, 1876-05-29
IOWA..


New Capital.
Epectdt Cbrretpondencs aT Ths Tribune.
DIS MONIES, Ia., May N.-The noted dover
and divorce casc of Mrs. sarah A. Smith, Of
Canton, Fulton County, ILL.,, Va. E. D. Wood
worth, executor Of the cstate OF W. K. Smith,
which has occupied the United statcs Circuit
Court for two weeks, eliminated Inst night In
disagreement Of the Jury aftcr fortyeght lo,,rs'
t1eliberation and wrestling with tho intricacies
Involved In tho casc. There were over 100 wit
ncssua examined, and many OF them wcro d.
rcctly md positively contradictory. The casc
was one purely Of facts, With perhaps a single
exception, which isqultc important.
THE CALL.
In 1879 Mrs. Smith filed Il petition In the Pro-
bate Court OF Fulton County, H., alleging ttnt
she WIS the wifc Of W. X. Smith, md asking
one years support from bis estate, and all the
peraoual property Of decedcnt exempt from cx-
ccuttot,, to which she wns entitled as the hcad
Of a famlly,-hcr husband having, during that
year, deceased In Marshalltown, Ia, leaving IN
estate In Illinois and Iowa yAlt.ed ut &10O,6OO.
t1cnt, was r,ado defendant in the acttDn, and,
IN answer to tho pctitton,. denied that
tho plaintiff was tho wIfo Of the dcccdcnt; de-
clarfi,,g that in 1860 she was divorced from the
County Circuit Court; and that she had, at
divers ttmcs and p1eccs, and With divers per
sons, committed adultery during tho lifetime Of
Smith, and subsequent to their marriage, and,
the estate Of the deceascd. The p'aintiff to this
answer replied, denying cacl, and every allega-
tion, and declared t',eM false, llbclous, scurFi-
Gus, and indecent; nnd asserting that, II d.
to her until after tho death Of the de-
cedent, and had been procured without llcr
knowledge aud consent, aud WIS conspiracy,
on tho part Of the dccedent and lawyer named
The case WIS continued to tho March term, 1874,
and In tho meantime Will OF tho dcccdent Ind
turned up and was admitted to probate, in
which he gaye all his property to 1iis brother,
George W. Smith, mud his vile aud their chill
making these parties also defendants to the nc
tate. TO shis pctltion tic defendant
ans'vcrca that, In 1885,, the plain
tIon; thut the .lecedcut was to leave The State,
md the plaintiff was to procure q divorce OH
the ground of desertion; and that tho plAlntsif
wins pad aul received $500 in full satisfaction Of
NIL allowance she might, be entitled to in tho
camc on for iseuFtng, and the defendant
moved for change of vcnuo to the District
Court, On thcgroulld Of prcjudice Of the Judge,
which was granted; and in this Court tho callso
moved to the United States Circuit Court, on
the ground that the plaintil was 4
| nonresident of 1owA, and tho defendant
| and estate were in Iowh The cuusc came on
were filed. The plailitiG dcmurrcd TO thu
allegation Of adultery, md set up that adultery
WIS no bar to the right Of widow to recover
dover; that the representatives or lcvtsccs Of
that right; that en{y the hl,sband has tho
power to do tlIis. This demurrer WINS sustained
BY Judge Dillon, and all the allegations oi
udultery were ruled out Of tho casc. On thu
Circuit sf eou te' wsSs tsseFs peea &c tG to ssts e"
| granted to Mrs. Smith OH her own petition
GRANVILLE Barrerc appearing as her attorney:
The Judge who Hnt on tho Bench snys he granted
divorce az tho attorney Of Mrs. Smith. A part
Of tho nefglborllo0d testified thut It WIS under.
stood they were divorced. On tho other hnnd,
Mrs. Smith denies that sho ever employed Bur.
rcro as ail attorney, Or TINT she ever made set.
tlcmcnt with her husband and says aho knew
nothing OF the divorce until her husband had
been dead two years that slo lived and cohals
| tied with her husband two years after the date
| Of the prctendod divorce aud that tho whole
dozen WITNESSES testified that the parties lived
together otter 1900 and some Vi them TINT they
saw thom in bed together.
| FALsR RUMOR.
4 report lias been started by tho Muscattnt
Journal, TINT tho new Capitol, having exhausted
several atonc-auarrtcs, has now exhausted the
0unrries at Gencyiere, Mo-, which 1t Was sup
posed were ample to furnish stone to complete
report; ut least, the Superintendent Inns mol
heard Of It. lie has several tinaea Waited tlit
quarrics, md says the supply Is enough for sev
eral such buildings, One hundred carloads o.
By n tho high 5 wntse oE he hiississippi between
TINT river md the qunrries. The cntiro cost o
the Capitol, nov half erected, Inns not been sc
1nucl, rs ths stone-custiug Of tho New Custom