The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-01-25
Two Notable Cases.

The divorce cases of ex-senator Sprague
and Ex-senator Christiancy are likely to fur
nish material for unlimited scandal. In the
latter case there was great disparity in
years. Senator Christiancy was an old man
when he left the bench and was transferred
TO the Senate of Michigan. He was a widower
with children grown up, one of them was
nearly as old as the woman whom h sought
in marriage. He courted a "Treasury girl"
and married her. 1t was nothing to her detri-
ment That she was poor and that she was liv-
ing by honorable industry. The young lady
was congratulated as having made a ''good
catch" For a poor girl to marry a Senator
was considered a notable event. The Seaa-
tor was congratulated extensively on having
married so young and handsome a lady. 1t
turned out to be a case of mismating, with
rather more than the usual infelicity. The
ill-assorted match was very soon breeding
gossip of another sort. The Senator was not
rich; in fact, he was so poor that he was glad
to resign his seat on the promise of a second
or third class mission to a South American
republic. Then came days of discord, of
mutual recriminations, of separation and
finally, action and cross-action were begun for
divorce. Statements were made for and
against each party which were probably not
true, or only true in part. A man who had
held the highest judicial Office in his state and
was ClSCICu W Uuc IcuCEdl SCuate, anu VINO
was never charged with any official corrup-
ton, and whose poverty was rather in favor
of his honesty, could not become suddenly, at
his time of life, altogether bad. He might
have been poor, infirm and petulent. But the
''Treasury girl" took him for better or for
worse, and it would seem that her heart was
not in alliance beyond the advantages of posi-
ton which she might attain thereby. 1t is a
pity that such an ill-assorted match could not
be dissolved without so much scandal.
The Sprague case has been made still more
notorious. There can hardly be a question
that Kate Sprague, the daughter of the late
Chief Justice Chase, and known years ago
as one of the most brilliant women of the
country, possessing a great deal of her fathers
talent, and who was as dear to him as the
apple OF his eye-is the victim Of all ill-assort-
ed match. Sprasue was never at any time
her equal, and Kate Chas, would have,
secretly or openly have despised any such
man with whom a matrimonial alliance had
been made. Sprague, however was reputed
to be rich. The great manufacturing firm of
which he was a member rated its property at
from $6,00O,0OO to $4,000, 600. Sprague
made a good enough record as Governor of
the miniature state of Rhode Island. But as
a senator he was a weak man comparatively;
though his vote was generally counted on the
right side. His utterance which, although not
original, will be remembered the longest,
was the epigram, ''There is nothing so
cowardly as a million dollars except ten
millions" Sprague failed in business. The
firm was involved in hopeless bankruptcy,
and it has been many years in winding up.
The Ex-Governor took to hard drinking. He
became utterly reckless, going from bad to
worse. The proud, willful and ambitions
wife was a disappointed woman. She had
married in part to crafty her father, whose
towering political ambition saw in Sprague a
man who could help him to the Presidency.
The Chief Justice died: Itwould have been
a good thing for Kate, if Sprague had died
years ago. The besotted and crazed man
lives to perpetrate a great scandal. 1t is a
pity that shert work could not be made of
such a case. Marriage in this country is, BY
law, only a contract. Conceding that there
is good cause, such a contract ought to be dis
solved without the necessity of raking up al
the miserable stories which have been In
vented to blacken the reputation of these
mistaken peoples. F. Bulletin.