The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1904-06-15
SOCIAL FEUD IN CHICAGO
Woman Discovers Rivals Husband
to Be an Ex-Convict.
Mrs. Springer. Rejected by the d. A. lie
Blamed 1t on the Lawyers Wife
and Set Out to Get Even.

Chicaso.-A feud between two ambi-
tious women has exposed a skeleton
long hidden in the family of Julius A.
Coleman, a successful attorney and
author of the Mechanics Lien law
of Illinois.
Mrs. Coleman. his wife, is the State
Regent of the Daughters of the Amer.
lean Revolution. She is a brilliant
woman with an interesting family.
She has written a history of the Amer
lean Constitution. which is published
this week in st. Louis.
Mrs. Warren Springer applied for
admission to the D. A. r. and was re-
jected. Then she began war on the
ColemanS.
Now disbarment proceedings have
| been taken against Mr.. Coleman be-
fore the Supreme Court of this State.
| 1t is alleged that in 1881 Coleman was
found guilty of an insurance sWlndle
in Indiana and sentenced to the penl-
Tertiary. The Grievance Committee OF
the Chicago Bar Association brought
the proceedings. The charge against
him is "evaSive omission in not men
tioning the Indiana trouble when he
signed an affidavit of good moral char
acter which obtained him license to
practise law here. Charges of extor-
ton also have been made in the dis
barment proceedings.
Mrs. Springer is the wife of a promi-
nent real estate operator. She has
taken a leading part in women's club
affairs for ten years, and is at pres
ent President of the Illinois Chapter
of the Daughters of the Revolution, an
organization distinct from the DauGh-
tiers of the American Revolution.
Mrs. Springer had a double interest
in finding out all she could about Cole
man. because a suit which the attOr-
ney brought against her husband was
over property that she had decided to
present to the local chapter Of the
Daughters of the Revolution. After
this suit had been won by Mr.. Spring
err Attorney Coleman had him indict-
ed for perjury, and it was then that
Mrs. Springer assumed. in self-de-
tense, as she AYERS, the role of detec-
tive.
Charles c. Gilbert. who has under
taken to defend Coleman, says: ut
is true that Mr.. Coleman was con-
victed of crime in Evansville in 1881.
but he was sick and could not defend
himself. He was brought into court
on a %stretcher. He never went to the
p]enitentiary. for he fed to foreign
lands, and later returned and obtained
q pardon. There has been no effort
to conceal. the conviction"
Coleman was accused Of inducing a
man named Richardson to insure his
life for $4,000 and disappear. Cole
man escaped from the prison hospi-
tai. Mrs. Coleman nursed her hus-
band through his trial. and when he
escaped she supported her young fam
lily by her own cndeavors.
Mrs. Springer collected all the evil
dence and obtained certified copies of
the court records. Then began the
movement to expose and disbar Cole
man. He is now a man Of middle
age.
Mrs. Springer says: "This trouble
grew out of my gift to the Daughters
of the Revolution Of the ground at
Nos. 175-1S9 West Polk street for use
as a playground and workshop for
poor children. We knew nothing
whatever of Coleman's past until a
woman, a prominent member of the
Daughters Of the American Revolu-
ton, Of which Mrs. Coleman is Re-
gent. came to my house and informed
rue that Mr.. Coleman was an eX-con-
viot. She said that other facts could
be had at Evansville. We collected
tho footcv