Omaha daily bee., 1889-02-22
GOVERNOR LARRABEE'S TRIAL
A Jury Selected After Considerable
Delay.
THE PROSECUTIONS BAD BREAK.
one of Its Prin cipal " illnesses Forced
Into Making Some Very Damag-
ing Disclosurcs-Thc Court
Room Packed.
Fell Into n Trap.

DEs MONIES, Ia, Feb. 2l.--l Special Tele-
gram to THE BEE. Tho twelve men who
are to decide whether Governor Larrabee
has been guilty of criminal libel have now
been selected though it took some time to-
day to get them. The counsel for the de-
fense questioned sharply as to whether the
would-be jurors were interested in pardon
cases. or had attended any of Mrs. Turney's
meetings or signed her petitions for the par
don of her boy, or were in anywiso in
structed in or under the influence of Mr..
ana Mrs. Gillette, who are pushing the pros
ecution.
After the jury had been chosen County
Attorney Macomber, for the prosecution,
stated briefly what they expected to prove,
Mr.. G. H. Bishop, for the governor, stated
the position of the defense. In opening for
the defense he said that the question in
volved in this case would arise from
the nature of the governors duties as
chief executive of the state and his perform
ance of those duties. He then reviewed
briefly the status of the Turney case show
ing how petitions had been sent to the gov
ernor asking for his pardon, and remon-
strating against it. How Mrs. Turncy had
gone over the state working up sympathy in
her case, until inquiries began to pour in
upon him to know why he didn't pardon the
boy. Finally these inquiries became so nu-
merous that written answers could not be
made to all inquiries. These circulars were
printed TO send in answer to inquiries They
had been sent to the members of the legisla-
ture and had been handed or sent to other
persons who inquired The language alleged
to have been hbelously used was not the
governors, was not conceived by him pr in
spired by him. 1t was the words of a re-
monstrance sent in to the governor, signed
by many business men of the town of Pres
ton. The testimony would show that these
documents had long been in the office; that
Mrs. Turney knew of them and never
denied their statements, and that the
governor, when he ordered them printed,
did not know that the words alleged TO be
libelous were in the documents. Further
more it would be maintained and proven that
this was as public record, a privileged COM
munication. 1t would be shown that if 1T
would be libeous to permit it, it would
be iibelous to admit people to his Office
to see it,
The question is not whether William Lar
rabce shall be fined for this supposed offense,
but whether the governor of Iowa has the
right to show the records of his Office with
out being dragged into a criminal court The
governor should not be placed between the
menace of a criminal court on the one hand
and the harrassing of Il civil court on the
other, in the liberty of showing his records.
The state then introduced its first witness,
Mr. A. II. Denman, one of the attorneys for
Mrs. Turney. He admitted that he had per-
sistently appealed to the governor to'pardon
the boy till his visits became almost unen-
durable. He admitted, also, that he had
pursued the governor with more than
u common interest in client He admitted
that when the governor had asked young
Turney, who was in prison, to send
him letter describing his case, he (Den-
mani had taken that letter first and attended
to it to suit mis- purposes and had rewritten
it, and sent it back to young Turner to copy
in his own hand, and then the letter
was sent to the governor purporting to have
been written by the prisoner himself and
unaided.
AS this admission was forced from the wit
ness by the cross-questioning, Denman was
nearly overcome with confusion and
embarrassment and almost tainted. When
he had concluded his testimony the prosecu-
tion was very much chagrined at the bad
breaks of their leading witness, and no other
was called to-day.
The case will be resumed tomorrow morn
ing. The court room is packed with visitors
this afternoon. Nearly all the state officers
were present. and little business is being
done at the state house while the trial is
going on. The governor was in the court
room all of the afternoon.