The San Francisco call., 1908-10-31
.KIMBALL G. EASTON
SUED FOR DIVORCE
Wife Declares Contractors Neg
lect Forced Her to Conduct
Public BathhOuse
Warren POrter's Brother in Law
Charged With Failure to
Support Family

OAKLAND, Oct. 30.-Society circles
of Berkeley were startled today by the
announcement that Mrs. Katherine O.
Easton had brought suit for divorce
from Kimball G. Easton, prominent
street construction contractor and
brother in law of Lieutenant Governor
Warren Porter. The family were for
merly members of the college town
smart set.
Accofding to her complaint, which
was filed at San Rafael today by her
attorneys, Wicixes, Schwartz & Powell.
Mrs. Easton has been reduced by her
husbands neglect to conducting a pub
lis bathhouse on the beach at Bolinas,
her present home, where she has like
wise been forced to wash bathing suits
and to sell coffee, sandwiches and ice
cream that she might support herself
and her two young children.
CREDIT WAS CUT OFF
Mrs. Easton complained that her hus-
band had refused to give her money,
had shut off her credit at the stores,
had caused her landlord to eject her
for nonpayment of rent, and had forced
her to move into a shack that he him
self had styled a 'pigsty''
Before her marriage in Berkeley with
Easton in 1892 Mrs. Easton was Kath-
crime Olden, a member of one of the
prominent families of the college COM
munity. There are two children, Doro-
thy Alice Easton, IL years old, and
Katherine, three years younger. In re-
citing her first cause of complaint, neg
lect and failure to provide, Mrs. Easton
said:
Plaintiff is a woman of education,
culture and refinement, and is a student
of music and art All Of her life plain
tiff has been accustomed to associate
with people of a high standard of cul-
ture, education and refinement and has
attempted to raise her two minor chill
dren to an appreciation of such stand
ards"
the complaint set forth that Easton
made a monthly allowance of $40 to
her, but this she said was inadequate
in the first place and in the second
place the allowance was cut off. In July
Easton, the complaint recited, fixed a
schedule of living for his wife and
children, notifying the tradesmen of
Bolinas that he would be responsible
for monthly bills as follows:
Joseph C. Petar general merchandise, $40;
aSes snd nest a dairy 'es
plies, $40; A. Bonaita, rent Of house. SO.
Total $62.
TRADESMAN REFUSED SUPPLIES
Mrs. Easton declared that the first
knowledge she had of this move was
when Petar notified her IN August that
she had run the limit of $40 and he
shut down
THE news spread among the towns
people, greatly to my humiliation com
mented the wife.
Then she was compelled to seek en-
ployment, and a friend gave her the use
of public bathhouse.
The complaint continued that Mrs.
Easton was in i'll health and was fur
ther disturbed to find that the trades
peoples bills, except Pelloninfs, were
not paid for July, August and Septem-
Der. With the rent unpaid she was
forced TO leave and resort to a small
cabin of two rooms.
Mrs. Easton charged that her hus-
band was unfit to have the custody of
their children. for which she asked, as
well as 800 month alimony, counsel
fees and costs. and she said Easton had
salary of $500 a month