Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-15
z WIVES SHOWER
KISSES ON THRICE
MARRIED HUGHES
Pair Pillow Heads on Bigamist's
Breast, and Tears MingIe
with CareSseS
BOTH LOVE ME- HE BOASTS
Prisoner Awaiting Sentence Glib
Iy Talks of Plan to UnraveI
Matrimonial TangIe
LOVE ME- HE BOASTS

Through the efforts Of member of
the Legal Aid society Mrs. Clara Ku-
per Hughes and Mrs Cora Beck
Hughes, wives No. and No. 8, re-
spectively, of Thomas Hughes, the pri-
vate detective, arrested in this city
recently, gave him the surprise of his
life at 2:30 o'clock yesterday after
noon, when on entering the visiting
room at the county Jail he was met
by his two wives standing arm in arm
before him.
Tuesday being visiting day, Mrs.
Hughes No. and Mrs. Hughes No. 8,
accompanied by Mrs. Leland Norton,
superintendent of the Legal Aid So
ciety, entered the sheriffs Office and
secured permits to visit the husband
of the two first named. The man at
the outer door of the jail was puz-
zled when the young women each pre-
sented q pass bearing the information
that she was Mrs. Hughes.
Upon being liberated from his cell
Hughes walked hurriedly to one of
the barred waiting rooms. AS he
turned the corner of the corridor, thus
giving him a view of the two women
whom he had led to the altar, he came
Hughes proved herself equal to the
occasion, for she Immediately stepped
up to the man who had married an
other without first divorcing her, and,
placing her arms around his neck, she
hugged and kissed him for fully
minute. Mrs. Cora Beck Hughes then
burst into tears and turned her back
on the couple.
Mrs. Hughes No. 2, with her arm
still fondly encircling the prisoners
neck, reached out with her free hand
and drew wife No. 8 toward Hughes.
TWO WIVES IN HIS ARMS
Slowly their eyes met and tears
again welled into the womans eyes
Wife No. talked to wife No. 3 in a
low, soothing tone of voice and sud
denly, with suppressed sob, wife No.
threw herself into Hughes arms. The
latter placed an arm lovingly around
each woman and started to lead them
to the row of chairs, but his latest
bride sobbed violently and rushed into
the corridor.
Mrs. Hughes No. ran after her and
was closely followed by the prisoner.
He ,grasped the sobbing woman tightly
and spoke endearing words. 1t seemed
at this juncture as If wife No. was
losing control of herself, for she quick
ly kissed her husband and, accompa-
MED by Carl Beck, a brother of No. 3,
and Mrs. Norton, hurried out of the
Jail to await the coming Of Mrs. Cora
Beck Hughes, who was sobbing with
her head resting on Hughes shoulder.
After remaining in the Jail few
moments she Joined No. 2, her brother
and Mrs. Norton-and taking hold of
wife No. 2's hand, walked down the
street, both appearing more joyous
than when they went into the Jail.
On the departure of the women
Hughes paced up and down the narrow
confines of the waiting room. When
questioned by a Herald reporter he
said:
BIGAMIST TELLS OF LOVE
"I'n tell you how fate and matrimony
have made trouble for me. In 1903 /
was doing private detective work in
Seattle when I met Adelia M. Prather,
daughter of Congressman A. H.
Prather of Missouri. She appeared to
be stranded in Seattle and to earn a
livelihood secured employment as a
waitress in a cafe. After counting her
for thirty days, we were married. but
it appears she thought more of an
other man, and during the summer of
the following year l allowed her to
divorce me. She then went away with
the other man.
During the Christmas season of
1907 I was in Portland, oregon, when
L was employed by some merchants
to search for a girl forger Clara
Kuper answered the description of the
forger, and while talking to her I fell
in love-love at first sight, and we were
welded on February 25, 1908. She was
not the forger. l lived with her for
two months. We continually quar-
relied, and the final breakup came, due
to the fact that I was a supporter of
Roosevelt's ideas on race suicide and
In t1 ND I q M
Irish so you see it was impossible for
us to agree on anything
MEETS THIRD WIFE
"I then came to Los Angeles, and
during the fore part of April of this
year / walked into a restaurant at 124
West First street, between Main and
Los Angeles, I met Annette Beck
there, the restaurant being owned by
her father We began chatting and |
asked her if she had any more at
home like her. She replied that she
had a sister named Cora. The very
next day / met her sister, Cora, and
after our friendship had ripened into
love we decided to wed and were mar
ried on April 16, just about two weeks
and two days after we first met. We
lived happily together till May 12, when
an officer arrested me at San Pedro
on a bigamy warrant sworn to by
Clara kuper Hughes, my secolu Wile'
After l had married Clara Kuper
1 was informed that the marriage was
not legal, due to an irregularity in the
divorce decree granted to my first
wife. I believed that I had married
before the final decree was awarded,
so from that was positive that Clara
and l were not man and wife.
"Clara loves me yet and so does
Cora. When get out of this trouble
I am going to secure a divorce from
Clara and re-marry Cora. Then we
will reside right here IN Los Angeles"
Hughes appeared before Judge Davis
yesterday for sentence, but the court
postponed passing sentence until next
Tuesday, the attorneys for the pris-
oner having applied for his release on
probation If the probation officer
brings in a satisfactory report Hughes
in all probability will be allowed his
liberty.