The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1904-05-11
HAS COME TO GRIEF
sLADDEN, FORMER EUGENE
MAN is CHARGED WITH
SWINDLING.
Supposed to Have Murdered Num-
Der of Wives with Chloroform
s Married First in Salem
but Was Divorced
Now in Jail in
Kentucky.

NOW III jail III
Kentucky.
- ss4sssa-~
Las Angeles. May IA start
ling story which may develop into
one of mystery, came to light in
Los Angeles today. The chief fig
ure in it is Sidney S. Sladden. He
was once resident of this city. He
is now a prisoner in the county Jail
at Louisville, KY, charged with
having swindled the Pacific Life
Insurance Company, Of which he
was general agent in Kentucky.
Special Policeman Charles l..
Foster, who for ten years has been
on Sladden's trail, is authority for
the statement that effort is being |
made to prove that Sladden, once
the most dashing man about-town,
is guilty of wife murder. His first
wife, who is now living in East Or
ange, N. j.. declares that before
she divorced Sladden he tried twice
to kill her with chloroform.
DR.. T. L. Magee, of San Diego,
certified that the second Mrs. S1ad-
denis death was due to natural
causes. Mrs. Sladden No. 1 is pos
tive in her declaration that her
husband not only tried to poison
her, but that he did poison his sec,
ond wife. Another one of Slad-
denis wives, into whose sudden
death inquiry is now being made,
was a young Chicago woman, who
at the time Sladden married her,
had two children.
In addition to these three wives
Sladden has twice been the hus-
band of Miss Wilson, of Washing
ton, D. c., and of a young woman
who died suddenly in Louisville
j two months before he married Miss
Wilson.
Sidney S. Sladden, at one TINA
in his career, was we'll known in
the Willamette Valley. He was in
business in Eugene, where, with his
father, he was engaged in the gro
. Gerry business, and where his father
and mother still reside. While liv.
r ing in Eugene Sladden was consid-
, cred the beau of the valley. He
: dressed better than most of the
: young men in those days and was
in great demand in all the social
3 affairs, both at Eugene and at Sa'
=. lem.
Charley as he was called, during
E one of the many social visits he
. made to Salem, met, fell in love
f with and married Miss Nellie Gil
bert, in the latter part of 1890. Mis-:
l Gilbert was at the time one of Sa
9 lem's social leaders, and the mar.
\ riage was locked upon as a gooo
e one. 1t was not long, however, be-
! fore the young couple began t.
0 quarrel. Sladden aud his wife liv
ed about a year together, when, tt
s the surprise of every body, Mrs
] Sladden began proceedings for {
}. divorce, charging her husband with
: cruel and inhuman treatment
Sladden did not contest the proceed
o ing and a divorce was granted.
d Soon after this Sladden went cas-
q and his Eugene friends heard latel
d that he was located in Chicago
G The next heard Of him was that b
q had gone to St. Louis. Througl
f friends it was learned that he hat
j. again married and that his secon,
J, wife had died of tuberculosis.
u was not. long after this that Sladdel
Ie gave his Oregon friends anothe
g surprise by enlisting for service il
the Philippines in one of the Cal
It fornia regiments. This was in 1895
l. He served about year, secured hi
discharge and returned to oSanFrar
1T cisco. On his return to this cour
a try he visited his mother and fail
ID er at Eugene, but he did not sta
q long, and the next thing heard {
,e him was that he was local manage
1e of the Pacific Mutual Life Insurant
j. company, with offices at Louisvill
g KY. !.
o. Less than year ago be had ID.
at ing visit to Portland, on busines
Il but was called back before the tri
I'd was over. While living in Kel
tucky he made several visits
e Washington, D. c., to see b
o. daughter, who was attending one
re the convent schools at the capita
His third marriage took place
couple of months ago. It was
sudden affair, and Sladden and
at bride took trip to Europe.
had no sooner sailed than it W