The Washington times., 1919-05-11
He'd Down BY the Rigid ParslmO
of Her Rich Banker Father,
the Late Luther Kountze, Will
She Now Liven Up Social 4
Life with the
Millions She
Has Recently
Inherited?

WELVE years ago the most beauti-
full debutante of her year, Miss
- Annie Kountze, daughter of Luther
married to ]. Gordon Douglas, son of the
William P Douglases, of New York. 1t
was a splendid wedding. st. Thomas's
Church was crowded with the leaders of
fashionable society, and fortune in gifts
was showered on the young people.
From social and worldly viewpoint it
was a perfect marriage. The man had
family. social prestige and all the per-
sonal traits that make for great social
success. The girl came of plain people
on her fathers side, but her mother was
well born, and she had beauty and, of
course, a huge fortune at her back.
To-day Mrs. Douglas, still beautiful, the
mother of two small sons and heiresS to
nearly half of her banker fathers many
millions, is suing Gordon Douglas for an
absolute divorce, and all Newport and New
York society is on the alert for interesting
developments. She asks the custody Of
her two boys and gives as grounds ex-
IRENE cruelty wickedness and failure to
provide necessaries.
The first great question agitating New
port is what use Mrs. Douglas will make
Of her marital freedom and her recent &C
QUESTION of the fortune left her by her
father, Luther Kountze.
Will Mrs. Douglas, freed at last from a
fathers parsimony and husband she had
grown to abhor, cut the wide swath so
cially she has long yearned to do?
Will she take her position in New York
and Newport as a lavish hostess and
leader in the young married crowd?
Her divorce accomplished, will Mrs.
Douglas marry again?
If so, who is the man?
Will she take a large house on the cliffs
and a mansion on Fifth avenue and live
in accordance with the wealth left her by
her father?
The answers to these questions are
awaited with keen interest by fashionable
New York and Newport.
Society expected all this to happen
years ago when she and Douglas were
first married. Luther Kountze, however,
was then living, a more or less despotic
= husband and father, who counted every
dollar his family spent. Having made
every cent of his great fortune he refused
to let his family squander it On social
frivolities. OF course, he had a famous
estate out in New Jersey and lived as a
northumberland should.
Mr.. Kountze was perfectly willing to
spend a fortune to keep this place up, and
he was equally willing to make a home
here for his daughter and her husband,
but he simply would not give her the
money TO set up a spectacular home and
to dress as she wanted to. In many ways
kindly father, he was adamant when it
came to placing a large income in his
daughters hand
But Luther Kountze died few months
ago.
His will left everything to his wife. his
son, Major de Lancey Kountze and Mrs.
Douglas His other daughter, Helen. who
married Robert Livingstone fourteen years
ago, died within a year. leaving no chill
dren. So the Kountze wealth is divided
in only three parts. Mrs. Douglas receives
for the present about ten millions; her
mothers share of the estate is to be
divided at her death between the son and
daughter, so that eventually Mrs. Douglass
share will approximate twenty millions.
Frankly, society has been locking for a
divorce in the Douglas family for several
years-ever since. in fact, Mr. Kountze's
strictness regarding money interfered
with their social plans. Before the birth
Of the second and last child-Sonny is
now eight years Old-Mrs. Douglas spent
a great deal of time away from her hus-
band, and her mother and brother were
kept busy patching up affairs between the
young people After Sonnys birth things
simmered down somewhat, due. undoubt-
edly to a large christening check that
father KOuntze gave his daughter
Before SOnny's first birthday things
were going wrong again, and not even the
Kountzes could bring peace to the Douglas
menage. BY this time Society realized
that the key to the whole situation lay in
Luther KOuntZes hands. The question of
money was the crux Of the entire matter,
When the DOuglases were married
father KOuntze provided his daughter with
a most elaborate and expensive trousseau.
He gave her jewels suitable for her posi-
tion and continued the dress allowance he
had given her as a debutante Other
wise, he explained. his daughters expenses
were her husbands affair.
Society, of course, did not know this,
and when the young people returned from
their European wedding trip, and arrived
in Newport for the season they were nat
uraIly expected to make a real splurge.
With their own charm and great popu-
larity, backed by the Kountze millions,
the bridal couple would Of course take a
1or hoVg1 IL.