Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1918-09-29
GRANTS
DECREE ASKED
BY {. s. MELLtN
Former Railroad President
Justified in Living Apart
From Wife on Ground
She Deserted Him.

New York. New Haven & Hartford
Railroad company, in living apart
from his wife, katherine Lloyd Liv-
ingston Mellen, on the ground that
he had deserted him, was handed
own in probate court today.
The attorney for Mrs. Mellen
rgued that she had written the
Kitten" letters which figured in the
Ease, merely to test the love of her
husband and show him that she
could receive the attentions of an
bther man.
Mr.. Mullen lived in Omaha in
1850, while assistant general man
ager of tie Union Pacific system,
but that does not enter into the case.
4 The chief feature OF the testimony
offered by Mr.. Mellen was a stack
| OF about so Photographic copies of
letters received from Mrs. Margaret
Brown of New York. the wife of
H. Douglas Brown, assistant man.
ager of the Vanderbilt hotel, New
York, purportng to have been writ
ten by Mrs. Mellen to Mr.. Brown.
The letters written between 1913
and the end of 1914 are but a part
Of those Mrs. Mellen is alleged to
have sent to Mr.. Brown. They
form the basis for Mr.. Mellen's
suit for separation and decree
of living apart from Mrs. Mellen.
The epistles lost nothing in their
dramatic reading by John w. Grim
of New York, Mr.. Mellen's attor-
ney.
Mellen Tells of Diseord.
Mr.. Mellen testified to his pur-
chase OF property in Stockbridge,
Mass, and his having had an apart
ment at the Vanderbilt hotel. He
said that he had protested against
Mrs. Mellen's frequent visits to
New York and that when they con-
tinued he had cut off her allowance
of $4,000 a year.
"The conduct Of the children"
Mr.. Mellen testified, referring to
two daughters, Priscilla and Can
dace, who are II and IS years old,
was very bad. They were hanging
around the postofice and one was
peddling newspapers in the streets
thought the conduct improper for
children whose parents were situat-
ed as we were"
Mr.. Mellen testified that Mrs.
Mellen, who had an income of more
than ST. 900 a year from the estate
of her parents, continued to go to
New York and stay as long as she
pleased. She went at least once a
month. He kept no track of her
mcYements. He only learned of
he'd going through the children or
thd servants. She had no expense
io1 transportation when he was in
~ railroad business. Mrs. -Mellen
: Was last in Stockbridge on Septem-
Der II, 1917.
Y Mr.. MeTlen testified to having
met Mrs. Margaret Brown in the
general parlor of the Belmont hotel,
New York. and having received
there the letters ALLEGED to have
been written by Mrs. Mellen to Mr..
Brown. These letters were deliver
ed to Mrs. Mellen's attorney. An
son McCook Beard in New York.
after they had been photographed
and on demand Of Mrs. Brown.
Mrs. Mellen's Alleged Letters.
Mrs. Mellen's alleged letters to
Mr.. Brown. as read by Mr.. Grim,
were in part as follows:
Sunday afternoon.
Douglas Dear:
Thank YOU so much for taking
me to the Dalla Robia room on Sat-
urday and showing me those won.
derful tables. The room looks
lovely, dear. II you could do some
thing like that ever once in a while
it would be lovely. There could be
no talk and yet we would be seen
together.
Douglas. your talk to me on Fri
day noon was little hard, but, dear,
il was what l needed and my actions
since then have been different. And
dear it has worked wonders. M. is
like new man. l really have never
seen anything like it. On Friday
when he came to the hotel from his
Office he was like dog that had
been whipped. He sank into chair
all exhausted. I went to help him.
said: You are tired. Now, would
It not help you little to talk things
over with me- He looked at me,
dear. Then he began to talk.
Il sympathized with him. And I
tried to cheer him all l could. We
went to dinner. When we had
finished he said, I am SO tired. Do
you mind if | 60 to the rooms?' l
said. No, by all means 60 I
finished. ThenI went to the Mar
shalls' table and had a cocktail with
them. then went up. We sat in
the salon and talked a little. AT
last he said, I am so tired I'm 60
ing to bed He went to his room.
In few minutes followed.
THE shade in the little candle by
his bed was crooked. / Strengthened,
and for something to say said. The
shade is on the blink He then
said: Kitty, Kitty, everything is on
the blink and l am all in He was
terribly responded. | went to him
and | took his hand. l said, Now,
look here. Don't loose your nerve
said, Buck up you will win this
all right Kitty, l have not lost
my nerve. said, No, and you are
not going to-
Morgan's Funeral.
1--WE went to bed. In the morning
he came to me. He was smiling.
You would not think he was the
same man. l looked at him and
said, You are feeling better today
He smiled and said. Very much
Since then, dear, he has been like
new man. He has talked all his
matters over with me and just be-
fore he left this afternoon to at
tend Mr.. Morgan's funeral he came
m me- aud sa;d suou, mould ,,o,,