The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-12-03
ANSWER MADE To
CASTELLANE' SUIT
Counsel For Princess de Sagan
Is Bitterly Sarcastic
MORALS ARE DISCUSSED
5rOadside Attack Is Made Upon soni
de casteIIane's Motives In Bring
ing Suit and Upon His Nor
atty In General.
MORALS ARE DISCUSSED

Paris, December 2.--The Princess De
Sagan who was Miss Anna Gould of
New York. had her inning in court to-
day in the hearing of the case brought
by her former husband, Count Boni De
Castellane. to have the three children
of the union placed in the custody of
his mother, the Marqulse De Castellane
The first hearing took place last week
and M. Bonnet, counsel for the count
set forth, by statements, allegation and
insinuation, that the atmosphere of the
De Sagan household was detrimental to
the proper bringing up of the three
De Castellane boys.
During the afternoon hundreds of
women. including some of the most
prominent members of the French So
clety and the American and English
colonies In Paris, literally fought In
the corridors in the palace to gain ad-
mission to the crowded court room
where the side of the princess was
presented by Mr.. Clemenceau. without
essaying the impassioned oratorical
role played by NJ. Bonnet last week. NJ.
Clemenceau coolly and calmly, but with
cutting irony and keen ridicule, met
the accusations brought against the
Princess De Sagan, whose character he
insisted was blameless He mercilessly
scored the record and character of the
Count De Castellane and said he was
wholly unfit to have the custody of his
children. He charged that the real
purpose of the count was to raise
money and satisfy his vengeance on
the Prince and Princess De Sagan,
even at the expense of the children,
to poisin. Neither the Prince e~Sagan
nor the count was present in court.
Court Room Crowded.
The court room today was more
crowded than last week. NJ. Clemen-
ceau in presenting the princess side
of the case emphasized the fact that
the courts of France had always de-
cided that second marriage did not
affect the rights of parents with re-
gard to their children even in cases
where this second marriage was with
the alleged accomplish in adultery. NJ.
Clemenceau then summed up the con-
tentions of the princess as follows:
THE count had formally declared
that he would withdraw the suit if the
princess separated from her husband.
The facts that the count had offered
to prove were irrelevant, and even if
they were established they had no
bearing upon the education of the chill
dreh Furthermore, these allegations
were denied by the princess. The count
was inspired less by solicitude for the
welfare of his children than by per-
sonal hatred and financial connection.
The princess since her marriage to her
present husband. has fulfilled In every
way her duty toward her children. She
had not sought to ALLEVIATE their af-
fections from their father. On the
other hand the count had committed
the objectionable fault of bringing out
the present scandal to the detriment of
the children he had used language
which .humiliated' their tutor and in
letter sto them he had called De Sagan
a bandit. M. Clemenceau then denied
that De Sagan, since his marriage, had
in any way interfered with the educa-
ton of the children. Consequently he
asked the court, taking into considera-
ton the princess expressed decara-
ton that she never had opposed and
would not oppose In the future the ex-
ercise of the counts legal rights over
the education of the children, provided
only that he did not attempt to poison
their minds and to dismiss the suit.
chauffeur's Testimony.