The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1912-01-25
CRISIS IN DIVORCE
OF CUCCENHEIMS
Judge Petit Refuses to Name
Person Who Approached
Him In Behalf Of One
of the Litigants.

| peCutidE iSSdl SSSAh0di SSCk CAPSSCA& "A
a Chicago court will come to a focus
tomorrow when the suit OF Mrs. Grace
B. Guggenheim to annpl the divorce
granted her in 1901 from William Gug-
genheim, multimillionaire member of
the famous smelter trust family, will
reach a hearing before Judge Thomas
G. Windes in the circuit court.
Popular interest in the case has been
aroused because of the fact that the
suit comes before Judge Windes as
the result OF charges made by Judge
Adelor ]. Petit that an attempt to In
fluence him in his decision was made
last month by someone acting in the
interest OF G~uggenheinh
Judge Petit, on December Is. admitted
that the attempt to direct his decision
In the case which has survived 10 years
Of charges and legal proceedings was
made by q a purporting to represent
William Guggenheim.
Goes to Another Court.
The judge refused to name the man
or to say whether ne is an attorney or
court attache. He also failed to bring
the matter officially before the Bar as
ISOLATION for action by that body in
the event that the person named is an
attorney. Judge Petit, after a confer
nee with attorneys representing Will
liam Guggenheim and his former wife.
asked that the case be transferred to
some other court. On motion of counse1
for the complainant. the suit was then
taken to Judge Windes.
Subsequent to the incident reported
by Judge Petit as the reason for hts
u~nwillingnesS to proceed further In the
case as the presiding judge. the jurist
has maintained an unbroken silence
the legal fraternity for an investigation
and action on the charges have re-
suited in a virtual demand by the Bar
association that Judge Petit supple
ment his chages with q full statement
of the facts.
Chicago by Judge edward F. Dunno,
then sitting on the circuit bench. APP
plication for the decree was made by
Mrs. Guggenheim on statutory grounds,
~oundatio for which Is said to have
been povided by Guggenheim during a
visit here Immediately prior to the in
stttution of the suit
Mrs. Guggenheinn was represented by
Attorney Louis Werner, of New York,
who, in subsequent proceedings, has
been accused of conspiring with Gug-
genheim and his attorneys to secure
the decree by fraud and misrepresenta-
ton.
In her petition Mrs. Guggenheim was
described as being a resident of Chi
cago n Cook county, although it has
appeared since hat she mad several
trips to Chicago from New York to es-
tablish a residence" OF a few days. The
decree was granted after sufficient tes-
timony had been introduced to. SUBJ
stantiate the statutory charge. Aiimony
Of $500 a month and the settlement Of
attorneys fees for Mrs. Guggenheim
was agreed upon, and later Of settle
ment of $150,000 is said to have been
made by the smelter king on his di-
vorced wife.
Both parties returned to New York
Immediately after the granting of the
decree and the woman made no further
attempt to sustain her residence in
Chicago. Guggenheim, shortly after
the termination OF his first marital ven
ture, married his present wife, Mrs.
Aimee Stcinberger Guggenhein.
BY the later marriage the couple have
one child. In 1909 the first Mrs. Gug-
genheim began suit both in Chicago
and New York for an annulment Of
her divorce, charging the decree had
been obtained by fraud. misrepresenta-
ton, and collusfon, and that the Cook
county courts had no jurisdiction, as
neither party was a resident of Nil
nois. The Chicago divorce was held
legal in the New York court and Mrs.
~Guggenheim's attorneys have fought
an uphill legal battle here for the last
two years to bring their case into
court.
In October, 1909, former Judge Dunno
entered affidavit before Judge Honore,
his successor, to the fact that the de-
cree had been secured by fraud and
conspiracy. Judge Dunno explained
thai he had been misled as TO the true
facts In the case and that there had
been such q perfect conspiracy between
counsel for both sides that the COM
-. 1900 t-.s-- L-1 Il 20
case.
The main question at issue was
whether the complainant was a resident
Of Illinois at the time the divorce was
granted. Attorneys for the wife said
she had been led to believe that her
birth in Illinois constituted. a legal
residence and that she had sworn to
her residence through ignorance of the
law and without thought of perjuring
herself.
The suit to set aside the divorce
finally came to Il hearing before Judge
Tuthill last April. a subsequent change
was made TO The court of Judge Petit,
where foundation for the latest and
most sensational scandal provided a
climax for a long list of irregularities
when the case was called for trial in
December.
AS regards the attempt to influence
3 Judge Petit, itself, powerful political
! pressure Is said TO have been brought
10 DSaT %. lllG circuit COuTI JuIlSl, aQI
/. the nameg Of enato G~uggenheim, OF
$ Colorado. brother Of the defendant and
! a strong supporter of Senator Lorimer
l and the Illinois statesman We're men.
toned significantly. Judge Petit has
: been backed by the Lorimer political
faction In Illinois and is known to be
: a political friend of the Junior senator
= '"The crisis of the case will be reached
e on Tuesday, said Attorney Trainer
IF the plea Of the defense is overruleC
NV J,J1pp Win1nS the case VIII rrOcppI
to trial, and as they have practically
admitted all our contentious, the di.
vorce undoubtedly will be set aside
: IN such event Mrs. Guggenheim vii
return to New York, where suit for al
i absolute divorce viii he begun. AS re
= CARDS the Petit incident, we are rea,
q ~sonabIy certain that some action vii
;, be AXE within the coming week"
BLACK Hills CELESIIALS