Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 257, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 October 1912 — Wife Turns at Last a nd Beats Tiny Spouse [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Wife Turns at Last a nd Beats Tiny Spouse

CHICAGO.— Peter Lombard of 617 South Halsted street weighs about 125 poundß. His wife weighs 200, and is about four inches taller than her husband. In spite of these discrepancies, Lombard beat her he took the notion —and the notion struck him frequently in the last three years—according to her testimony before Municipal Judge Caverly the other day. —— The night before, she said, he came home in fighting mood again. Mrs. Lombard objected to taking a beating, but her husband insisted she was looking at the subject in a wrong light Then she lost her patience, picked up an iron pot from the kitchen stove and whaled him over the head with it. The argument was effective. Lombard appeared in court with his head bandaged. Big Mrs. Lombard took the witness stand and explained what happened to little Mr. Lombard. “We were married about four years ago,” she said. “A year later my husband decided he wouldn’t work any longer. So he retired. The fact that he hadn’t any money didn’t seem to bother him, but I worried about it. I got hungry occasionally. “So I went to work, and have supported him and myself for three years. He didn’t do anything; once

in awhile he would ask me for money, and when I didn’t have It he would proceed to beat me. I never fought back. “But last night I lost my temper. He came home and demanded money. I had none. Then. he struck me. I picked up that iron pot, and just gave him a good whack over the head with it. He seemed surprised.’’ Judge Caverly looked Lombard over and smiled. “You look like a man who has been tamed,” he said. "I don’t think you’ll beat your wife again. Take him borne, Mrs. Lombard, and the next time he starts a massacre, you know about what to do. And don’t you ever come before me again, Lombard, on a charge of wife beating. If you do, I’ll have to take care of you.” Lombard and his wife departed arm-in-arm, their domestic troubles —like Lombard’s head —apparently patched up.