|
Main
- books.jibble.org
My Books
- IRC Hacks
Misc. Articles
- Meaning of Jibble
- M4 Su Doku
- Computer Scrapbooking
- Setting up Java
- Bootable Java
- Cookies in Java
- Dynamic Graphs
- Social Shakespeare
External Links
- Paul Mutton
- Jibble Photo Gallery
- Jibble Forums
- Google Landmarks
- Jibble Shop
- Free Books
- Intershot Ltd
|
books.jibble.org
Previous Page
| Next Page
Page 12
This must not, however, be interpreted as a criticism of the laws
concerning desertion or of the courts which administer them. If they
were not there in the background, ready to be taken advantage of when
all else fails, the social worker's hands would be tied, and the
possibility of a rich and flexible treatment of desertion problems would
be lost to her. It is precisely because they had no such recourse that
the case workers of an earlier day had to adopt a policy which now
seems rigid. It is because they were instrumental in securing better
laws and specialized courts that the latter day social worker can push
forward her own technique of dealing with homes that are disintegrating.
Another great change in emphasis has been upon the question of
interviewing the man, and of being sure that his side, or what he thinks
is his side, has been thoroughly understood. Social workers are under
conviction of sin in the matter of dealing too exclusively with the
woman of the family; in desertion cases it is more than desirable, it is
vitally necessary to have dealings with the man. Many social workers
feel that, at all events with a first desertion, they would rather take
the risk of having the man vanish a second time after having been found,
than have him arrested before an attempt to talk the matter out with
him. More stringent measures, they believe, can be resorted to
later--but the man must first be convinced that he will be listened to
patiently and with the intent to deal fairly. The case worker knows that
the power of the human mind to "rationalize" anti-social conduct is
infinite; and that, besides the few "justifiable deserters," there are
many who have succeeded in convincing themselves that their action is
warrantable. A deserter who could allege nothing else against his wife,
averred that he had placed under the bed two matches, crossed, and a
week later found them in the same position, proving his contention that
she was slovenly and did not keep the rooms clean.
The man who, aided by a sore conscience, has worked himself into such a
state of mind as this must be permitted to talk himself out before he
can be made to see the true state of affairs. In the minds of both man
and woman there is likely to be found a superstructure of suspicion,
jealousy, misinterpretation and distrust, built upon the basic fact of
their incompatibility, which has to be pulled down before the true
causes can be probed. To arrest a man in this state of mind is in his
eyes simply to "take sides" against him. Eventually he may have to be
arrested, but, in the case worker's experience, the chances of success
are ten to one if the man can be induced to take some voluntary step
toward reconciliation without the intervention of the law. In many
instances a real interview with the man, while not exonerating him,
would have thrown new light on the woman's statements.
A family social work society writes: A young woman with her mother
and little boy were referred for aid by a medical social department
because her husband had deserted and she was unable to work. The
doctors feared that her breakdown would result in insanity, so they
asked that her wishes be respected in not seeing the man's family.
She recovered, but it was later found that her husband, while not
doing all that he might for her, had been living at home a good deal
of the time and did not know that his family was in receipt of aid.
Some years ago a charity organization society, which maintained a
special bureau for treatment of desertion cases, was asked by a Mrs.
Clara Williams to help her find her husband, John, who had left her
some years previously and was living with another woman, so that she
might force him to contribute to the support of herself and her two
children. Mrs. Williams was a motherly appearing person who kept a
clean, neat home, and seemed to take excellent care of her children.
She was voluble concerning her husband's misdeeds and very bitter
toward him, which seemed only natural. The fact of the other
household was corroborated from other sources, and Mr. Williams'
work references indicated that he had been quarrelsome and difficult
for his employers to get along with, although a competent workman.
The problem seemed to the desertion agent a perfectly clear and
uncomplicated one and he proceeded to handle it according to the
formula. Some very clever detective work followed, in the course of
which the man was traced from one suburban city to another, and his
present place of employment found in the city where his wife lived,
although he lived just across the border of another state. The
warrant was served upon the man as he stepped from the train on his
way to work, and he appeared in the domestic relations court. He did
not deny the desertion but made some attempt to bring counter
charges against his wife. When questioned about his present mode of
living he became silent and refused to testify further. He was
placed under bond, which was furnished by the relatives of the woman
with whom he was living, to pay his wife $6.00 a week. No probation
was thought necessary and the case was closed, both the court and
the charity organization society crediting themselves with a case
successfully handled and terminated.
Previous Page
| Next Page
|
|