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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (April 26, 1908)
nm oarGorr sutjday journal. roxixArav sunday horning, april 2 j9os Sv--- V U 1 7q -id 7; lf 1 J nVf .. V Si V V: Famous Divorce Suit in mav ieiermme oeiween if j McKee and Mrs. Phipps 'art 'HQ plucked the lemon in the tar-; den of lovely Was it the beatu tiful soung widow. Mrs. Cornelia Tcvis, who won A. Hart McKee, or was it , Mrs. Lawrence C. Phipps, who did notf ' During the last few months, while, the McKee divorce case has been, dragging its length along in Paris, this question has been raised repeatedly in that city, in New York, in Pittsburr, and tn Denver, CoL, in each, of,g which places various chapters of one of the most entertaining and sensational stories ofi . modem times have been written. Love, hatred, jealousy, . revenge, fickle , ness, parental of cctum--all have been woven into the. drama. If is a wonderful story of tangled lives and family skeletons. -'' v :;V . Out of '.it. all stands niost prominent the remarkable tower of a man, insignificant mentally and unattractive physically, to hyp- -notize, as it were, to fascinate and enthrall at least two women whose beauty and accom plishments seemed fit for the widest spheres. Others are said to have fallen under his mag- 1 netic influence. What was itt, ..' .. ..Xxv -, ......... Si',:':' ; x Eekhafs mi. raippa, w, did not -wad young Hart McKee. laughed .19 sleeve at the former widow Tevls. who did wad him. when re porta of the McKee divorce suit la Farts wert Mnt broidcut durtn tbo last taw nontba. : ; J SaniatloBal wr th cbargaa', nado tn a tult that ended a dream of lova and a romanca peculiarly Amarican to all Its parta. . i- "Sha ; lived t - an , accompanl roent of pistol shots. Indecent lit- : eratura and pajamas," declared tb French lawyer who was la charge of tba divorce proceedings Insti tuted by Mrs. McKee. In her plea' for legal separation she named statutory reasons, as well as cru elty and extravagance on tba part " 01 tne penea.soa iue frntouTg i mlllfcmalre family . According to Mrs. McKee, her second dream of vr 7 7. I. A tffdla Button, daughter of a well-knowa physlclaa of Allegheny Qty. ' . Theirs was a brilliant wedding, one long to be remembered. On the surface it was a bsppy ro- mance. . But Cupid soon flew out the Windows of the home of the young McKees. ' . Mrs. McKee accused ber husband of being too ' . .attentive to young Mrs. Phipps, who was not in Colorado with ber husband. "Can't cousins be friendly without being- gossiped about r was MoKee's reply. ' In course of time, Mrs. McKee, having gathered what she eonsldered conclusive evidence, sued for dl- V' vorce. She got it The details of settlement, the evi dence brought Into oourt ami other matters eonoera lng the action need not be referred to here. ' In the 'meantime, Mr. Phipps had taken advan tage of the divorce laws. - He secured a legal separa tion from the handsome, woman who bad promised, not many years before, to be his for all time and eternity."- ' " All this created a t.errlflo sensation in Pittsburg, New York and othsr places where te young couples were known.' "What will be the future of the divorced nest w the question generally asked, . . Nearly every one acquainted with conditions ex pected that . Hart MoKee would marry Mra Phlppa Perhaps Mrs. Phipps thought so, too. It seemed at one time that such would be the case. At this time, however, young Mrs. Tevis appeared, upon the scene. 8he had become' known In two conti nents as the beautiful Cornelia Baxter, of Tennessee. After being graduated from a convent school tn France she bad created a sensation by appearing at the Grand" Prix, Paris, one fine race day, and having all the Impres sionable young men fau at her. zeet. . JILTED MAN HAPPILY WED I J, Returning to this country, she became engaged, it was said, to Gerald Hughes, of Denver4e was hap pily married to another woman a few weeks ago,- by the way. v : v Before the' wedding date approached, however, she fled from the Hughes engagement and married the wealthy Hugh Tevls, of San Francisco, and sailed with , him for a wedding tour around the world. A few months . later, while in Japan on their honeymoon trip, Mr. Tevls died. The young widow re turned to America, and, after a conventional period of mourning, again entered social circles. Then it was that she met A. Hart McKee, lately freed of his first marital bonds. A dashing, handsome widow of 23, Mrs. Tevls promptly captured the heart of the Pittsburg man. Her stylish figure, her pure blonde hair, her violet eyes, her Oreclan features, her poise of manner and her smart attire utterly hypnotised him, It has been declared. . It has been stated that Colonel Baxter, father of Mrs. Tevls, never approved of young McKee. He re garded the Pittsburger, it is said, as having execrable manners and as utterly lacking In personal charm. Indeed, it was frequently asked Ty McKee's acquaint ances what was the secret of the tremendous power over women which he was acknowledged to possess. Rumor had it that an Interesting and heated eon teet ensued between the divorced Mrs. Phipps and tht widow Mrs. Tevls for the ennuled heart and the once discarded hand of A. Hart McKee. It was even reported that the two women once en- gaged in a halr-pulllng contest In a New York hotel over the object of their affections. The witchery of. the young widow proved more po tent than the charms of the young divorcee. Mrs, Tevls won, and married McKee. The couple went tj Europe, where they have resided, for the most part. Jlnce. They have made occasional visits to Egypt en 1 other eountries. , All kinds of rumors have been mixed up with the history of the eouple. It has been said, tor Instance, that McKee's second .wife advanced ftSO.OOO to enable him to settle with bis first spouss at the time of their divorce. At any rate, the question arises, .VTho got tlie lemont Was It Mrs. Tevis, who became the second Mrs. MoKee, or Mrs. Phipps, who did not? MANY ACCUSATIONS Not enlr did Mrs. McKee. In the recent divorce proceedings, accuse her husband of most nnloverllke proceedlnge such as threatening to shoot her with a revolver and with various Indiscretions entirely at variance with bis marital vows, but with squandering all her fortune that he could lay hands upon. Only a fortnight after the marriage, McKee took entire charge of his wife's income, according to her friends, writing checks, which she signed. He ' supposed to meet one-third of the living expenses, l; Is said, but he spent virtually none of his own money. These checks were signed by Mrs. McKee, but wer drawn by him. Often while signing a check for $5000 Mrs. McKee would be la difficulties for lack of a few dollars, her friends assert, but so great was her fear of her husband that she was afraid to draw any cf her own money without his knowledge and consent Extreme cruelty was charged by the wife in th divorce proceedings. McKee. she ssserted. made loy to the maid in their Parts home, and had a habit r wandering over the house In his pajamas. She i ma a number of other sensational assertions to show tn , . romance had deserted r -throne, and . that the eyr , '.'. n va11i1 hv Cunld had b- . opened. The names of oth. 'women have been dragged li. tho llmellsht by the unhapi ' and desperate wife. One might ask. How in '' that this young man brin women so readily to his fee Ills conquests, it Is said, not few. Is he of attractiv personality I Is he tall, con- i manding, handsome and clave as well as fairly rlchT No. He Is short, thin, v 1 Imposing in appearance. 1 tries to be dapper; is usual: carefully groomed and p fumed, . daintily shod m I gloved, and dresses in the a ' proved French fashion tor dj . dies. i t.. He is fond of pointed sboo ; hlgh-walsted coats, flat-brt m . med hats and scented handkri chiefs; affects - an upturm ' moustache and all the oth' things so dear to the heart . , the average French dandy. Who, then, plucked tl lemon the woman who marrlr him or the woman who did not. love and happiness the first was abruptly terminated. by. death was most rudely dissipated by finding that her Idol had clay feet . A laundress, brought before the Pails tribunal to v testify, asserted, It is said, that her services were not called upon tor renovation of Mr. McKee's attire as frequently as she' thought should be the casa There j wero reports ot socks, for Instance, continued In serv-' ice long beypnd the ordinary enlistment of such bom" ble. Infantry soldiers of fortune without having been, referred to a washerwoman. r Charges and recriminations flew fast and furious during the recent divorce suit in the French capital. ( Mrs. McKee felt certain that she was sufficiently ag-? grieved, and thai she . had every ground for separa tion. Cruelty on the : part of the man she had en throned not so Ion ago as tier king: was one ot the . allegations, ?. j.-; r;' -r' . i-.- ' ' But all this does .not answer the questionx Who clucked the lemon? one must go farther back fdr aa answer... ' ," N ', , M? The storv besrlns in Plttaburir. When Andrew Car na-ia decided to make millionaires out of the youni men who had begun as clerks -in his great steel en terprtse, one of the. names on the list of favored ones was Uiac oi juawrence u. rnippi, j.na unci 01 yeuoa Pblpps was already one of Carnegie's partners and a multi-millionaire. ',-.'- , ' ilO tllb HUM5LE CLAM Mf A MEMT i ? - ' It t IS ' 4. 4 , - i . M ! v , ' . A STUNNING BEAUTY The young man married a stunning- beauty Gene vieve Chandler then 19 years old. It was said that all the young women of Pittsburg envied her. The wedding rifts were worth a fortune. . , Two children came. In time, to make the Phipps home happy. It seemed that no family of youngsters had brighter - futures riches almost unending, a splendid establishment handsome and healthy chil dren, a wealthy father and a beautiful mother. . 'I A ..A M.AWA M4nM HAM. m 9m UT..4 I. ' n .. n . there wore voyages de luxe to Europe. For a time every year was crowded with enjoyment while the i family fortune inoreased like a snowball being rolled downhill. Wherever the couple went the stately beau ty of Mra Phipps was admired greatly. , : :, -, There came a time when Mr. Phipps, because Of falling health, removed to Colorado for a time. Den-' ver was destined to be one of the important inileposts alone his lifs's journey. . When young A. Hart McKee. son of wealthy and doting parents, of Pittsburg, finished his course at Princeton with the class of 1900, he returned to the OTtfjs ; Crvrc4 Crofr T' 0 THE aid of art lias come the humble clam ehell; through inventive genius this veil known product oi ' the seashore hag : as sumnci an intfli"pjt.inir tnrl nninna rolft. nven ; if it isn't always on of . beauty. " - t ; - y 'Art itt dam shells I .r Strange how one ever conceived the idea-of such a thing. Yet this idea ,' did occur to a woman, and she has been making clam-shell faces that embrace almost the entire orange of human physiognomy. Wonderful is the. variety of faces that a hand ful of the shells will yield. . Hi 1 ill 'iJJ il H ' . 1 B , 21 MS :.: i sP a jW if I 'A . 1 W. & '' ' V . " iff I if ciir 1 III ' 7. t I 4 -t; ill V G liAM-SHEU. ; pictures ,were' first ' Introduced t the people of Providence, It I., and soon aiterwara to visitors to Narraranaett Pier. brought something new to the attention of the world, invention was spurred by necessity., f . " "I was a poor artist in New York," she says, la tell j lng of the genesis ot the clam-shell faces. "I tried many kinds of work In arUstlc lines, but met only moderate success in each, This did not keep the wolf very far from the door; I often beard him growl while my pictures were drying. : . 'I knew I must do something original if I were to earn a livelihood. But like other commonplace 1 1 v : .v. nueki home of his parents to follow whatever life might be ' n...h. t .1 uYuV woman artist then Miss h a. with v.umi.4 .V '. " J"." r .."T Bertha J. Clark, now Mr Vnm.i. . rv,i.-int.i. ., ail the cH,bV at :once.";moVthemUm.rte. "frt t dolW wTth'cf. Vh.V ffi! tain made' rag the city. V Vi JSL'YSh- -T-.H Presented them to her Anxious mammas angled for him. i ambitious young ' ' IJt, , Z. .1 .b th 'irtnator of this novel women gave hlra their sweetest smiles. At Vst he wh eh her work h" "&0ci " Pl P tell in love-It seemed, sensibly.. His fiance, was Mis. 'Vlt ' niuinla T nAuM nnt hlnlr nf k naval achnma to trv. ' nraiaad it and askad mtt to Uccldentallv. I stumbled over the idea. Being in a Finally I exhibited samples to the buyer in the art of the clam shell. . , ? '-:,'. . "When X returned home I took from a box. some small shells that I had picked up at the seashore be cause ot their beauty. By way of experiment, 1 began drawing-faces upon them. . . r ; r "These seemed so real that Z nested one on a piece of cardboard and drew a body to go with It Then t colored the drawing and found I had something really unique. . . "Friends who eaw myworg wn ins ciam aueus ana asked me to piece tne sneua on saie. &:rejtrcfcf Drfct 1 . downtown store one day I saw a very poor represents tion of a clam- shell, made out of pasteboard, with a face painted on it. It was a poor piece of work, and I was astonished when the storekeeper named 40 cents as- its price. "Back to memory rushed the rag dolls with clam shell faces that I had mad In my youth. Then there dawned upon me, like an inspiration, the possibilities department of a store in Providence, and he ordered six dozen. - . ... . "That was my start it was in 197 and I have been making clam-shell people ever since., In selling, these art products I have traveled a good deal: I have been in twenty-two different states, not counting the etate of starvation.- ' After all, the artist declares, it does not require such a stretch of imagination to defect a f to faoes In clam shells. It is frequently rrn..; : the pansy resembles a face. Certain typss C" r Interestingly portrayed with the shells. "Take, for Instance, the umbo. wUi' ii ' nence on the shell nearest the hmaro, 'l t,t, v, Millie a human chin. Of course, tn.r U o r . In tha eliells that Is found la human cnl.-v "No clam shell, for lnntjinte. h,tx a Auu- t 1 natural corrusrsuon that looks l- artist can easily remedy that. P'w a t - " the shell, and you hav a buassa i c ' with flesn." . ..
