To carry on this search persistently is the great safeguard.  It is rare when in the course of a few months the true state of affairs will not have been revealed, though it may have been quite hidden at the start.[18]

This is not to say that time must be spent unprofitably in going over the same ground, or that out-of-town agencies must be badgered to reinvestigate old clues.  But the frame of mind that pigeonholes the whole matter as having been attended to must be shunned by the social worker, who should be always on the alert for new clues and prompt to follow them up.  An example of a vigorous and persistent search for a deserter is taken from the files of the National Desertion Bureau.[19]

Adolph R. deserted his wife and their six little children on September 1, 1912.  He was traced to Philadelphia, but had left there the day before the tidings reached New York.  Information was obtained from fellow-employes which led to the belief that he had gone to Tampa, Florida.  Inquiry was directed to the rabbi in that city, but again the information was disheartening, since it disclosed the fact that once more R. had “left the day before.”  The rabbi telegraphed that the deserter had evidently gone to Lakewood, Florida, and that he could be found in that place.  Immediately the Bureau dispatched a telegram to its representative there, only to find that R. had merely passed through Lakewood en route to Bartow, Florida.  When the inquiry reached Bartow it was learned that R. had left a few days before, and that he was on his way to Memphis, Tennessee.  The Jewish Charities of Memphis made investigation at the cigar factories of that city, but reported that no person bearing the name of R. or resembling him had been seen in their city.  No further clue to his whereabouts could be secured.

    Months later R. applied to the Jewish Charities of Louisville for
    transportation to New York, making an entirely false statement about
    his family.

This statement was telegraphed to the Bureau and no time was lost in securing a warrant.  Louisville was notified by wire to arrest, but again a telegram came:  “Adolph R. left city.  Learned from Cigarmakers’ Union headquarters he went to Cincinnati.  Wire Joe Rapp, 1316 Walnut Street, Cincinnati Union Headquarters.  Man said he was going to Cincinnati or Indianapolis.  Man joined union Richmond, Va., November 19, 1911, and reports to union in all cities.”  The Desertion Bureau immediately telegraphed to Cincinnati and Indianapolis.  The United Jewish Charities of Cincinnati working together with the labor union lost little time in effecting his arrest.

Many theories about family desertion have suffered a change in recent years.  One of these relates to the “collusive desertion.”  Social workers in training used formerly to be taught that the first place to look for the deserter was around the corner, where he could slip back into the house and partake of charitable bounty or, at the very least, keep close watch of his family and return if any serious danger threatened them.  Although the collusive desertion seems to have been a frequent happening in the past, there is almost unanimous testimony from case workers at the present time that it is not common.  “I don’t come across an instance once a year,” said one case worker.