; ' ''...;.'.., V ' ; THE OREGON ', SUNDAY. JOURNAL FORTpUm .". fUND AY MQRNING ; NOVEMBER 18, . 1909 , f
'nrotTCF Oil
ALL reports are true, Charles R.
Sager, of Madison,' Wis., ts a remark-:
" able man. For no one else but a remark'
jable man could. shelter two wives in the same'
household,' as he is accused of doing,-and
)enjdatl the while, an atmosphere of peace
lend coniemmentr
'Sager is not the. first man charged with
the possession of two wives and no acquaint
ance with the divorce court,' but he is the first,
so' far as known, who has successfully har
nessed, such spouses tandem, so to speak,
under the same roof. T " . ' 7
; LJJyithe unique arrangement which he put
Into effect the firsth and, as asserted, the legal,
xcifc, the' mother of his two lit tli children,
acted "as, general servant,! while 1 the. other,
woman posed as the feminine head of the
household.' ,; '
So harmonious was the arrangement aid
to little did the two wive s jar that Sager lived
in happiness with both. When he was ar-
tested both wives asserted their unalterable .
fidelity to him '; together they visited him in
jail, wife No. '2 pushing the carriage in which ,
the baby of wife No. J reposed, and each
'declared her willingness to give .Sager up to
ihe other in order to avoid making trouble
r' 'for himT . ' " ' ''
This arrangement, it appears, might have
' .'gone on indefinitely but . for a little police
difficulty into which the man tumbled. Even"
' this prosaic -happening, however 'r cannot reT
-; move him from the list of truly remarkable
- r men.-
IN HIS choice of wive Sager gave evidence of versatile
taste and ideals that ran a wide rang. r
Both 'women are young and handsome, tb flrst,
- .- however,' being a tall, blue-eyed blonde and th other
ft chl plrited Uttl brunette. . .. ,
Trouble assailed Sager m a heap when he was ar
rested, one night recently, charged with stabbing a man
la a personal controversy. This incident was not of
momentous Importance, and would . not have revealed to
th world the queer domestic life of the Insurance
solicitor for thnt Is Sager's business had he not vol-jBtarliy-
made astcmlahlng .acknowledgments -on . th .
Sitnes stand at bis preliminary hearing.
la eitmuaUon h ls said to. hav declared thatJ).
asd his flrst wife did not get along well together, and
that be had Intended to secure a divorce, but had over
looked that legal formality. "T '
- - Last May, he stated, he married wlfs No. t. During
tbs following summer he lived with her, but th two
romen frequently visited each other.
Some time ago Sager took a bouse in a good section
tof th city, Just around th corner from tb residence
of th Governor of the' State, and- set up. hi strange
Jkousehold.
. The first and legal wlfs, It Is asserted, took a part
Of th house and went there to 'live with her two chil
dren. She also offered to act a servant for her husband
'.MAN'S VAIN STRUGGLE OF
R
ASH men sometime rush in where angel
fear to tread. They inaugurate reform
measures in politics, business and even tho
church, but sometimes their zealous' effort
aim at the impossible.
" Since Eve first began tewing fig leave, together
?ln the shape of walking suits and eyening gowns,
roan has endeavored to have the feminine costume
constructed v(ha rational er, that is, upon lines
j.that seemed to his superior and highly practical
mind as being the- right -thing,
Has he ever succeeded f Well, a movement for
' masculine-conducted woman's dress. reform is
; going on now, and an observant philosopher has
iv- this to ssy on the aubject: '
i , "This is not the first time in the world's his
, tory that a plague of extra vngr.nt women has been
. ' visited upon man for hi sins. Once or twice be
, fore this evil has been tackled by reformers."
' Then, switching to another part of the subject
leaves the impression that the "tackling did not
succeed. ,
; 1? TOT a few things are past the comprehension ot
- I XI nran, ns im-ii t! it thu mretertes of
X 1 - femliilne apparl the fsnhw.nabl- raiment and
' the ramlflctlnns thereof with which she persists
. tn "sdornlng" herself.
OrnndneM and txtravagance of style are always
barked up by conwlous superiority n thffl rt of the
feminine mind thiit puts the maJs ubioctor promptly out
of himlnesa.
The ardent wooer of Oueen rl'llxaheth'a da n A-hi
- railed WtterlT-rtnst-the hiBe'Tiifr that stood but about
. ni t"y s nt-M ime a repelling pic net ret'fie.
He could one no more use In It th.in his fesrendont
of todsy In the enormous picture nat nor could he
; get arofind or over It.
"' do
'
mil -ine run: remainea. ana men or tne period had to
do aa well with it as tney could, which was not very
well. ... 1
rrequontly they got a. taste Of ruffles In their mouth
nsteud of the nectar of 'ruby lips.
-Kwally shocking to man s sensibilities, however, ws
the i extraordinary horned heatlploc" that women of th
loiirenth century jwrrhod upon themel'es. , f
This conslkted ef a part' cone-shaped bonnet start'
tng from bruw eni ears and running thvnc about wust
.ri'iaeet, half ! , .
Frees tb under M pa" 01 forhs sprang
up
Kymsb sum. m
, . J'"'- . vl I I ill ..- '
and tb uromih wlio feaft iupplanted 'her In hl affoc
' 9gr la Veil known In Madison, and haa lived ttiera
for the last elcht yeara. He la a German, a red 21, the
son of a well-to-do fanner, Uvlnc near Lake Koshkoncnc.
'Tha home In whlcb be lived wUb hi two wlv waa but
two door from Bethel Lutheran Church, In which he
waa married five year ago br the paator, Rev. Thore
Kaxon. :..
' The flrat Mr. Baser waa Mia Braate KnuJ3n,
Norwegian girl from Black Klver Fall. She 1 a atriklng
looktna: woman, well educated and refined, but ahe doe
not seem to consider her position m the household any
thing out of the ordinary.
Vhen shs learned of the arrest of her husband ahe
wn lulling her pretty I-year-old baby to sleep, with
JVUtOjJUopklnc.ayin
Both . women., declared ..they : would do everything - In -
4heir -ftowe t help their jomt husband out -ot M seripe
Thev seemed to be on the best of term.
Tb second Mrs. Sager was Mi-s Margaret Mulholland,
aged H, daughter of J. R. Mulholland, a wealthy German '
farmer with n Scotch wife, living near Valton, In Sauk .
eounty, forty mile north of Madison, :
WIFE YIELDED TO NEW LOVE
. About two yeara ago she went to Madlaon to earn her '
own livelihood, a daughter of many well-to-do farm .
ers have done for ycars.Durljig .the early days of her .
residence in the city ahe, met fiagor. and, it seems,
Infatuated him.
, B?lng a kindly woman, tbs man's . wife. . when th
learned of th state of affairs, simply remonstrated with
hlTn..When,.as reported, he declared that he could not
give up Me new love, the two agreed to separate.
' How much Mlaa Mulholland was to blame for break
ing up tha Sager household I hard to say. She now
assert. It Is ssld, that she wa deceived and did not
know thnt Sager waa married. At other times aha has'
madoith statement that ahe expected Sager would get
his divorce end that then all would be well, .
; At any rato, when reporters called on them on the
eight - after Sager .confession . neither wife spoke of
. deception or misunderstanding, and vehemently declared
that so lonsr as tbs three persons -most- Interested were -Kitlsfled
with the arrangement they considered It lnt
pertlnent of the courts and outsiders to "butt In" and
make trouble. r r
"Charlie Is a good, kind man," said the second wife,
"and we shall surely stick to him through thick and
thlr." Then, turning to Mr. Sager No. L she asked,
Shan't J we, Beeslel". To which Mrs. Sager replied,
."Wo surely sh.ilL"
- And truly they did. For several day they frequently
visited Sager In Jail, going together, No. t wheeling the
carriage containing the baby of No. L and th two stom
ingly on -tho best of terms. . . . . . ..... .
At the" Jail Sager would kiss both women and kiss "
gentle hut extended curve, .eking a general course of
r.orthtaat by north.
Now this "picture hat'' 'if tt;e p-ri'd w, no doubt,
a thing of joy tn the woman of that day, hut it raused
a notable enlargement of lite prcvAlcnt V4MLulary of
rrofenliy,
Then ther wa the'tr'r.lln:irv Kmni-h tyl of
coiffure that produced a t-iwormg bulk of hulr ujon the
head, like piling a luxuriant, fluffy Felion upon a fair.
Intellectual Oeaa of aaarbl brow.
''.y f X, : : " rn - : , ' vl
.tvr. TTifrnrcpoaJeroua Homed ikadvear
ijdt me kttti. temuru onocKed turn .., fearsome
M .......
-ys Easier Vaz fei&Ar7h-S?0er
the children. He would divide hi attention between
tho two women and kiss them both on parting. . There
was no alga of preference or partiality for on or for th
"Other. : 1 " r - 1 r ?
Asked on one such occasion: "If you were free and un-
marrrled and had to choose between your two wive,
which would you taker he paused a moment, confusedly,
and said: . " -
"Really, I don't know. I can't say. Both com to
e me; both are doing all they can to help me, and
it wouldn't be fair for m to show any partiality,
hold arinugeiueut. Sager re-
marked- "My first wlfs was taking in washing,
mnA han
a hard time to get along. Feeling that she might suffer
during the winter, I determined to do what I could to
make her comfort M.
How did the -two women regard this plan? They
teemed to be well satisfied, and dwelt together in har
mony. Wife No. I revealed her mental processes tn tb
foI'Awing words: . . i '
," did not wish to wound tho feeling of either by
referring to the previous marital relation xisthig be
tween Mr. Sager and myself, so I never did so lu their
presence,
"We expected Yo get a dlvorc In tlnvr, and." of course, -
CENTURIES TO REFORM WOMAN'S' DRESS
Even Nov71 e Gmflol Overcome the
ihcaire nat.
. - ' .
Opera si asses were not so wll known or In common
' use at that time, nnd ImJ limy been there were no
visual aids that could project slant over towering hill
or sround a corner.
So the men who attended plays- th-n were In as
lamentable a illht us their Lrotlws of motUrn times'
were before the "hat if tllot became general.
For some reason or other -no on knows why such
expectations should over huvi anlmsced man with any
none at annaeas a aa attempted te reform woman's .
considered ourselves a good a divorced. I found out
he was going with another woman, from letter In hi
pockets, and tried to make him give her up, but h
couldn't. I knew, the -girl could.not. sioaps. hinv.ajid
that h would follow her to th end of the world, and
so I finally lot him hav his own way and marry her.
W till met, and remained, friend, and aa I waa
friend of his second wlf I saw no. harm in going to
"live with them when they Invited me. .
"It is true that I have been doing much work for
this second wife, but K waa necessary for. me to do
something. I did not know wher tb dreadful thing
would end, but I loved Charlie and hated to give him up,
and yet at the aam tlm did not dare to apeak,' and
waited, hoping thing would turn out all right some way,
I am sura I cannot help it."
Mr. Sager No. t In her flrst Interview did not dis
claim knowledge of Sngor having been married, and was
disposed to recent Investigation and to stand by Mr.
Sager No. 1. . V
"She Is such a kind, good woman, and you couldn't
1L00KING BACKWARD
w
ILLIAM OODEN la said to have been th flrat.
profesIonal'"bookmakr. H-mad-- book lo
th fingllsh Derby in 17OT.
Newspaper advertisements mad their earliest appear
ance In 1602. ; .
In ancient Rom men only grew beard aa a sign of
mourning. la Egypt all went clean shavea; but In
Assyria only the slaves and peasant shaved.
Tb first steamer to mak a voyag across the Atlantic
Ooean wa th Savannah, of (50 tone and 100' feet In
length. ' She sailed from Savannah on May U, 1818, and
-arrived at-Liverpool Jun to. Th'flrt teamer to sail
-frum Liverpool for New York was the Royal William,'
4o7 tone.
Shs sailed July". 183!j, and wa nlnetn day
An th trln.
Before th Norman conquest Winchester, not London;
was the capital of England. , , , .
Bank holidays were Introduced la England In August,
U71.
The bloomer costums was first worn by Mrs. Bloomer
. In
New York In 1M.
From la to ISsi Boottisn nanarupta were compeuea
to wear a soft of convict dress, hslf yellow, half brown.
The fit was used in military bands as early as th
year 1&25 at the siege of Pavla. '
Bttttona appear to have flrat com Into us In th
reign of Edward I of England. The iirat -war mad of
In 18X0 75 per cent. Of English people lived In th coun
try. Todav 7 per cent, live In towne.
The flret ratnlorue Of star was published In ISO by
Tycho Brabe.' It contained 777 fixed stars. Th number
now tuiuib iw uw Mfnr wjw - - ,
T TBIDK IU UK HfHTU WJW ' - " 1 . j , --
rr-i i ... - ... - n.. . i 4 n PiHi In mnA
charged a fare of about 5 cents.
cnar" T,r 1 -
HOLD THEIR OWN SERVICES
. N SUNDAY afternoon thahlldren of Oakley M. E.
Church, New York city, noia services oi tneir
nwn.
This Innovation waa stsrted by Rev. H. J King, th
pastor, who believes In beginning early to train young
people in religious work.
44
, oeoiaeq to givan ennoren an opponimuy to noia
rvlc of their own. not conductedbv "OldenBenThers
of the concreratlon. and found the young people willing
and enthusiastic to take up the plan. ' .
He Could Do fiotfiina Wilh Ihc
Vain ladu of Queen EJiwbcihi kmc
Ideas cf dress and fashion. ' ."- ' '
Away back In ags p.ist n little book mnd Its ap
prsrunce "Qulppes . for Upstart Newfangled Gentle
women." .
Now,, the -title of t'.. work was tmklnd. In the first
rMn-e, nhd the anli'toilty tlspluycu thorelp a crUilrJy
not calculated to win nuraiieri of the fHlr from
their -allegiance to th Dam Fash Ibn of th period, no
matter how much her deer Jarred upon th masculln
rlA . ' i ,
atnrrsl with her. I am sorry for her," b said,
wfll do what I can to help her."..
, Nowi th situation has changed, however. A her
standing -as a wife has been questioned, she has gone.,
back - to bar quiet, rural . home amid tb . picturesque -
hill of Bauk county to await development. .
Bef or going .hom she saidi J'l flrsijaei.Sa'rer two
year ago. He was aiwayl known to m under th nam
. of Charles William Stewart W went together all th
tiro, he aseertmg to be a single man, and finally I mar
ried him under th nam of Stewart. I never know he
was married before.
"I often visited bis flrst wlf. Z knew her only as a
" friend of his. and I waa so lonesome, for wa were doing
po housekeeping, that I often called on her. .After she
.to. live with us I rapected someuung, put cua not
knoir that they hsd really been married.
" 'If I could mak Sager go back to hi first wlf X
should Ilk to see him do so. but she says he is so taken
with me that I would hav to go a long way off and hid
. myself or he would follow me."
Mlaa Mulholland' father, atate tlfot Sager vlalted hi
' daughter tinder the nam of Stewart, and that he had
been driven from th place twice at tb point ot a shot
gun ,
---At last, finding that th young people wr determined .
to b married, he withdrew hi objection, but told them
to hav th ceremony performed whU he wa absent
from home.
Wlf No. 1 haa left Madison alo. going to tho horn
of her stepfather at flack Klver Tall. Sager unlqu
family t broken up, and he ta not facing th futur wtth
any degree of enthusiasm.
SOME CURIOUS PACTS
T
l HH favorite amusements ot Queen WUheJmma oc
Holland..!- katlng and riding, but a a child Bar
hobby wa the keeping of poultrrr Her Majesty la-
devoted te animal, and 1 averse to sport, as sh can
not bear to think of th animal in her preserves be
ing slaughtered.'? - - r --
Elephant' foot take longer to cook than any other
dish. It must be baked for thirty-six hours. , .
Th capacity of th reindeer for team work la re-,
markabl. Hi hoof are very broad and do not pene
trate th show crust. HI average weight I about 401
pounda He will swiftly draw a sled carrying . tOO
Bounds, and with this load can cover thirty, fifty and
Sven"rlr,ety-mUe -qay - Belndrer taraLjrwwcarrytb.
mall from Kotsebu toFolat-Barrow, Aiasaa, a ois
tance of tbO miles th most northerly post rout in tbs
world. No food Is carried for the deer. At th end of
hie-Journey.-or at any stopping place, h I turned
loose, and at one breaks through th snow to th whit
moss which serves ss food. -
Light blue eyes are generally the moot powerful, and
next to those are gray. The lighter the pupil th greater
and longer-continued is th - degre of tension, -iha.aK-can
sustain. ..'
Champngn take up much time and car in th
making. Altogether a bottle of champagne gcea through
two hundrnd different operations, covering a period of two
and a half yeara. And In addition it la soraetlmea kept
two or three year. longer In the vault maturing.
In Persia bells ring for prayers five times a day, and
fnnhnt4 rlrka anil miitAnwrf ruth off to tile mosaue.
. . . .J Z , . 7 "
lnAVtn a IT Tinilneee mt m. etendstllL . .
Snails are slow even when -it comes to dying. - Ono -
well-known naturalist who had mounted a shell upon -
a card wss surprised to find, four years later, that tho
warm water employed in aoaklng ' the shell off tho '
mount bad revived tb Inmate, which he had Ions;
supposed to be dried and dead. ' ' ,
Several specimens in another collection were re
vived In a similar manner after they had lain In a
drawer for some fifteen yeara These had not been
glued to a card, but had been left lying loose, and, '
thnurb fraauentlv handled, had shown no signs of 114. .
They were thrown into tepid water with the idea of
Eteantn
, owner th snails were found creeping about th basin
when he returned to complete the task.
Ther wa another old-tim writer, on Stephen
Oosson by name, who laboriously and, doubtleesly. with
out effect produced a work entitled "A Treaty Shewing1
and UecUrlng th Fryde and Abuse of Women Now a
Igyes. . " .
When It Is said that this learned treatment of an Im
portant subject wss doubtless without effect, it Is meant
that history does not record th ensuing awoep of any
arena reform about that period ' .
Mr. Goimii perhaps went down to his grav "un
wept, un honored snd unsung" by his female contempo
raries, and without making the allghtost chang In th -fashions
of th time.
At any rate, he freed hi soul of its spleen, snd that
was aomethlng to him, perhaps.
Later on, Charles Bansley held up "A Glasse to 'We
the Pride of Vainglorious women,1 but If they looked
therein they "apparently took mt - e4. . . ,
Jumes Day, In 1037, went a little beyond ths limit of
politeness when ho wroUi a treatise entitle! "Medita
tions on the Frld of Women' Apparel." His opening
word..were: . '
Bee, how some borrowed, off-caste valne attire
Can puff up pampered clay and dirty mire.
. There may be men today with Just aa atrong feelings
on the subject, but few of them would venture to call
uch nmea . .
A later writer. In the same connection, freed his '
surcharged feelings by referring to "trlmmed-up pup
: pets," while still another, with more gallantry and poetlo
; expression, was responsible for "dalntle minions,"
In condemning extravagant dress In his time, Oeorg
Johnson gave expression to a hf art felt wearmesa by de
claring that "gavrrlsh geir gave him grave greevanoe." '.
It Is related that a bishop of Pari was so outraged
by the prevailing fashion In halrdresslng, that built out
the coiffure with faleo hair at the sides to resemble th-
'close curled horns of a ram, that he promised ten day
, pardon for sin to anv one who would shout "Push, -rsm,"nt
any woman seen wearing It. .
In .the seventeenth -century, a certain Dr. 6ml th ex
pressed th hopelessness Tif the fight:
And when do you think this sear stay mend, .
And enme tn be a better pexeeT --.'-In
trutb, I think It will nsrer end,
What. nsverT Then oat! A las I
The unsolved riddle of all thrrrts,-D women
dre to please men, or not?
For a long time since Adam' dav, perhaps men "
have fondly deluded themselves with the Idea that th
fair ones attired themselves with the sol purpos of
plosslng th lords of creation. '
Vi'm has had many cherished kinks In his brala
straightened etit with no gentle hand, and yet haa per- '
slr'tently returned to his delusions.
H believes evn now that by suasion and a show f
superior intellccttisl force he can twist the fashions of
woman's mlimnt to' his liking. '
But notice the modern hat of maid and matron; and
tt other Incomprehensible details of feminine' attire.
Shuuld not modern objecting men fold their tant Uk th -Arab
and as auleUy steal away?
. ..'V
, ,'
"t: