war on sheiks and vampires by writing in Go to It IL Your bill is splendid I know a woman in Wichita who has al already al- al already aready ready broken up three homes just homes just for forthe forthe forthe the fun of the chase From one who knows one the Senator is in receipt of the following eloquent bit I note you are a bachelor Been waiting until your our home is protected by bylaw bylaw bylaw law I once onto had a lovely wife She was sh Now I have none God Godhelp Godhelp Godhelp help us all an I IA A Boston woman of ot moderate means says fly My husband was Vas taken away from fromme fromme fromme me by a n wealthy New Hampshire widow and I can feel for others Such a law should be in effect in every State The courts as it is now sometimes award an injured wife a little money as es a poultice e and the dowered vampire continues to enjoy the society of the man she lured from home A Kansas s woman writes that when she and her husband were poor they were happy She helped him in the fields and they acquired a farm lann and independence Then some countryside vamp learned he be was a B live one with money and rolled her eyes at him Now the wife wiCe is taking in washings and the wicked love Jove pirat pirate ff Sc Jl and the simple-minded simple farmer are taking it easy in parts unknown After ten years in the Western fields a Do missionary is convinced the bill would help not only faithful f wives and hus bus husbands bands but the children of unions so often broken up by the arrival of the other woman or the other man A deserted wife of Oneonta N. N Y arises to testify she would like Jike to see the bill a national one Her lier husband was vamped right out from under her nose and now she has only hey her he children a mortgage and her memories While direct the bill of Senator Cooper is very brief and nd apparently some confusion would arise in certain cases For instance in case a Do married man eloped with a married woman oman the jury that tried the action might have to depend a lot on its own intuition in find find- finding finding ing out who vamped whom Such things will be clarified in time though the au au- author author thor says and he deplores the habit of picking flaws in a n bit of legislation he regards as sorely needed Oh yes he admits belligerently when questioned weve we got some opposition opposition opposition but it comes mostly from the selfish interests Said interests seem se m to be rallying around State Senator W. W N. N N Chambers of Omaha who not only is not support support- supporting supporting supporting ing the Anti Bill BIU but has ha in introduced In- In Introduced introduced a bill of his own which is as different as can be Not only would Chambers refuse to prosecute criminally those who sheik or vamp the affections of husbands and wives he would not allow a wronged husband or injured wife to collect more than one cent damages in m a civil 1 alienation of affections suit Not sheiks sheik but gold-diggers gold menace the peace and security of Nebraska in Senator Chambers Chambers' opinion He lie says mercenary husbands and wives are com corn commercializing the heart-balm heart suit idea and it shocks his sense of romance We sentimentalists are entitled to some protection he be argues We be be- believe believe believe lieve love is something intimate and sa an- sacred cred creel and the last thing in the world to tobe tobe tobe be bartered in the market marketplace Yet Y t every day or two twelve good goodmen goodmen goodmen men and true get together in some jury jury- room and try to figure out the value of the lost love Jove of some worthless wife who ran off with the other man Its downright professionalism that's what it is and I think that one cent is too much for any injured party who would bring a heart-balm heart suit I dont don't think the affections of all the runaway wives of the last decade are worth the price of a box of good cigars cigan Chambers is knocking Coopers Cooper's bill biJJ and the two legislators who used to be bethe bethe bethe the best beat of pals are thoroughly alie alienated alienated alienated over this alienation question To make it all the more exciting Senator Chambers Chamber's is just as much mar mat married matred ried red as aa Senator Cooper is i otherwise |