Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-03-02
PAIR HELD AS BABY FARMERS
AMERICAN WOMAN MAINTAINS
SHE ADOPTED THEM.
Declares Her Love-Punished Them,
But Never Was Cruel, She Says.
Scandal in France.

PARIS, March 2.-The police authorities
are still busily engaged with the case OF
the Englishman, Sargent. and his wife. ar
rested at Asnieras recently. charged with
the gross ill-treatment of four children
whom they had adopted. Developments
today indicate that the husband alone was
responsible for the ill-treatment Of the
children.
1t has been learned that Mrs. Sargent's
maiden name was Josephine Savin. She
Is an American.
1t turns out that Mr.. Sargent is addict.
ed to heavy drinking, especially absinthe.
RMS. Sargents brother. who also lived
near Paris with his wife. a dressmaker
insists that there is nothing mysterious
about his sisters past life.
Both were born in New York. he said
today, and his sister receives an allow
ance from her father, who is rich. He
intimated that his sisters love of chill
dren amounted to a passion; might al
most be described as ''mothermania."
Any ill-treatment Of the little ones must
be laid to the door Of the husband. who
frequently was not responsible on &C.
count Of his condition.
NJ Viraut, Mrs. Sargents lawyer, IN
sists emphatically on his clients disinter-
ested love of children. During the five
hour examination of yesterday Mrs. Sar-
gent did not cease to protest her inno-
cence of the charges of ill-treatment.
with the case They claim that the devel-
opments indicate the probability OF q
great scandal.
The chief energy Of the authorities is
directed to tracing the parentage OF the
children abandoned to the custody OF
the Sargents. They announce that Mrs
Sargent claims that the eldest child, who
was SO brutally beaten that she IS no"
in a hospital, is named Mary Ann Edg'
worth. and that she was born October
49, 1850, in Newark. N. ].
The authorities also say that the woman
insists that she Is the daughter OF q
Frenchman named Savin and an Amer.
lean woman, who now live In the UniteC
States. and that they forward her eacf
year $3.50 as an allowance. she re-
fused, however, to give the maiden name
of her mother or the present residence
Of her parents.
Before an examining magistrate the
woman declared that she had not NAL
treated the children-that she had only
chastised them when punishment wa:
necessary. She said she had adopted the
children because she loved them.
There were violent scenes In the court
room between the accused couple ane
the servants the latter charging the WON
an with being prevaricating monster
Sargent collapsed when the magistrate
was examining him and was removed
from the courtroom in semi-consciou:
condition.
The police say they have established
the fact that the youngest child adopted
by the Sargents was born in November
at the Holy Trinity Lodge, an Anglo
American institution. the membership OF
which is composed of English and Amer
| lean girls.
| The official register gives the name Of
the child as Kenneth Edgminster. a sor
| of Mabel Johnson. In December, after
| having verified excellent references giver
by the Sargents, the lodge turned over
! this child to the couple.