Man, oh Mann
Little known legislation worked against Alex and his best friend
Alex Rhodes was a 25year-old bank teller. Back in 1924, Alex made a precarious living working in a Jersey City bank. In the classic mode of all bank employees who dip into the till, Alex started with dribs and drabs — $25 here, $100 there. But it did mount up.
Alex raided inactive accounts. When he dabbled in the stock market and lost, he soon found himself in the hole to the tune of $1,000. That’s when he decided to consolidate his debts. He found an inactive account with $15,000 on deposit, belonging to one Jack Box, a used car salesman, and grabbed $1,000.
Then he made it a point to become friendly with Jack Box.
As opposites often do, the two men got along famously. When they became what Alex considered good buddies, he pulled his great surprise. He told Jack Box that he had swiped money from his account then he asked Jack for a loan of another $1,000 so he could pay back the account. Otherwise, Alex faced exposure, ruin and jail.
Jack agreed. He would get Alex out of his predicament, under certain conditions. The conditions were a bit strange. Jack was married and the father of a small child. Despite this, he was seeing a 19-year-old beauty, Jeanne Taylor. Jack desperately wanted to marry Jeanne, who was madly in love with him, but his wife, who knew nothing of his year-long affair with Jeanne, would never consent to a divorce.
It was a problem, but Jack had a plan. He could simply run away with Jeanne, but that was not only a messy solution, it had legal drawbacks. An adult male who transported a minor across a state line could be prosecuted under the Mann Act.
Jack suggested Alex elope with Jeanne. He would be the best man at the wedding and accompany the young couple on their honeymoon. They would settle in California. Naturally, the happy couple would be married in name only. Each evening on the honeymoon, Jack would take Alex’s place at Jeanne’s side. Once in Los Angeles, they would rent a house as man and wife, while Jack would be their roomer. In the evening, Jack would take over as the man of the house.
It would be no trouble for Jack to obtain a position as a used car salesman in L.A. Another thing Jack mentioned was the fact Jeanne would be coming into an inheritance of $400,000, when she attained the age of 21. This tidy sum was willed to her by her late mother.
Jack would give Alex $1,000 to return to the bank, as well as pay all his expenses until he could find employment in L.A. The way Jack figured it, he would tell his wife he was going to L.A. on business and then start an annoyance campaign which would turn her against him, enabling him to obtain that elusive divorce. Then Alex and Jeanne would divorce. He and Jeanne would marry and live happily ever after.
That’s exactly what happened. Almost. Jack explained the deal to his girlfriend. That simple lass went along with the scheme. Alex dated Jeanne and just as Jack Box had figured, her father believed Alex to be nothing more than a gold digger. He ordered Alex out of his house and warned him never to darken his doorstep again. Perfect, exclaimed Jack, a perfect excuse for eloping.
Alex and Jeanne ran away, married and went on their honeymoon. The best man, Jack Box, accompanied the happy couple. Each evening, he slept with the bride.
Alex, Jeanne and their roomer rented a comfortable bungalow in Glendale. Neighbours thought highly of the couple and their friend. Of course, they didn’t know that each evening the roomer became the hubby.
There was one problem. Alex couldn’t find gainful employment. As Jack was paying all the expenses, he was annoyed when he took off each morning for his job as a used car salesman while Alex slept in. When Alex took to nipping away at Jack’s gin bottle, the latter gentleman thought things had gone far enough. He approached Alex about making a concerted effort to find a job. Alex swore he would give it an honest try.
Next morning, Alex was up bright and early. He arrived home high as a kite. Things were never the same after that. It was time for Jack to make his wife hate him enough to suggest divorce. He wrote her a few nasty letters, but she wrote back that she missed him and couldn’t wait until they were together again.
When Alex showed up one night loaded to the gills, with a cutie on each arm, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Alex was told the party was over. He and Jeanne should get a divorce immediately so Jack could bigamously marry his true love.
Jack was fit to be tied when Alex informed him he had no intention of obtaining a divorce. Why should he jump off the gravy train? As far as Alex was concerned, he had his expenses paid, enough bubbly to stay sloshed on a daily basis, and a wife who was soon to come into $400,000.
Jack Box lost his cool. He grabbed a kitchen knife with the intention of cutting Alex’s head off. After a noisy scuffle in the kitchen, Jeanne succeeded in separating the two men, but not before neighbours called police.
With the arrival of the police, Jeanne spilled her guts. She told the whole story, from the moment Alex had lifted that $1,000 back in Jersey. All three participants were tossed in jail.
There were complications. The two men wouldn’t volunteer a word. All the evidence came from Jeanne, who, by law, couldn’t testify against her husband. Without her testimony, the case against Jack and Alex was decidedly weak.
Would you believe it, while lodged uncomfortably in jail, Jeanne turned 21 and inherited that $400,000. The inheritance enabled her to put up bail for herself.
In preparation for her release, Jeanne attempted to apply makeup. Unfortunately, she had no lipstick and used the colour from a red paper poppy made by one of the inmates. She moistened the paper and reddened her lips in a matter of hours. The red dye caused blood poisoning. Four days later, Jeanne Taylor died.
Them’s the breaks, thought Alex. It wasn’t his fault that he was the heir to Jeanne’s fortune. He decided to tell all, spend a couple of years in jail and have the inheritance and a life of luxury waiting for him when he got out.
Jack Box stood trial. Alex was the principal witness. He revealed the whole scheme of the deceptive marriage. In giving his testimony, Alex swore his marriage to Jeanne had not been consummated. That was a mistake.
For starters, Alex and Jack were found guilty of violating the Mann Act. They received five years in Leavenworth Prison.
There was more. Jeanne’s relative’s back home in Jersey City contested Alex’s inheritance. Since he admitted his marriage had not been consummated and the law stated a marriage must be consummated to be legal, they felt he was not entitled to Jeanne’s money.
The courts thought so, too. All Jeanne’s money went to her relatives.