The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-10-06
A GREAT LAW CASE.
New York Graphic.

| NoW 4OAA OA0PntOs
 The celebrated Jones county calf case is before Judge Linehan this week in Waterloo, Ia. It is & case with a history. It had its origin fourteen years ago, has been tried in several district courts, been heard in the su . preme court two or three times, and now comes up for adjudication once more.
 In 1874 the case was started in Jones county by a farmers society. A 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 promi- nent figure in the litigation, which were sold were afterwards identified as belonging to farmers in the vicinity,
 At meeting of the Jones county anti horse thief society, held shortly after, it was determined to charge Johnson with the theft of the animals, and suit was accordingly entered. In December, 1874, he was indicted by the grand jury in session in Jones county, but the court set the indict- ment ahead in February of the follow ing year. He was again indicted by the grand jury, and on this indictment he was twice tried, taking change of venue to adjoining 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 he began suits against farmers by the names of Miller and Foreman and six others, prominent members of the society, claiming $10,- 900 damages for malicious prosecu- tion. This case was taken up on a change of venue from Jones county to Clinton. There it was twice tried and removed to Benton county on 8 change of venue, where it was once more before the courts. In each of these trials the jury returned verdicts in favor of Johnson for amounts rang ing from $3,0O0 to $7,OOO, and each time the judge set the verdict aside on account of alleged errors.
 The case was next taken up to Blackhawk county in 1888 on another change of venue, and there tried. A verdict of ,000 was rendered by the jury and judgment entered. From this, however, an appeal was taken to the supreme court, the decision re- versed and the case was remanded back for trial in 1884.
 In 1886 the case was once more tried in Blackhawk county and again de- cision was rendered in favor of John- son for $7,000. This was again ap- pealed to. the supreme court, and once more the verdict was set aside and the case sent back for trial in 1887, and now the sixth trial of the case will take place after fourteen years of liti- gation.
 This litigation has been under the consideration of thirty grand jurors and eighty -four petit jurors. It has been presented to nine different trial judges sitting upon the bench each time. The court costs alone amount to more than $5 ,0OO, and the attorneys fees are much more than that amount.
 All of the eighty-fonr jurors have decided in favor of Johnson, but the courts have uniformly set the verdicts aside on legal grounds because of the close question as to whether there was probable cause on the part of the members of the society for starting the prosecution. The larger part of a lifetime has been spent in useless liti- gation over a few animals; the entire value of which was about forty fl ive dollars. A number of farmers engaged in the suits have been hopelessly ruined, but still Johnson comes smil- ingly before the courts, begins his suits and readily pays for them. Children of various ages who testi- fled when the litigation first began now lead into court their own chill dren, who are nearly as old as were their parents at the time they made their first bows to the courts. The farmers are growing old, their money has leaked away through the various legal crevices and found it's way into other hands. Honn have been broken up, community m, de poorer in every way, and still the case is dragged through the tedious currents of the law with but little more chance oi settlement than there was fourteen years ago. Testimony will be all il and decision filed by the middle oi the week.