The Washington times., 1922-02-19

parts for France, the gossips point
cut:
"Ah. she leaves her husband be-
hindr'
Then they conjecture:
.She must be seeking a divorce"
For in tho last few months SO
many wealthy American women
have sought tho French courts for
quiet and expeditions divorces that
omit the nauseating details per-
tanning to American trial that
not q few women who sail for Gaul
arc Immediately suspected Of hav-
ing In view legal termination Of
their domestic entanglements.
EX.vANDERBILT WIVES.
Bearing that in mind. and recall
ing that in the realm of romance
some Of the Vanderbilts are spec
tacular. is 1t any wonder that the
gossips began to whisper when
three ex-Vanderbilt wives a few
In France to take up temporary
residences?
That the three sailed two days
apart, two of them together. SEEM
cd merely to give substance to the
conjecture that something vital is
In tho offing in their respective
matrimonial careers.
\Of course, none dares venture
anything stronger than a guess.
But in the case of one Of these
society women, Mrs. Raymond T.
Baker. 1t is of significance that for
many months there have been re-
ports Of a rift in her happiness.
and these reports have been so
persistent as to call for denials by
both Baker and his wife.
The situation is made the more
unique in that two of the members
Of the famous trio were wives of
the late Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt,
who lost his life on the Lusitania,
in May. 1915.
In France today are these three
sx-Vanderbilt wives:
Mrs. Raymond T. Baker, wife Of
the former Director of the United
States Mint, formerly Mrs. Alfred
Gwynne Vanderbilt. She is accom-
panied by her three children,
George and Alfred Gwynne Wander
hilt and Gloria Baker.
Mrs. Snyder J. Colford. formerly
Mrs. Reggie Vanderbilt.
Mrs. Paul Fitz Simmons, who
was the first Mrs. Alfred G. Van
derbilt.
THE BAKERS ROMANCE.
Mrs. Baker is the one on whom
tho gossips have conferred their
whisperings. Considerable specu-
lation has been rife in recent
months in this city and in the
Berkshircs because Raymond T.
Baker has not been at his wifes
home in Lenox, Mass. since 1920.
At LenoX, where many in society
circles hold Baker. examiner and
former warden, merely to be a
"raw-boned Westerner," it has been
freely remarked that he has shown
q decided preference to remain at
his ranch in Piedmont. Calf. than
to mingle with the elite of his
wife's society circle.
The last time he was at his wife's
Homewood estate Lenox, was at
the christening Of their daughter
Gloria.
When the wedding bells rang
eut for Ray T. Baker and his bride
at Lenox. Mass. in 1918. a court
ship was happily crowned which
originated on the powered
balconies of the Riverside Hotel,
Reno. New.
Baker was the son of a famous
western lawyer. He was handsome,
athletic, popular. Elinor Glyn,
seeking American atmosphere,
chose him as her pilot through
western mining camps. Many a
lonely dlvorcee in Reno. serving
time, as the phase goes, cast an
sppraising eye on him.
IN 1908 there came to Reno Mrs.
Smith Hollins McI;lln. She was the
former Margaret Emerson, daugh-
ter Of Capt. Isaac Emerson. Of
Baltimore, "the Bromo Settler
King" She was seeking relief from
a matrimonial headache.
Her fancy was caught by Bakers
personality. Even before she OBJ
tanned the decree it was predicted
in Reno she would become Mrs.
Baker. But she went away unmar.
ried. Baker moped around for
weeks, a faraway look in his eyes.
The woman had sailed for Honolulu.