Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-01-31
WOMAN WOULD ADOPT
HUSBANDS WAR BABY
Baltimore Wife Ready to Take
English Girl and Child Into
Her Home.

New York, Jan. 3l.--Ths brpad mantle
a charity Is an agc-old garment that covers
many human fraitics. To illustrate it
there camc out OF Ellis Island, doIwn the
bay, yesterday such = story On plays on
tn e heart strings and recalls to the mind
OF busy world the fact that Sweet tncss
and light still exist.
The story is that Of forgiving wife
attempting. 10 right great wrong, a
wrong under inpulscs induced by the
world war. The wife il Attempting tn
obtain admittanoc to America for her
husbands English sweetheart and their
baby three months old The wife and
her husband scek 70 Adopt The child while
the husbands = brother desires to make the
English girl his wife.
The girl is Mis- Emily Knowles, who
brings her baby 20 this country with
funds sent by Mrs. Corn Nj. spikcr, the
forgiving wife Mrs. Spikes lives with
her husband, Pcrl-y X. Spiker, Jr., in
Baltimore, Md. Mr. Smkor during tho
war was in the q rvicc with the American
Aviation Corps and was stationed in
England.
When Miss Knowles arrived with her
baby aboard the steamship Lapland on
January Is they were met by Mr.. and
Mrs. Spikcr. But the immigrntion au-
thorites stepped In and detained the
mother and child, pending decision by
the officials at Washington. In order To
meet this situation Mr.. and Mrs. spiker
have filed AfIdavits which tell the whole
story.
While Mr.. spiker wns in the service
abroad he formed friendship with Miss
Knowles and, in the language of Mrs.
spiker, ''that friendship rIpncd into
something more" Mrs. Spiker says that
she knows that "thc moral tendencies Of
her husband are above repYoach." ehe
described Miss Knowles as "a lovabie,
gentle, refined girl" swayed by a
momentary impulse for which she was
only partly responsible.
Mrs. Spiker, in her affidavit, afirrns
that that she is fully informed Of all the
that the plan she suggests is the best
way out She says il would never disturb
the happiness Of her husband and herself
If Miss Knowles came TO live in their
home with the baby, which the spikers
desire to adopt On the contrary. she
snys she would be glad to SEQ Miss Knowles
married TO her husbands brother, Guy
s. Spiker, who lives with them and who
expresses a wish 70 marry her, although he
has never - her.
Mr.. Spiker, in his affidavit, tells at
length of the entanglement with Miss
Knowles, and the responsibilities IN which
il has involved him. He says that he il
anxiousto adopt the child and do all he
ca1 20 remedy the wrong done 70 the girl.
He says he earns 500 week and Is
amply able TO assume the financial bur
dens that his contemplated action calls
for.
New York, Jan 3I--Niss Emily
Knowles WAS admitted 70 the United
States with her baby today after being
detained at Ellis Island.
A telegram received at the island
today from the department Of labor
ordered that mother and child be adj
mitted to the county for thrar months
and placed in the csrc Of Vim. and Kate
Butterfly Of Fall River, Mas. A bond
Of $1,000 required for them has been
furnished by Mr.. and Mrs Spikcr
immigration officials here regarded
the admission for three months az most
extraordinary" and were 1t . loss 70
explain it. There is nothing in the condi-
tions of admission, 1t Ia explained, TO
prevent Guy Spiker from marrying the
girl. as be offered to do so in an affidavit
submitted 10 the immigration authos tiles
although he had never seen her. Such
n marriage, assuming be Is an American
citizen, would permit her to stay IN the
United States.