THE" OREGON SUNDAY JOUEHAL. PORTLAND. SUNDAY MORNING, DECEMBER M. "1805.
11
fITZ, THE BEATEN CHAMPION,
. NOW DESERTED BY HIS WIFE
Julia May Gifford Quits .Hr
'f Husband In His Bitterest
V Hour of Ufe. ; v
MAJOPrfVULtER-AGAlN-
, V- '. WINS FICKLE HEART
For Him She Left Her Firat Hat
band m He Lay on Hie Deathbed
Fighter . Threatened Suicide
Now Sweara Eternal Vengeance,
("pecial Dispatch by Uurf Wbe ts Tha Jooroal)
San Francisco. Deo., IS. In the bUUr-
eat hour of hie life, defeated, heart
. broken In the realisation . that hla day
. of glory, eueh aa . It waa, had passed.
. Robert Fltsslmmons, once the heavy
watght champion pugilist of the world,
.has been deserted by the pretty young
wife upon whdm" for two years he has
lavlahad hie money, his affeoWn and hla
, pride. The lanky, mottled, knock-kneed
priseflghter,. Ions; a favorite butt of the
r . caricaturist. Ions; the 'wildly cheered
favorite of the sporting fraternity, long
-a marvel for. his strength and skill and
courage. Ilea locked . In a little room at
the Hammara batha, the better to hide
. his bruised and battered face from the
. ' vase of the Idle and keep the sound of
his sobs from cur if us ears.
And she who, before she was Mrs.
Robert Fltsslmmons, was Julia May
Clifford, prima donna of "When Johnny
Comes Marching Home," a girl whose
. , charming face, twinkling anklea and
. . birdlike voice had been her fortune.
' tiobody knows where she Is. But of the
two, no doubt the woman Is the happier.
For u she has run away for love of e
handsomer man' "than her -husband, " a
younger man, e 'richer man and a man
- whose name la not a synonym for fail
ure. . 'i. ';;... . .
- Major Miller the Bival.
, There are a good many people In the
-world who will not be surprised to hear
that-Julia O If ford has eloped at laat
'with Major Charlea Miller, bon vlvant,
'capitalist and high roller, hailing from
Franklin. Pennsylvania. -Their nsmes
m were linked together long before Fits
Simmons appeared In Chicago, still olad
In bis lately donned weeda of mourning
for Rose Julian, to lay. his awkward
elege to the love of the little actress
. . .who was dancing and singing her way
' into popularity at MoVickara theatre.
Bine nad been married, this . young
woman, who was-then but II. and ahe
had abandoned that husband;' abandoned
him. moreover, on hie beathbed and
: then as now. It waa MUler who lured her
. away. After she became a widow she
had many other love affairs, but en the
, whole, was truer to' Miller than to any
one else, during the five years that fol
lowed.
How she became . estranged from
Miller when Fltsstmmone began to woo
. her, nobody seems to know. That ee
tri ngement ended almost as soon as he
married Ufa with the pugilist began
. cannot be doubted. And aa love still
. goes where it Is sent, the end that was
' prophesied has come.
Fltsslmmons knew' all about Miller
'when' he-married Julia Otfford, or he
'"thought he did. When she left Chicago
to join him here, where he waa training
ror his last rignt, witn Jim Jeffries, be
went up to Sacramento to meet her, and
' her -"confession" as she called tt,and
as he called It, waa made between the
'time of departure from Sacramento and
the wedding that quickly followed at
the Palace hotel. Bob did not like what
he heard any more than another man
- would have liked, but he had a few
scratches on his own slate and wanted
,. to play fair. So he forgave what could
- hot be helped and bygones became, for
the time being, bygones. ' v
".' fcoaded. Xo With oVeme. '
" Things went very well with these two
Tor several months. The priseflghter's
three children. Bob Jr., Martin Carson
and Rosalie Julia, all the offspring of
his previous marriage, are at a school
In the east, so that there was no friction
between these youngsters and their
youthful stepmother. Fltsslmmons him
self, though no longer the champion of
. the world In the heavyweight division,
waa still sufficiently formidable In the
roped arena to make him a popular can
didate for large purses, as well aa a
' paying attraction In the theatres. Money
was plentiful. Applause waa plentiful.
Glory of a certain quality was plentiful.
Ha waa happy, happier than he had ever
been before. And ahe, pretended to-be
happy, at least ''.
Young Mrs. Fltsslmmons was am
bitious, however, and missed the gay
days whan ahe stood In the glare of the
' calcium on her own merits. Bob had
given her hie diamonds, which he esye
- were worth tlSO.eoo. Ho had given her
.his power of ettorney. so that ahe could
V
sign checks on his bank account. He
kail txtua-nt her rowiu thst coat, some
of them, 11,009 apiece.' He ha covered
' her fingers with rings. But she waa
-.net yet content.- She believed and ahe
' made him believe 'that her voice was a
' 'wonderful voice. She believed and made
him believe that If ahe could study vocal
mualo. la Paris she eould aspire to a
: career In grand opera.
- So he sent her to study under De
Resske. And then because the finan
cial drain had been pretty heavy he
arranged a fight with Mike Shreck In
Salt Lake City. Julia, therefore, took
a liner for Cherbourg, while-: Robert
' came west to train. This all happened
last July. But the plana thus entered
:
l HV v
; X,w y.0 Jf
I " I'll' I ' M
Into earns to an abrupt and perplexing
conclusion. -
- Sita'a Trrp to Varl. 1
Fltsslmmons, slleging that. Shreck'a
forfeit had not been potted, suddenly
called his match off and hurried to
Paris as fast as train and stsamer
could carry blm. Some thought that
the pugilist had abandoned . the fight
because he was afraid he could not
win. - Others thought that' he waa wor
ried about the young wife whom he had
sent over the sess alone. The latter
hypothesis seems to be nearest the
truth. Foe, ho himself has admitted
that he wa . worried about Julia, that
ha waa very lonely, that ho was Just
crasy to see ber and thought she would
be hsppy to see him, too. Then came
the first awakening. - , - V
One afternoon In Paris, while Julia
was out singing snd Robert was alone
in their BWerna'pajftmenrTliere came 'a
telegram for Mra. Fitsaimmona. The
huaband opened It . Somebody, - whose
Identity was hidden in the signature of
"Always" wanted to know why "Julie"
did not answer his letters and cables,
wanted to know If she did not. realise
that her silence- waa killing him,
wanted to know If anything waa wrong.
Robert at down to watt for hie wife,
pondering drearily over the telegram in
hla hand a those big. red. mottled
hands and when at last she came there
was a dreadful scene.
He threatened to kill her If she did
not tell htm who "Alwaya" was and
than, though ahe waa frightened and
weeping, he ran to the dresser and took
out of one or tne arawere a revolver.
" Boar SUe Own ttfe.
But Instead of turning the weapon
against ber he pressed the musxle te
his own forehead. Then the woman
yielded. ' , . ,
She fell on her knees and, cried nut
that "Always" was .Miller. She said
that ahe had been writing to Miller
ever elnce her marriage to the man who
then stood over her. She promised to
be true to Fttaslramone, wbose swollen
under rip waa trembling, whose eyes
were full ef tears. If he would but for
give her again and ones more start
afresh. He forgave her. He wanted
hereto be eo sure of hls forgiveness
that hs wsnt out and bought her some
more diamonds. Then he -told her very
quietly that ahe must return to America
with him and whin. ahe had looked at
him a moment ahe said that she would.
The next act In . the drama begins
With- the coming of Fitsaimmona to San
Francisco last month, when It waa time
for him to begin getting Into trim for
hie fight with Jack O'Brien. Mrs. Flts
slmmons was left behind In New York,
though Leon Friedman. Bob'a manager.
warned the toupee-crowned pugilist that
this waa a bad thing" to do." Bob
thought his Julia would keep tier prom
toes, however, snd eo let her have her
own way. . She saw hlra off at the
train. Bhe gave him a letter . to be
opened after he had started. She said
fn the letter that she loved him, loved
him, loved him; that he was not to
worry In California; that she would be
true. A few ether letters came to him
from her after he had gone Into train
ing at Croll's.
Then the letters stopped.'
Bob wired to ask what had happened.
He got no answer. He wired again,
with the same result. Two days before
hla battle with O'Brien waa to take
place he received a - little package
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m
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Pocket .Knives, Razors, Gun Cases. . ,
For Husband, Father, Brother and Son Articles that are
useful and of value. '' -
.' '
We have a new, clean stock to select from and for' the Holi
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The S. . Brainard Co.
.....,..
Open Evenings.
V 122 GRAND AVENUE.
The East Side Sporting Goods Store. .,
through the mails, addressed In Julia's
handwriting. When he opened It he
found all the photographs of his chil
dren, the photographs which he ' had
given" to lils young wife In tokenthat
the children were hers, too. In a sense.
The next day his manager, Friedman,
brought a telegram Into hla training
quarters Snd offered It to him without
a word. .And thla Is what hs read:
"I am leaving New York forever;
took etep Week ago; long contemplated;
am determined; my- attorney's letter
will reach you today. Julie."
So he knew at' last that everything
was over. At first, plunged Into a grief
that Is not bard to understand, he was
bent upon throwing his agreement with
O'Brien to the winds and hurrying back
to New York. . But aa the calmer coun
sel of his manager prevailed, he de
cided finally to go Into the-ring aa he
was eipftcu-a to no and to fighrtho Mat
fight he could. He sent just one more
telegram east and laat Wednesday
morning he got this ambiguous answer:
"Just the same to me, win" or lose.
Win." " : -
Alone n the Crowd. ;
That night he breasted- hie way
through the wildly-cheering thousands
that thronged the. space between his
dressing-room at Mechanics' pavilion
and the roped-ln platform where he
waa to struggle with Jack O'Brien for
the championship that Jeffries n
taken away from him. No one In all
that mighty gathering guessed how
heavy was his heart; no one there
dreamed that he was In an agony of
despair. All that anybody noticed, as
the battle began and progressed round
by round, was that Bob Fltsslmmons
was showing his age at last, that he
waa no longer the ma that be had been
in toe oia aays.
The story of how he fought, how
O Brien fought, what terrific blowe
were given and taken, how much blood
was spilled, how first one man and then
the other seemed a momentary victor,
how the onlookers rose up and yelled
and yelled and yelled their faith and
confidence in the older man, how at the
end of the thirteenth round Fltsslm
mons slipped helpless to the floor,
bleeding at the mouth; how he waa led
away, defeated. In tears all this has
been told before. But what the con
quered gladiator who had stood In bis
time over hundrede of opponents till
they were counted out Buffered In his
heart In that laat battle nobody knew or
could know.
Tells Story With Soke.
The old man lay on his narrow eot
at the Ham man batha yesterday after
noon and told the story that Is told
here. Hie head was bowed and turned
away, his cheeks were wet with teara.
Sometimes he beat his head against
the wall in very excess of grief. Some
times he hid It in the folds of his bath
robe, trying to stifle his sobs. And his
voice shook like the voice of a weeping
ohJld. t . ' ... .
It's a bleedtn' shame." he moaned:
"Oh, Gawd. It's a bleedtn' ehame. My
'eart Is broke, I tell yer. I wish I waa
dead. , For It ain't wot she- 'as done aa
'arts so much wot's It matter that she
'as been, untrue T , .It's because I ain't
goln' to see "er any-rnore, and because
I love 'er so,. It's killing me. I lost the
fight on 'er 'account, but that ain't all
I've lost for 'er. She was all the world
to tne, I tell yer, she waa all the world
to me, . and ahe 'as broke my bloody
'eart."
WU1 Xant These' Down,
. And then haltingly, almost Incoher
ently, he told tNe tale of hrs days with
Julia May Qtfford, adding to what has
been already said that he hadneen bav
Ing an opera written for her when the
crash came.
' "She wanta a divorce.' he continued.
"But she ain't goln' to. get one. 'Ow
could I sue 'er? And 'ow ould she eue
me? All I want now Is to get my hands
on' Miller. I've wired Fred Esola In
Nsw York to find ot where la and
where ehe Is. - And I'm going ack t
look for 'em. tartln' on New Year'a
day. Wot about my contract to appear
at the Alhambrat Naw. I ain't goln' to
perform there for it weeks when I'm
wild to doing something to get
square. Probably 1 11 etay a . week.
though. It s funny, ain't It, that I'm
billed to appear In -a- play called 'A
Fighter for Love.' ' Gawd knowe I'm
goln' to flglit for lovs all right and It
ain't so damn funny, either."
Fltsslmmons haa been married three
times..- Hla first -wife came to thla
oountry with him from Australia. About
five years later he fill In lovs with
Rosa, the sister of Martin Julian, and.
Julian having formed a similar attach-"
ment for Mra. Fitsaimmona. divorce
was harmoniously arranged. Robert
then married Rose Julian, his son, Rob
ert, Jr., remaining with his mother, who
promptly became Mrs.- Julian.
Mra.' Fltsslmmons the second died
about two years ago and had been dead
only two -montha when her widower
married - Mrs. Oifford. The three
younger- children, Robert, Jr. (the sec-
una nooen, jr., agea iv; Martin car-
eon, aged S, and Rosalie Julia, aged 7.
born to Rose Fltsslmmons. are at St.
Kllsabeth's convent. New Jersey,
FAMILY IN IGNORANCE.
Major MUler melativee Know sTetalsg
of SVeporUd jnopemems.
(Special THaeatrb by Leased Wire a The Joaraal)
Franklin, Pa.. Dec II. Major Charles
J. Miller, who la reported to have eloped
with Puglllat FltaslmmonB wife, le the
son of Major-Ocneral Charles J. MUler
of the Pennsylvania National guard.
The family Is one of the most promi
nent la western Pennsylvania.; Major
Miller's mother is a sister of Repreaen
taUveJoseptLfUibley of Pennaylvania
no is married, nia wire being a daugh
ter of Mrs. Mary Prentice,' She la a
very beautiful woman an haa alwgya
been a leader In the younger society of
Franklin. The major's family evidently
know nothing of the elopement, for
when .The Journal reporter communi
cated with the residence by telephone
this evening it waa aald that he waa ex
pected here in the morning. Marqula de
Terra Hermoaa of Madrid le expected
to accompany him. Tha marqula was
here' for several weeks In the fall and
he liked Franklin eo well that he ac
cepted Major Miller's Invitation to re
turn. . , .
Major MUler la tha president of the
Franklin Manufacturing company which
manufactures asbestos material a -It Is
one of the leading industries of Frank
lin. The Income from this concern
alone enables him to travel most ef the
time. He Is quite an automobile enthu
siast and has seven or eight machines.
Last spring he purchased a Flat racing
car and raced It at eeveral meets In and
around New York City, winning a num
ber of prises. '. The major does not etay
in Franklin much of the time, though he
owna a palatial residence In Miller Park,
which waa laid out by hla father.
It s recalled- that a number of years
ago, 'Mra. Fitsaimmona, who' waa then
Mlaa Glfford. came hers aa the leading
lady of the Columbia Opera company.
It wae then that ahe became ae
qualnted with Major . MUler. Several
weeks later she came back to Franklin
and was a guest in Major Miller's home.
Mrs. Miller Introduced her to her friends
and ahe accompanied the MUlere to one
of the large parties of the Nursery club,
the city's leading social organisation.
Ths next that Franklin knew of tha
woman she was married to Bob Fltsslm
mons. 1 Nothing la know here concerning the
elopement and a sensation Is promised
when ths fsct is announoed publicly.
Charles Miller's father la a pillar In
the Baptist church and controls the Ga
lena Signal -4311 company, one of the
most profitable , subsidiary companies
of the Standard. - He le also a dlraptor
In a score of other companies and has
offices In" New - Yorfcr City. " :
Major Miller Is about tl years of age.
He waa twice mayor of Franklin, and
la ths ybungest person ever serving In
that capacity here. He received hie ti
tle of major from serving on hie father's
ataff. i: ..... . '
ZUBRICK WANTS BOUT
WITH MANSFIELD
The Vancouver ' Athletio club It is.
deavoring to arrange a match between
Warren Zubrick, who la at present In
this city, and William Mansfield of San
Francisco. Mansfield is a clever boxer
an nad H9atirrculty In defeating every
man In hla class In Alaska and through
out tne pacific coast. A match be
tween Zubrick and Manafleld would un
doubtedly draw many of the flstle pat
rons. to the ringside. Zubrick claims
that he can defeat Mansfield Inside of
IS rounds, but the friends of the latter
deny this claim. ' . -
' - - " '
--' Vv
. ff
f- -$ .s ljt I "
YOUNG WINS DIRECTORS'
CUP FROM WRIGHT
In the match play for the directors'
cup at the Waverly golf links yesterday,
J. E, Young won from Allen Wright
on the laat hole. The play waa rather
dose throughout. Wright holding the
advantage until he -drove Into the river,
when Toung forged ahead and won out
William McMaster waa referee. A good
slsed crowd followed the golfers and
thoroughly snjoyed the play.
Tomorrow there will be the usual
Christmas open handicap matches for
man and women.
Purdue, B. .P. King; Trinity. Philip
Dougherty; Ames, R. E. Jensen; lows,
Fred W. Sen winn: Annapolis. Herbert
I Spencer. .
f Golf had its 4Jer this eeaeln- In H.
victory In the recent slxlay race.
Chandler Egan, who won the American
championship. Beala C. Wright led the
tennis experts and in swimming C M.
Panlale by h1s many victories was
placed as the star of the aquatlo aet. -
White OhrUtmas at X ' reads
(apacial Plepatck te The Journal.)
La Grande, Or., Deo. tl. The ther
mometer registered t degrees above sere
at thla place thle morning. At Hllgard.
eight ,mlIB west, It reached the aero
point- It Is warmer tonight and, snow
ing hard. The chances for a - white
Christmas In eastern Oregon are very
favorable.
SPORTING GOSSIP.
This morning at 10 o'clock there wlU
be a 'general practice of Multnomah's
football aquad. Aa this Is the Isst op
portunity for a workout before Monday's
game every -man. ig requested to be
present. - " 't
e a
Lord Rosebery won the English Derby
for the third time with Cicero, and hla
winnings for the season were 161.110.
Of this aount Cloero won 140.160.
Cicero's Derby victory wss possibly e
lucky one, as he only beat Jardy. the
French candidate, by three quarters of a
length, Jardy making a gallant fight
when hardly at his beet, tha result of
aa attack of Infiuensa. Had he been
at hla beat he doubtless would have
reversed the decision.
' e e
"Tom Rose, the big westerner, who
played left guard on the football team
this fall, will be ons of the pitching
steff of tha Columbia baseball team la
the spring." says the Sun. "Ross, who
Is more than six feet tall and weighs
111 pounds, hss had considerable ex
perience aa a twiner- ana nee great
speed. He plsyed the game at Hill
Military academy In Portland, where he
cornea from, and haa the reputation of
being able to hit a little bit, too. Co
lombia has had few men who eould
pitch with great speed, most ef her
twtrlere depending more upon -enrvee
than swiftness.".
e e ,
" Eddie Root la regarded aa the best
bicycle rider of the year because of hie
e e
Next year's captains Chicago, Walter
EckefsaH Northwestern, John Gilbreth
Tale. Samuel F. B. Morse; Princeton,
Herbert Dillon; Pennsylvania, V.. M.
Stevenson; Wisconsin. Arthur Melsner;
SSaVRMMT. ar
A NEW YEAR'S
NECESSITY
".'- v. .
Is good teeth, and one that eannot be
neglected, aa your health end happiness
depends- on them. A Visit to Wise
Bros. wUl convince you - that their
methods are notoAly painless, but thor
oughly sclentifio and durable. Their
erown and bridgs work la- marvsloua.
VViseBros.Denlis(s
TO r AJXXsTO, TatXJKD- AK9 WASH.
Open "Evenings and Bundaya.
THS OaiOOg .'ATXB FOWZB
EA1XWAT 0MJAVT.
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LeavtBf wits Breakfast 1 ft
Eaov aaa eeaea see day Set
Ma aaa Bw4 ft mk le.ee
naafaat. Me. !,. us. eea.
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7am ead iasa fLM
peelal Tiokat, BMladlag' Bwad-erip
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Daily at 1:ee. e ss, H te e. sui le, le,
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L, O. MacMahon, Manakif
EtTAOADA, oaieoa.
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i
il iHfiLf
r 1 asl ayeasBav
" . ; ' '' ,. i -, '.k j . '
Levis GtARK
Exposition
Our Furniture was Awarded the Gold Medal for Best
" Construction; Best Design, Best Workmanship
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Doernbecher Man iff a during Cc-.
Easf Twtnty-Elghth Sfrccf, Porihni, 0r?::n
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