The Agitator in Fetters

Mrs. M. Dinsmore yesterday made application in the probate court to have W. H. Hughes appointed guardian of the person and property of her mother, Mrs. Mary E. Kenworthy. The petition recites that Mrs. Kenworthy is incapable of taking care of herself or her property, valued at $3,000, and is liable to fall into the hands of unscrupulous and designing persons; that she is feeble in mind and body, suffering from dementia, and has been addicted to the use of intoxicating liquor, morphine, and opiates. Mrs. Kenworthy was brought into court last evening; the examination was continued until noon tomorrow, with Mrs. Kenworthy placed in charge of a neighbor.

This case is a peculiarly sad one. Mrs. Kenworthy, Mrs. Dinsmore, and Captain W. K. Mervin are prominent citizens. Mrs. Kenworthy herself is a woman of more than ordinary intelligence; she has read a great deal, believes in spiritualism, and has taken up many other 'isms.' She took a very prominent part during the Chinese riots at the meetings of the agitators; she became a student of labor and has always been a strong woman suffragist. When the woman suffrage law was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Mrs. Kenworthy participated in the funeral parade and demonstration held for the purpose of denouncing the judges; she rode on horseback with a liberty cap on her head and laughing, clanking chains on her limbs—the personification of 'liberty in fetters.' For several months past, her peculiarities have become so pronounced that it became apparent to her friends that a guardian would have to be appointed for her.