, 1886-04-08

Yes, it pays to advertise. The much.
valued spectacles advertised for in ouI
columns the other day came sailing IL
all right. and the overjoyed owner has
| been happy ever since. Last evening a
local was inserted for general housework
by a young woman. This morning
customers We'd with each other to see
wlicl could reach the Office first.
BLACKMAIL LAWSUIT. - Yesterday s
SEATTLE Chronicle says: "a suit was
begun today in the district court by
Catherine Ann Philbrick against Charles
Philbrick. alias Charles w. Phi!brick,
Ellen Prout alias Ellen Philbrick, Torkel
Torjusen, James W. Connor, Fred Rea,
Ann Nichols, John w FuGe and
Anthony Prongua, involving the title to
considerable real estate in Port Town
send and Jefferson county. Plaintiff
alleges that she is nov &C years OF age,
and that she was married to Charles
Philbrick, July -, 1871, IN New York
city. In I84S they moved to Chica go,
where they accumulated little property,
which she was induced to sign deed
for by Philbrick's Misrepresentation
He then deserted her, taking the money
realized from the property. This was IN
1867. Afterwards she found him living
in Port Townsend with Ellen PrOut,
whom he claimed as his wife. Plaintiff
e. ,3iygr,InTiny nf matrimonial
bonds; that the property now owned by
Philbrick be declared community prop
erty, and that the cOnveyances by
Philbrick and Ellen Prout be declared
fraudulent and void and those holding
property under them be Gdjudged to
have no interest and be dispOssessed OF
title. The other defendants hold prop
erty conveyed to them by PhIlbrlck and
Ellen Prout". Philbrick and the woman
who claimed to be bis wife came to Port
Townsend in 1873 and purchased the
ARGUS newspaper Office from the late
Alfred B. Pettygrove. They were both
printers, and the property was held in
the woman's name, bat the paper
appeared with "Chas W Philbrick" as
publisher. In April, 1877, the present
editor ard publisher of the paper pur-
chased it from them. They had in few
years accumulated considerable property,
although rumor had it that they had
found q sum of money about the old
Buckley property (uow Torjusen's corner
which they had purchased when the
estate was sold. Be this as it may, they
had done all their own work on the
little paper, and, by iudiciousIy selling
its political influence in each campaign
to the highest bidder, had no doubt
accumulated considerably III that way.
Soon Mrs. Philbrick was loaning money
to the county, buying real estate, getting
mortgages, &c. Everything was bought
and sold in the woman's name and sales
were made by ELLEN Philbrick and
husband" Many suspicioned wrong
doing somewhere, but it was not until
the Philbricks had sold out and gone to
Portland that family came to town, the
young wife claiming to he Philbrick's
daughter. The former deserted, neglected
and wronged wife has been on track of
her faithless husband all these years, il
seems, and has just begun suit for
divorce and dover. She had, however,
corresponded with attorneys here, none
of whom would undertake an unjust
blackmail action against innocent pur-
chasers OF real estate coming through
the hands of the Philbricks. We learn
that the notorious George Venable Smith
and one w. w. Newlin, dissolute
attorney, both of Seattle, are the sweet
scented pair who have undertaken the
suit. 1t will probably cause the unfor-
tunate purchasers some expense for
lawyers fees. but will not harm them
otherwise. The land YVES all bought and
sold by ELLEN Philbrick," and if the
man who was joined with her in making
deeds, as her husband, was not in fact
her husband, it is difficult to see what
legal interest he could have in the prop
erty. It is all right for the poor injured
wife to seek her rights, but those rights
would hardly be secured by trying to
Iniure innocent people who have paid
hard coin value for their property.
[Later-Since writing the foregoing we
learn that Messrs. Bradshaw & Sachs
have been retained by most OF the prop
erty owners, and that they say there is
no just cause of action.