The Red Cloud chief., 1903-10-09
IN PHILIPPINE Y
A Supposed Marriage to One of Uncle
Sans Soldiers.

First Lieutenant Sidney S. Burbank.
Sixth infantry. stationed at Fort
I.eavenworth. Kansas, has filed n suit
in the Leavenworth county dis Tjct
court. to have a pretended marriage
with Mrs. Conception Vazques. a Fiji
Pine woman, annulled. The petition in
the cas- Is brief. but 1t is out of the
ordinary. 1t says IL part:
Mrs. Conception Vazques will take
notice that she has been sued and that
the plaintiff has fled his petition
against her in said court for annull-
ment Of the pretended marriage on
tract. and that she must answer the
petition before November 4, 1903, or
said petition will be taken as true and
judgment will be rendered against her
accordingly Of the following nature,
to-wit:
Judgment that the pretended mar
riage contract claimed by the defend
ant with the plaintiff be set aside as a
forgery, a nullity and a fraud upon
this plaintiff, and that all pretended
public documents in the municipality
Of V%alladolid. Occidental Negros. in
the Philippine islands. or elsewhere,
pertaining to such alleged marriage.
be Cancelled and declared utterly null
and void, and that said defendant he
declared to have nc right or claim
upon the plaintiff or his property"
The filing of this suit Is the out
come of a charge made by Mrs. Naz-
ques to the war department in the
spring that Lieutenant Burbank had
married her while in the Philippine
service as an officer. and that she was
his lawful wife and she wanted him
to support her. The first notice of the
alleged marriage was made public
about two months after the announce
ment Of the engagement Of Lieutenant
Burbank to a young society girl OF
Leavenworth.
The story OF the Filipino marriage
of Lieutenant Burbank. which he pro-
claims is a fraud, comes from Valla-
dolid province. where Lieutenant Bur-
bank was In command OF a garrison OF
United States troops in 1901. Mrs.
Vazques. who was a widow with three
small children, lived in the village
where the garrison was located. 1t is
said her Filipino husband was killed
by the Spaniards.
Lieutenant Burbank came to Fort
I~.eavcnworth a year ago and less than
six months ago a report followed that
he vas married to a Filipino woman
Lieutenant Burbank was startled with
this report, which came to him through
the war department at Washington.
Lieutenant Burbank denied the truth
of 1t. The Filipino widow followed
this up by filing copies of a document
p%urporting to be a marriage contract
with Lieutenant Burbank.
To Offset this Lieutenant Burbank
and Corporal Burns sent affidavits TO
the war department stating that Lieu
tenant Burbank was not in the village
but was out on a campaign at the date
of the pretended marriage. Also that
there was no notice of the marriage
posted or announced by the town crier
going up and down the streets of the
village and proclaiming 1t according
to the Filipino custom and that the
pretended marriage is a fraud and any
document to back 1t a forgery.
IL is said that Lieutenant Burbank's
solution of the affair is hat a Justice
of the peace or president of the viii
lage where he commanded the troops
was imprisoned for six months for in
subordination; that the justice had
charge of the records and in his anger
and to get ever with him Lieutenant
Burhank) permitted the woman to APP
ply for and make out a marriage GER
tificate. His object in filing suit here
is to clear up his record. According
to the Kansas divorce laws the woman
has forty days to answer. She will
not have time to do SO, as it would
require at least three months to pre-
pare any defense and file it by a per-
son now living in the Philippines.