St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-01-30
The Separation Of Exon
gresham Gillette and
His Wife.
A Very Unexpected Sequel
to a Celebrated
Case.
nuspanu and Wife Interested
Themselves for a Con-
Wet,
And When Free the Viper
Wins the Lady'S Affec-
tions.
Des Moines Special.

Des Moines Special.
Probably if Gov. Larrabee had known
when he pardoned Chester Turney that
that young convict would, within the
year, cause the separation OF the man
and wife who were his chief benefactOrs,
the act of executive clemency would
have been withheld. Ex-Congressman
E. II. Gillette and wife, of this city.
have separated, and the intimate friends
OF each feel pretty certain that Chester
Turney has been the chief cause of
their trouble. Chester Turney, it will
be remembered, was convicted several
years ago in the jackson district court
for larceny, and sentenced to long
term in the Anamosa state prison.
There were about fourteen different
counts, and conviction and sentence on
each one. The young mans father was
in the war when the son was born, and
had never returned. 1t was supposed
that he was dead, and after waiting sew
eral years, during which no word was
received from him, Mrs. Turney married
a man named McGlone. who proved to
be cruel, Incorporate and worthless,
and separation followed. The mother
retained the custody of Chester. but he
seemed to have been possessed of an
evil, lazy, shiftless disposition, and was
nearly always in trouble. There is no
reason to doubt, however, that the SEN
tence to long term of years in the pen
itentiary was out of all proportion to the
otfense committed and was a grievouS
outrage. To make the matter worse,
charges of collision between the public
prosecutor and the attorney appointed
20 defend the young culprit, by which
the convictions were Facilitated for the
openly made, and there was cOnSidera-
bic evidence to sustain them. Alto
gether the case had bad look, but the
court record was straight; the day of
appeal had gone by when Mrs. Turney
became aroused to sort of frenzy over
the fate of her boy and took the matter
in hand to secure his release.
She made the mistake of insisting that
the youth was innocent. She would not
listen to all lntimation of modified de-
gree OF guilt. She demanded of Gov
Larrabee full, flee and absolute par
don for Chester, but that executive
functlOnary could not see it in that
light. The governors refusal to grant
the pardon resulted in the Inauguration
OF strong crusade against him. Mrs.
Turney proved tireieSS and persistent
woman. She went about the state re-
citing her grievance to all who would
listen. The aid of great many
churches and ministerial associations
was secured. The women generally be-
came pretty thoroughly interested, and
altogether they made the atmosphere
pretty sultry about the executive office.
But Gov. Larrabee remained firm, if
not obdurate, and the pardon was with
held.
When the Trouble Began.
Among the women who first became
interested in the case was Mrs. E. II.
Gillette. Mrs. Turney was originally
New Yorker, and at one time was well
known to Catherine B ,echer. The lat
ter had also known Chester in his
youth, and among the files of the eXecu-
tive office is an eloquent appeal from
her to Gov. Larrabee urging the boys
pardon. Mrs. Gillette is relative of
the BeecberS, and fortified with this
high Endorsement of young Turney's
early career she gave her energies and
enthusiasm to the common cause against
the governor. The case gained so
much publicity and so many inquiries
poured into the governors office asking
for the other side that Gov. Larrabee
was finally goaded into the printing of
pamphlet detailing the situation as it
was understood by him.
This namOhlat UaS mado mn almost
exclusively of documents on file i'm his
office, and one of them purported to
charge Mrs. Turney with bigamy-that
she had married McGlone while Tur-
ney, her first husband, was still living.
MIR. Gillette was indignant when this
became known. Securing a copy of the
pamphlet, she went before the Polk
county grand jury, which was then in
session, and in less than tWenty-fOur
hours she procured from that body an
Indictment OF the governor for criminal
libel. The governor demanded an i'm
mediate trial, pleading in his defense
that the publication of documents on
file in his Office did not constitute a
criminal or llbelous offense. The court
held to that view also, and so instructed
the jury. but that body failed to see it
in that light and disagreed. At the Sec
Ond trial the governor was acquitted.
One of his last official acts was the
granting of pardon to the young con-
vict, conditional upon his good behavior
and abstinence from intoxicating
liquors.
The Viper I'm the Home.
When Chester Turney came from
convict's cell he was taken into the Gil
lette home and put to work in the office
of the Iowa Tribune, of which Mr.. Gill
lette is the joint proprietor with that
noted Greenbacker and Union Labor
advocate, eX-Congressman James B.
Weaver. Mrs. Gillette seemed deter
mined to make something of him-to
give him a place in the commercial
world and standing in society. But
others than Mrs. Gillette. He proved to
be worthless about the Office, and the
other employees soon began to make it
uncomfortable for him. He also refused
to share his earnings with his destitute
mother, who had borne such great sacri-
fees for him, and in this he was encOur-
aged by Mrs. Gillette. The sons in
gratitude nearly made maniac of his
mother. Her opportunities undoubtedly
became very unpleasant, and finally
Mrs. Gillette and Chester caused her to
be arraigned before the county commits
sioners of insanity.
But she was adjudged sane, largely
on the testimony of Gillette himself,
who began to tire Of the spectacle his
wife was making of herself in her blind
devotion to Turney. Finally Turney's
presence about the Office became so OBJ
noxious that his relation as an employe
was peremptorily severed by the propri-
etors. Mrs. Gillette decided to put him
upon a farm owned by herself in Dallas
county, not many miles from Des
Moines. She determined to buy him
team. Mr.. Gillette, becoming aware of
her purpose, offered to sell her one.
This was nothing unusual, as each had
been in the habit of conducting bust