Badly Beaten Wife Says Husband Is No Brute

April 5, 1910: The dynamics of an abusive relationship sound as though they haven’t changed in a century. J.H. Eakins is as gentle as a lamb and loves his wife except when he’s drinking – then he beats her mercilessly. Now that he’s in jail, his wife says he’s a martyr to the “cruel and unsympathetic” legal system. On the jump, Barney Oldfield in the “Blitzen” Benz vs. Ralph De Palma in the “Mephistopheles” Fiat at the Motordrome!

The judge told Eakins he could use his extra muscle on the chain gang instead of his wife, and gave him 100 days’ hard labor.