Unknown Gender History: "Have Coin or Die": The Alimony Racket

Sunday, September 4, 2011

"Have Coin or Die": The Alimony Racket - 1927

FULL TEXT: New York, Oct 24. — Alimony is the plague of the country. There are only two ways to beat it: have oodles of money or die. Speaking feelingly and with deep conviction, John Gasteiger, an authority on alimony, made these remarks today. He is head of the Alimony Payers’ Protective Association, composed of men who believe they got a raw deal from Dan Cupid and the courts.

Tonight, they will hold a public meeting in Town Hall to arrange plans for their campaign against designing women.

[“Two Ways To Beat Alimony, Have Coin Or Die,” The Morning Herald (Uniontown, Pa.), Oct. 25, 1927, p. 10]

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FULL TEXT: New York, Oct. 25—”Alimony is the plague of the country. There are only two ways to beat it: have oodles of money or die.”

Speaking feelingly and with deep conviction, John G. Gasteiger an authority on alimony, made these remarks, in an interview today.

He is head of the alimony payers’ protective association, composed of men who believe they got a raw deal from Dan Cupid and the courts.

Tonight they will hold a public meeting in town hall to arrange plans for their campaign against designing women. Their purpose Gasteiger said is “to create public sentiment promote legislation and aid in litigation to stop ‘gold diggers’ crooked attorneys, perjurers, framing detective agencies, and politically controlled judges from profiteering on the victims.”

Their organization has a membership of 1,100 and is growing.

“I eat, sleep and drink alimony,” said Gasteiger, who declared he lost, a $4,000,000 grain business defending forty-four pieces of litigation brought by his wife, Henrietta Schriber Gasteiger.

~ Was Arrested 11 Times ~

He has paid $12,400 alimony in the last four years; has been arrested eleven times because of differences with his wife and has served eleven months in jail for refusing to make certain payments of alimony.

“All over the country there are thousands of men in the same boat we are in – victims of designing wives.” said Gasteiger. “But we are organizing against them and will win out in the end.

‘‘There is too much ‘shaking down’ of men with money. Why, there is an army of childless divorced women living in luxury on the revenue of alimony.

‘‘Take the case of Edward W. (Daddy) Browning. He told me the other day that “Poaches” hooked him for $12,000 temporary alimony and $8,500 counsel fees. Yet. when Justice Seegar heard the case he decided she shouldn’t get a cent. I tell you temporary alimony is all wrong!

“We are not opposed to the awarding of alimony. In some cases, especially where children are involved, alimony should he paid. But we are against the indiscriminate awarding of alimony and counsel fees.”

Gasteiger said he is Gasteiger said he is constantly receiving encouraging letters from men all over the country who recognize the alimony “evil.”

“I received two very fine letters from Charlie Chaplin, who lauded the purpose of our organization,” he asserted.

Women are finding it harder to get alimony since the alimony payers’ organization started its work, he said. Judges are examining the claims of wives more closely and, according to Gasteiger, “awards of alimony and counsel fees are half what they were a year or two ago.”

This organization is out to expose “shyster” lawyers “who manufacture cases for gold diggers” and will aid in punishing women who perjure themselves on the witness stand, a common evil, in Gasteiger’s opinion.

“Jailing of husbands for being in arrears in alimony is carrying it altogether too far,” he declared.

“Some men are jailed on the woman’s say-so, with the judge never seeing or hearing the husband’s side. It’s got to stop.

“It’s a great life,” he added wearily, “if you don’t marry.”

[James L. Kilgallen, “Say Alimony Only A Method To “Frame” Men - Payers of Alimony to Hold Meeting to Devise Plans for a Campaign to Stein Alimony,” syndicated (INS), Logansport Pharos-Tribune (In.), Oct. 25, 1927, p. 2]

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