Return or Support.--Many
types of deserting men are included under this catch-all heading--the
so-called "justifiable deserter;" the man who has fled to escape his
creditors or is a fugitive from justice; the man who has elected to try
life with another mate; the wandering hobo who means to come back some
sweet day but not now; the cowardly pregnancy deserter; the low-grade
irresponsible--a motley crew. They are grouped together here for
convenience, since they constitute those with whom coercive measures
have most often to be used.

A good example of the "justifiable deserter" is found in the story
of Williams.[28] This man, when home conditions became intolerable,
tried to secure his children's safety through the courts but did not
obtain a hearing. He left home feeling that he was fully justified.
The lame point in his self-defense was his failure to support his
children, and it took a court order to rectify this in part.

* * * * *

Joseph Mellor is in a more logical situation in his refusal to
provide for his wife, since he is paying the board of his child in a
good institution. He makes no charge against her character, but
insists that her quarrelsome and dictatorial disposition makes her
impossible to live with. She had haled him so many times into court
and lost him so many positions that Mellor, who earns a good salary,
will deal with her only through his lawyer, who keeps his client's
whereabouts secret and will not trust the social worker interested
even to the extent of arranging an interview.

It is generally impossible in cases of such deep-seated antagonism to
make any plans looking toward reconciliation. The "justifiable deserter"
can usually be reasoned with, and once he understands and admits his
responsibilities, can often be made to live up to them without judicial
process.

A ship steward deserted his wife, who was both alcoholic and
paretic, taking with him his only child whom he placed with his
relatives. The woman was devoted to the boy and broken in spirit
because she was not allowed to see him. The steward claimed,
probably correctly, that he was not responsible for the woman's
syphilitic condition. The following extract from the record of the
first interview with the man is quoted to show the lines of argument
which were effective with him:

"Man at District Of