The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1922-06-03
LADY ASTOR FIGURES IN MOST
-. ROMANTIC CRIMINAL EPISODE
Through Her Influence "Chaey" Smith, Who Shot Noted Bank
Robber Eddie Guerin, Is Set Free in England
Guerin, World Famous for His Escape From
Devils Island, Now Broken Man.

French border and brought back to
Paris. =. !. .-
Chicago May was sentenced to five
years of penal servitude. & Dutch Gus
and Eddie Guerin were each sentenced
to Imprisonment Eat hard labor for
life. - ..,.<......s,:
= AS the sentence was pronounced
Chicago May threw her arms about
Eddie Guerin and kissed him long and
passionately. Eddie was affected.
But he learned later that it was she
who, in order to gain lighter sen.
tence for herself, had given the in
formation which led to his arrest.
Guerin and Dutch Gus were shipped
to that penitentiary which is the hor-
ror of French criminals-DeviPs Is
land, that CHASTITY strip of land off the
coast of South America in French
Guiana, where a tropic sun beats
down mercilessly on steaming clay
and pestilential swamp.
But then came the most sensational
episode in all Guerin's sensational
career. From Devils Island" the
hopeless saying is, mo man ever .es-
capes."
But Guerin escaped!
The true story Of the way in which
he effected it has never been told. In
all probability it never will be. The
generally accepted version is that Pat
Sheedy,1 New York's famous gambler
and patron of art" who had con-
ceived real liking for Guerin, gave
or collected a fund of some $4,000
which was sent secretly to Guerin on
Devils Island, and used to bride his
guards. .ss.>.. -: ..~s.l.... .-. . " a.,
Guerin reached New York in the
early summer Of 1905, just four years
after the court in Paris had sentenced
him to Imprisonment for life. He was
seen at his old resorts. In the autumn
he revisited his boyhood haunts in
Chicago-and then he dropped out of
sight.
Charley Smith Appears.
Two years went by before the po-
lice found him troublesome again. BY
her fve-year term in French prison
and had gone back to London, where
she had rented fiat in Cover street,
in the sedate Bloomsbury neighbor-
hood, and was back at her old game,
it was said, of Matchmaking wealthy
admirers. But now it was no longer
Eddie Guerin who acted as her male
accomplice in the business. 1t was a
slender, curly-headed young American,
who sometimes gave the name Of
Sabine Jackson and sometimes that
of Charley Smith.
Eddie Guerin suddenly reappeared
in London. With him was a woman
known as Emily Skinner, who passed
as his wife, at times.
Guerin had been in London for at
least six months before their old
quarrel broke out violently. This was
on June Is, 1907. Guerin and the
Skinner woman were walking along
Oxford street, when Chicago. May and
Charley Smith" dashed up alongside
them in a taxicab. It may be that
May was jealous of the woman who
had supplanted her. 1t may be that
she had resolved to get" Guerin be-
fore he could revenge himself on her.
She and her companion jumped from
the cab and bitter quarrel at once
began among the four.
Suddenly young Smith drew re-
volver and fred. Guerin sank to the
pavement, as Smith and Chicago May
hurried away. Afterward it was found
that he had been wounded merely in
the foot. He was dismissed from the
hospital in a week. But for all that,
British justice was no less plain in
the case of Smith than the French
verdict had been in Guerin's case.
Smith was sentenced to 25 years i'm
prisonment. a.s
A Broken Old Man.
In the 10 years that have passed
since then, Guerin, still living in Lon
don, has been arrested again and
again, on suspicion of completely in
burglaries, but has managed to escape
lightly each time.
Two years ago the chaplain of the
prison where Smith was serving out
his term paid call to John Savage,
the American consul at Southampton,
and told him that Smith had behaved
himself admirably under prison dis
cipline and that all the officials be-
lieved he deserved a Communication of
his sentence. More than that, said
the chaplain. Smith had jumped in
when one of the keepers was attacked
by a convict and had saved the keep
er's life.
The consul interested himself in
the Americans case, but without re-
suit, for a year or more. Then he
learned that Smith was Virginian
born.
The consul suddenly bethought him
self that Lady Astor was born in Vir-
,.ginia! Nancy G. Langhorne she was,
before she married Viscount Astor,
and campaigned until she was elected
a memberfirst woman member of
the British parliament. ..And she
hasn't forgotten Virginia." he said to
himself, land she will help out this
poor chap II any one can ~
And he was dead right. Even
though Lady, Astor had never heard
Of Smith before that moment, her
ssympa thies were aroused immediate.
lily. She investigated the case person
ally, and was satisfied that Smith de.