St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-09-15
A Remarkable Legal Fight
Over Five Calves by Iowa
Farmers.
One Tiller of the Soil Charged
With the Theft Of the
Young Beeves,
And He Brings Suit for $i0,-
900 Damages for Mali
eious Prosecution.
Fourteen Years at Law Over
a Quintette Of Cattle VAL
ued at S45.
knecinl to the Globe.

Special to the Globe.
DES MONIES. To-. Sept 1.-THE cele-
brated Jones county calf case is before
Judge Linehan, at Waterloo, this week.
1t Is a case with history. 1t had its
origin fourteen years ago; has been
tried in several district courts, been
heard in the supreme court two or three
times. and now comes up for adjudica-
ton once more In 1874 the case was
started in Jones county by farmer
society. \ man by the name of Potter,
Of Greene county, travelled through that
section buying young stock. Among
the rest five calves were bought OF one
johnson. who has been the prominent
figure in The litigation which has
consumed so much time. The calves
which were sold were afterward identi-
fed as belonging to farmers in the Vi
cinity. At a meeting Of the Jones
County Antl-IIorsethief society held
shortly after it was determined to
charge Johnson with the
THEFT OF THE ANIMALS.
and suit was accordingly entered. In
December OF 1919 he was indicted by the
grand jury in session in Jones county,
but the court set the Indictment aside.
In February of the following year he
was again indicted by the grand jury.
and on this indictment he was twice
tried. taking change of venue to adjOin-
ing counties. In the first trial the
Jury disagreed, one man remaining
firm in favor OF conviction, but in the
second trial, which occurred in 1876. he
was acquitted. Soon after his acQuittal
10 h..trara atraiVst Inv tho
name of Miller and Foreman and SIX
ether prominent members OF the society.
claiming $1,000 damages for malicious
prosecution. This ease was taken upon
a change OF venue from Jones county
to Clinton. There il was twice tried,
and then removed to Benton county on
q change of venue, where IL was once
more before the courts. In each of
these trials the jury returned a verdict
in favor OF johnson for amounts rang
ing from 5000 to $1,000, and each time
the Judge SET the verdict aside on ac-
count Of
ALLEGED ERRORS.
The case was next taken to Blackhawk
county in 1883, on another change of
venue. and there tried. A verdict of
5000 was rendered by the jury and
judgment entered. From this. however,
an appeal was taken to the supreme
court. the decision reversed, and the
case was rcmanded back for trial in
1854. In 1856 the case was once more
tried in Blackhawk county. and again
decision was rendered IN favor OF John
son for :. 900. This was again appealed
To the supreme court. and once more
tie verdict was set aside and the
case sent back for trial in 1851.
And now the sixth trial of the
case will take place in Waterloo
after fourteen years of litigation.
This litigation has been under the con-
Sidtraiion Of thirty grand jurors and
presented 10 nine different trial judges
and has twice been before the supreme
court. five judges sitting upon the
bench each time. The court costs alone
amount TO more than 5000, and the
attorneys fees are much more than
that amount. All of the eighty-fOur ju-
Tors have decided in favor of Johnson.
but the courts have uniformly set the
NerdictS aside on legal grounds because
OF the close question as to whether
there was probable cause, on the part of
tie members of the society, for starting
prosecution.
TIE LARGE PART OF 4 LIFETIME
has been spent in useless litigation over
~
was about SO. \ number of the farm
erS engaged in the suits have become
hOpelessly ruined, but still Johnson
comes Smilingly before the court. be-
gins his suits and readily pays for them,
though he is fast sinking into inSol-
Vency and is already an elderly man.
Children of various Years of age who
testified when the litigation first began
now lead into court their own children,
who are nearly as old as were their
parents at the time they made their first
bows to the courts. Tie farmers are
growing Old: their money has leaked
away through the various legal crevices
and found its way into other hands;
homes have been broken up, a COM
munity made poorer in every way, and
still the case is dragged through the
tedious channels OF the law, with but
little more chance of q settlement than
there was fourteen years ago.