Baker v. Baker

MELVIN, J.

Plaintiff sued for a divorce from her' husband upon the grounds of willful desertion and willful neglect, alleging as causes for divorce upon the latter ground failure to provide plaintiff with the common necessaries of life, defendant having the ability so to do, and omission to do so by reason of idleness, profligacy, and dissipation. The cause was duly tried upon issues joined, and the court denied the divorce. The ‘findings in substance were that plaintiff possessed property in her own right, having a value of more than forty thousand dollars; that the income therefrom was more than sufficient to provide her and her children with the common necessaries of life; that she had received from said property a return of more than three thousand dollars per year net of all expenses; that certain crops planted by defendant and assigned to plaintiff by an agreement between the parties had yielded plaintiff more than twenty-five hundred dollars; that defendant was not guilty of failure to provide plaintiff with the common necessaries of life by reason of idleness, profligacy, and dissipation; that he had never been idle, profligate, or dissipated; that defendant had not failed to provide plaintiff and her children with the common necessaries of life as alleged in the complaint; and that (to quote from the findings), “said defendant did on or about the ninth day of August, 1909, voluntarily separate himself from said plaintiff with the intent to desert said plaintiff; that said separation was not against the will of said plaintiff or without her consent; that thereafter, to wit, during the month of August, 1909, said defendant returned to said plaintiff and offered in good faith to fulfill the marriage contract and solicited con-

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donation; that said plaintiff did then and there refuse and at all times since has continued to refuse such offer and condonation ; that said separation was "at all times since the month of August, 1909, with the consent of plaintiff and against the will of defendant; that defendant has at all times since the month of August, 1909, been ready and willing to live with said plaintiff in the relation of husband and wife; all of which said plaintiff has well known; that said plaintiff has at all times since the month of August, 1909, refused to live with this defendant, and refused to permit this defendant to return to or reside with said plaintiff.” There were also findings that defendant was possessed of property worth no more than five hundred dollars; that he was dependent upon his own labor for support; that he was not physically stron