Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-04-21
MORGAN DIVORCE SUIT
PLAINTIFF TELLS OF HUSBANDS
CONFESSION ABOUT WOMAN.
Wife's Letters Read to Show She Was
Enjoying Herself When Supposed
to Be Recuperating.

ty yesterday at White Plains, N Y. lis
tened to Edith Parsons Morgan, his wife
while she told under oath her story of
their repeated interviews on the subject
Of their marital troubles
mrs Morgan Is seeking a legal separa-
tlon from her husband on the ground of
cruelty and desertion The telling of the
assertion was simplicity itself, consisting
as 1t did in the admission by Mr. Morgan
tnat ne took three Of their four children to
Pennsylvania
MIS- Morgan on the witness stand yes
terday said that she paid her own expenses
Tor five months trip to Europe for
winch she left on May 16, 1903. For the
year ended May %, 1904, when he left
with the children for Pennsylvania. she
said that she received from her husband
only S260O The only other expense he
contributed, she declared, was the house
rent of 50 30
Mrs Morgan said that her husband told
her that since he married her in 1856 he
mad lost $60OOO0. of which 100000 was his
own and $3O0,OOO was of his fathers es-
tate.
At Lunch With Another Woman.
Mrs. Morgan told, after objection by
Mr.. Wellman, that she had asked Mr. Nor
gan in the summer of 1890 If he had ever
lived with any other woman. He said
he had.' she testified. Il asked if he
loved any other woman and he said no.
When witness inquired where her hus-
band had been in the company of other
women she said he replied that 1T was
nobody she knew"
Il went to the Manhattan Hotel in Feb
ruary, 1904, with my daughter Edith" con-
tinued Mrs. Morgan. ito luncheon at 1
O'Clock l saw him at luncheon with a
woman l did not know She added that
Morgan was seen by little Edith
What is popsy doing up here at this
time?' the child had inquired.
He came over to the table, said he
was glad to see me and then went back
to luncheon with the strange woman.
I asked him what he thought of him
self and he said he would go to lunch in
some other place 1 told him it was not
a good thing for Edith to see. He told
me he had met the woman with friends
on the West Side, but did not name the
friends.
|. Il asked him If he had ever been with
any other woman besides the one with
whom he had said he lived and he said
no. He also told me he had not specu-
lated since he promised not to-
Two weeks later he admitted that he
had lived with another woman" Mrs. Nor
gan said, "and he told me the first one
had married and gone out west. / taxed
him with setting a bad example to the
children and he said 1t worried him.
Declared Husband Lost 100000.
Mr.. Taft's last question was whether or
he went to the room of Augustine Coste,
the maid, at her mistress request cor
rect
NO" said Mrs. Morgan.
Mr.. Wellman in cross-examination asked
Mrs Morgan whether she remembered the
details of the visit to Augustines room.
Perfectly" she said.
Turning to her testimony to Mr.. Nor
gan's alleged speculatons. Would you be
willing" he asked, Ito charge the father
OF your children with dishonesty"
Il heard 1t from my father, who investf-
gated the matter, and, besides, Mr.. Morgan
told me he had lost 100000"
Didn't you know that Mr.. McIlvaine,
your fathers partner, investigated the trust
fund and found that not dollar was
touched and there was $367.o in cash?'
II knew nothing of that"
Mr.. Wellman, Mr.. MOrgan's lawyer read
letter from Mrs, Morgan to her husband
after she went to Washington in January.
1903 The tone of the letter was friendly,
and in the course of it she asked him to
consult Tom about investing in General
Electric, Mr.. Wellman asked why she
wrote this if she had demonstrated with
Mr.. Morgan for specializing.
Il told him to consult Mr.. McIlvaine," she
replied, for advice
1t said that Mrs. Morgan discharged
the servants in the house of Mr.. Morgan's
mother at Washington. In letter written
from her mother-in-law's home she wrote:
THE butler here is simply an idiot and a
dirty one, too, and the maid is wretched."
She denied she had caused the discharge of
these incompetentS.
In letter written four days later she
spoke of looking for French butler and
spoke of the idiot" butler as having turned
out the lights in the dining room before the
family got out
Butler Locked Her Out.
On another night, she said. the butler
locked her out at 1870 o'clock and kept her
waiting on the stoop. In other letters she
spoke of her accounts and said she would
try to squeeze through March" on 5000,
since she was under no expense" in
Washington. Six days later a letter an
nounced the departure of the butler.
Mr.. Weilman said his object in reading
the letter was to show also Mrs. Morgan'S
state of health after she had distinctly
stated she was resting from the fatigue of
acting as governess to the children for
month. The letter described games of
squash, theater parties, walks and din
ners.
81 have been out nearly every evening"
said one such communication. In the same
letter she spoke of her plan for going to
Europe as great fun
In the complaint made under oath and
submitted in the divorce action it was
stated that .'cruel treatment broke down
Mrs MorganS health and caused her to
go to Eruope for five months This she
repeated in her testimony on direct ex-
animation.
Mr.. Weiiman asked ner now she made
this agree with her statement in the let
tiers.
WAS it to be great fun?' asked Mr.
Wellman.
No" was the reply.
In response to question by Mr.. Well
man, Mrs. Morgan declared that she had
done her best to live with Mr.. Morgan as
a wife.
She told the court that after December,
1902 although they lived in the same house,
they had not lived as husband and wife.
Mrs. Morgan replied in the affirmative to
the question whether or not the care of
the three children, aged six, eight and ten,
without a governesS constituted, in her
opinion, cruel treatment and broke her
health Although she had had eight gov
ernesses one after the other, in one winter,
she did not consider herself eXacting about
the servants.