Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-22
COURTS TO DECIDE
Incubator Baby's Fate Again
in Balance.
FIFTH RULING OF COURTS
Real Mother Has Possession Now of
Her Infant Daughter.
FOUR EVENTFUL YEARS ALIVE
First Stolen by Hospital Matron, Re-
nounced by Parent and
Adopted.

CHICAGO. May o2.-The fate of the ia
nous incubator baby of the ST. Louis
worlds fair will be decided in a few
days by the United States court Of APP
peals at Minneapolis. The decision will
determine finally whether the baby shall
belong to its real mother or to the wom-
an who adopted it,
Four courts already have attempted to
decide this question. An Illinois circuit
court decided the child belonged to its
real mother. The Illinois supreme court
reversed this decision and gave the baby
to its foster parent. A district court in
Kansas decided the little one belonged
to its adopted mother. The Kansas SUI
preme court gave it back to its real
mother.
Real Mother Has Baby.
At present, under the aegis of the Kan
sas upper court. the real mother and
child are living at Sedan Kan.
The incubator baby. now grown to a
pretty girl of four years. was born in a
ST. Louis hospital February L. 1904.
While the mother, Mrs. Charlotte Thomp-
son Bleakley. lay i'll. the hospital matron
stole the baby and sold it to the baby in
cubator company Of the worlds fair. A
dead baby orn in the hospital. 1t is al
legged, was substituted.
Mrs. Bleakley was told her baby died.
The baby in the incubator thrived. Mrs.
James G. Barclay. a wealthy woman of
Buffalo. decided to adopt it. Mrs. Bleak
ley signed a deed waving all claims to
the incubator baby. She was convinced
it was not her child.
: Kidnaps Her Girl.
But Mrs. Bleakey became suspicious
finally. She went to the ST. Louis Hos
pital. where the matron admitted the in
cubator baby was the child born to Mrs.
Bleakley. When she learned the real
mother had come to claim her offspring
Mrs. Barclay fed. it is said. with the in
FAINT from ST. Louis.
She was halted at Rock Island by a
warrant charging her with. kidna ping
to Mrs. Bleakley. who took it to Law
renee, Kan. After appealing the case in
the Illinois court Mrs. Barclay went to
Lawrence and began action to regain pos
session of the child. Judge Smart cf the
district court there decided the adoption
was legal and gave the real mother six
hours in which to surrender the baby.
While a deputy sheriff waited in the
Bleakley home Mrs. Bleakley slipped out
a back way with the child in her arms
and caught an express train. By means
of bogus arrest. 1t is alleged. she had
herself conducted safely past pursuit
through Kansas and Missouri into ILL
nois where the circuit court had recog-
nized the validity of her claims.
Much Money Spent.
For several months she and her child
lived at Rock Island until the supreme
court returned the child to Mrs. Barclay.
Meanwhile an appeal had been taken in
Kansas and the supreme court of that
state upheld the claims of the real moth
err. Mrs Bleakley fled in disguise back to
Kansas. where she now lives.
Mrs. Barclay has spent $4,000 in her
fight for the baby. She calls the child
Dorothy Edith Barclay. It's real mother.
who is poor. has spent 5000 in defending
her claim. She knows the child as Marian
Roberta Bleakley.
Several famous Kansas lawyers have
handled Mrs. Bleakley's case free of
charge. About $500 has been contrib
uted to help, her by public subscription.