The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-03-10
MIXED THOSE CHILDREN Up.
The Percentage of Two Little Ones
in Dispute.

The curious instance Of a father
pleading for the possession Of his two
children develops from the petition Of
writ OF habeas corpus filed in the dis
tr1ct court yesterday morning by DR.
Martha G. Ripley. The case promises
to be one Of the most remarkable on
record, and the circumstances sur
rounding it are Of such a nature as to
create sympathy for both sides The
writ was demanded for the purpose Of
securing possession of two little girls,
who are claimed by Charles O. Hunt
resS, eX-assistant city engineer, as his
lawful children. The demand is made
by Maternity hospital, of which Dr.
Ripley stands as the representative
ana the highly interesting and roman
tlcaIly colored story is contained in the
afhdavit and petition. The suit has
transpired since the death Of Mrs.
Huntress, which occurred Sunday
morning at the residence which Mr..
Huntress and family have been occu-
plying, I'll Fifteenth avenue southeast.
Under oath DIR. Ripley declares that
Charles 0. Huntress has in restraint
and custody from their lawful guar
dams Innis Colin and Matilda Brown.
The one was born March z 1891. tina
ether April %, 1893, both in Maternity
hospital, out of wedlock and their
fathers unknown.
On the one hand DR.. Ripley claims
that Mrs Huntress, now deceased.
came to her personally to secure pos
session Of the children, a possession
which should be temporary inasmuch
as thechildren should be cared for af-
ter the foster mothers death, should
the foster father not be in a position 20
care for them. Those contending for
the repossession Of the children main
tain that the two babes, within two
of hnr In Opcc q
others, were placed in the care of the
wife of the man who asserts that he Is
their father, with the understanding
that the children should be known as
her own, and that the deception should
be maintained in the eyes of the world.
On the other hand, Mr.. HuntreSs avoWs
ne is the legitimate father of the chill
dren, and that he will not be separated
from them. OF the two girls the
younger is now with Mr.. Huntress. the
other in Kansas, where the family re-
sided during several years after Mr..
Huntress retired from his office of CITY
engineer. Habeas corpus proceedings
have been instituted by Maternity hos
pltaI in order to provide another home
for the children, as, in the opinion OF
the plaintiff, Mr.. Huntress is not in
position to give them desirable advan-
tages of home and education. The hos,
pltal people state that the children
were given to the wife that the hus-
band might be deceived into the belief
that thy We're his, in order to complete
the family circle, which at that time
included two adopted boys. The de-
mand of the hospital representatives
for the children was met by a refusal
from Mr.. Huntress on the ground that
he believed the children were his. and
to settle the question an appeal was
made to the courts. Judge Steele has
When seen yesterday morning Mr..
HuntresS had little to advance except
the honestly expressed belief that the
two children are his. He claims that
hVe years ago his wife gave birth to a
baby girl, that the child has lived
with them since as member of the
family, and that his wife never gave
him the least suspicion that things
were not as represented Two years
later, he says, She gave birth to a.
second girl and the two have been
cherished in his home with the great
est affection. He feels it would be an
act of cruelty to separate the children
from him, as they have implicit love
Tor him and believe him to be their
father. He argues Furthermore that.
as he believes the children are his,
he will not surrender them without
the strongest opposition He attributes
the move of the hospital people to a.
conspiracy to take the children from
MIN. He says: 1T will prove the hard
est work any one ever attempted. What
animus prompts this effort to break up
my family Is not known to me. 1t Is
very puzzling. My wife could have
no reason for deceiving me and never
suggested even that she was not their
mother. I intend to resist the attennt
to deprive me Of the children to the
last degree and will not give them up.
DR.. Ripley claims 1 am not a fit per-
son to look after them. I do not un-
derstand why that fact was not dis
covered before, If 1t is a fact. The
elder girl was in my family five years
and the fact has been known to DR..
Ripley. Indeed, am better able 20
properly care for my children at the