Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1874-02-19
must be kept well in hand. The
managers were triumphant.
: Upon Gov. Stones motion Conven-
ton adjourned.
A Radical Chief Justice ns q
lottery Swindler.

L ~
Lottery Syvindier.
During the progress Of lawsuit
| in the District Court at Des Moines
few days since, it turned out that
Judge G. G. Cole the Republican
| Chief Justice of the State, was the
principal party in a swindiing lottery
scheme. Theprizes were the Judges
entire estate, with prices affixed far
beyond the real value of the several
pieces of property-among which
were two farms in Polk county, forty
acres In Calhoun county, and several
houses and lots in Des Moines. The
valuation for lottery purposes aver
aged four or five times the real value.
The other prizes were mainly chro-
mos Of very moderate merit--set
down in the lottery scheme at 81 SO
each, though the cost of the
thirty purchased for specimens was
IS, or less than IL cents apiece. Al
ter the testimony of complainant
was closed, Judge Cole took the
stand for the defense, and
claimed that the property was
properly purchased on tax titles,
which he had turned over to neph-
ew to take charge Of and dispose Of,
and he knew nothing of his nephew's
putting 1t up at lottery. Judge
Nourse, prominent Republican
lawyer of Des Moipes brought Judge
| Cole out In his character of q lottery
swindler, and the way Nourse made
the heather Chinee Cole jump would
have been gratifying to even Bill
Nye.
Just think of IL. The Chief JUS
tice of the Supreme Court OF the
great State of Iowa Peter Funk
lottery swindler! We cave. And
what q sweet scented party has tho
Radical Republican became when it
will elect, and sustain such men In
office!
The above morsel we find In the
Democrat of last week. 1t processes
to be from the pen of the editor, who
was at Des Moines when the article
was written, and Of course knew there
was scarcely q word Of truth In 1t.
There is at least one shameless un-
truth in the very caption. LIZ the
editor knows anything, he ought to
know that Judge Cole is not Chief
Justice. He is however, one Of tho
Judges Of the Supreme Court, SO that
lie Is of no consequence, except that
II shows the utter hatred McCor-
n mack has for truth. Next, the prizes
were not the Judges entire estate,
r nor half of it. Further, Judge Cole
did not claim that the property was
purchased on tax titles, but did
claim the exact reverse, which is
proven true by examination Of tho
records.
The State Journal, without under
taking to defend Judge Cole, makes
a plain statement Of the evidence
elected in the trial. The witnesses,
all told, Mr.. Balthis and Mr.. Penny,
who organized and managed the lot
terry scheme; George and Abraham
Waldron, nephews Of Judge Cole,
who loaned to Messrs. =. aud b.
money and property used in the lot
terry scheme and Judge Cole him
self. Mr.. Balthis testified that he
never spoke to Judge G. about the
use of the property or about any 9th
or matter, but he had seen list OF
the property in Judge Cs. own
handwriting. Mr.. Penny testified
that he never spoke to Judge G..
about the lottery, and that the latter
knew nothing about 1t. George
. Waldron said the same thing. Abrs-
ham Waldron testified that he re-
, ceived the list of property from
, Judge G. for another purpose; that
: he put the property into the scheme
without any knowledge or consent
on the part of Judge Cole. The lat
ter testified that he knew nothing
of his property being 30 used until
he saw it in an advertisement at
{ Iowa City, and that when he return
/ ed to Des Moines, and called Wal
, dron's attention to 1t, Waldron said
5 the scheme had fallen through; and
J there was the end Of it
, There Is no proof that Judge Cole
q knew any thing Of the matter until
{ it was all over. The proof Is posi-
J, tive to the contrary, however. There
!. can be no good objection to an inves
8 tigation by the Legislature If an,
:, person believes Judge Cole guilty
h in the matter. Rather, all shoult
}. say investigate as long as there i
!. room to doubt his innocence or sus
pect him Of guilt. But there is nj
: occasion for such abomanble iyin;
! in the case in order to make littl
: cheap political capital. II he is gull
j. ty let him be punished under tn
= law. Ifhe is innocent, the suspicion
J created by the facts developed is pun