Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 98, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 April 1915 — MYERS DIVORCE CASE SENSATIONAL [ARTICLE]

MYERS DIVORCE CASE SENSATIONAL

Defendant Charged With Drunkenness, Makes Charges Against His Wife—Other Cases. The case of Eva Myers vs. Everett Myers came before Judge Hanley on Thursday. This was an action for divorce, the plaintiff, Eva Myers, having filed suit and a cross-oomplaint was filed by defendant. Each asked for a divorce. Mrs. Myers was formerly Mrs. Chas. M. Greenlee, and owns 200 acres of land in -Walker township. She and the defendant were married Sept. 30th, 1912, in Chicago, and went to live upon her farm. The defendant had no property— Things seemed to go weH enough xmtil last fall when disputes arose between them. Mrs. Myers’ mother at that time was making her home with the parties. The complaint charged the defendant with habitual drunkenness, failure to provide, and running after other women. There was considerable evidence that defendant was in the habit of getting drunk, and at such times did seek the company of other women. In fact defendant testified that he had been drinking considerably at the time of their marriage and has ever since, except that he has drank less since marriage than before. He made no denial of certain testimony relative to matter of accosting a certain married woman during the carnival of last fall, but did deny that he had ever been on the Theodore Smith farm near Gifford, as testified to by two witnesses, upon which occasion it was alleged that he insulted Mrs. Smith. He also denied the testimony of Leslie Shigley that he had ever been at his home. Shigley said he had caught him there and gave him a whipping which was reported in this paper some weeks ago. Defendant had the testimony of John Ballard that he and Ballard left Rensselaer that evening at 7 o’clock and reached Gifford at 9:30. The time fixed by Shigley as to the affair at his home was 9 o’clock. It is quite evident that if Shigley whipped anyone it must have been some one other than the defendant. It was also shown by testimony that Shigley called the defendant aside the first day of the trial and asked him if he were “Myers” and defendant testified that Shigley asked him to tip him a few dollars and he wouldn’t testify against him and that defendant told him he wasn’t handing out anything. Defendant’s witnesses testified that turkeys belonging to the neighbors were found among Mrs. Myers’ turkeys. That she offered fifty dollars to a certain person to bum the bam of Chamberlin and Marlatt and told others she would give fifty dollars for such purpose. It was also testified that she stated in presence of her family and others that she had a proposition to start a sporting house in Lafayette, and that if her daughter were a little oider she would do so. This was denied. The defendant testified that the immediate cause of his deciding to leave plaintiff was that she ordered him to leave all property alone and when he went to the barn to turn out the stock she came at him with a pitch fork and her mother pointed a pistol at his head. Mrs. Myers testified that she did grab a pitch fork and her mother testified that she separated them, and from her stature one would judge that she was fully able to do so, as she is a very large woman. In fact, she said she threatened to whip both the parties if they didn’t behave.

The property rights were also in dispute. Plaintiff claimed that defendant squandered her money and put her greatly into debt. Yet in spite of all there was testimony to show she has accumulated property during the time. Defendant says he accounted to her for all money and worked considerably at haying and ditching away fro mthe farm and turned over the money to the plaintiff. She denied this. Defendant claims a certain horse he bought and which was paid for from sale of produce on farm. Plaintiff claims he bought the horse as her agent and that same belongs to her. At the conclusion of the trial the court stated that there was not a very strong case for divorce, but that he would think about the matter a few days. ■ There was one child, a girl df 15 months, and defendant tried to show that plaintiff was not a proper person to have the care of the child and offered testimony to show that he had made arrangements to provide a home for the child with his sister, Mrs. Jim Pierson. W. H. Parkinson was attorney for plaintiff and Chapman and Blue represented defendant. Saturday afternoon the court heard the case of Mullen vs. Morris for an accounting, but reserved his decision. The parties were from Illinois. The jury was discharged Friday evening until Monday. There are, a