Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-10-27


In the case of Lizzie Neary against
John Tenny for $4,000 damages for
breach of promise of marriage, the
jury rendered verdict awarding her
So, 600.
Frank Rhodes, of Mt. Pleasant, was
bound over by United States Commits
sioner Cooper in the sum of $500 to APP
pear before the United States district
court at Keokuk on the charge of send
ing obscene matter through the mails.
Rhodes wrote two filthy letters to a
girl in West Point. She being i'll, they
got into the hands of friends, and were
turned over to the postal authorities,
who caused Rhodes arrest.
William Harris, on trial in the
district court at Des Moines for the
murder of George Frank, September T.
testified in his own behalf. He swore
that he began drinking whisky the
morning of September 5, and continued
the practice until the night he was
arrested. He testified that on the
Monday evening of the murder he was
struck by some one near Foster opera
house, and the blow destroyed all the
sense and memory that the liquor had
left him. From that moment until
the next morning when he woke in
Jail his mind was a blank, and he
swore that he remembered nothing of
the fight at Sixth avenue and Walnut
street, during which he is alleged to
have stabbed George Frank to death.
Twelve years ago Isaac Sharpless
was indicted for the larceny of some
cattle in Muscatine county, was tried
for the crime, and, when the jury
returned verdict of guilty, he arose
from his seat, deliberately walked
from the courtroom and succeeded in
evading the vigilance of the officers
until few days ago, when, apparently
supposing he had outlived his crime,
he went to MuscatIne to transact some
business and was captured. Sharp
less, it is said, has never been out of
the county, and, while he has been
seen many times during the past
twelve years and reported to the
officers, yet when they arrived on the
scene he was nowhere to be found.
He is now behind the bars and must
answer for his crime of twelve years
ago.
A dispatch from Independence says:
After trial of three weeks duration,
verdict has been returned in the
case of Sylvester Hoover. charged
with assault with intent to commit
murder on Joseph Heckel. Strong
circumstantial evidence was intro
duced by the state, which was not
weakened by that introduced by the
defense. The jury returned verdict
of assault with intent to do great
bodily injury. The jury have since
stated that they took into consideration
the boys age, which is 16, and wanted
to give him three to five years in the
penitentiary. Through ignorance,
they have given him one year in the
county Jail. The crime was cold
blooded one, Heckel being shot at
night while seated in his own home.
Public opinion is high in Indignation
at the verdict The cost to the state is
estimated at over $4,000.
young man named Ike Rocker,
lining five miles south of Webster City,
committed suicide recently with shot
gun. His parents noticed nothing
wrong with him. He had been cheer
full. and was hard working, bright
young man. He went into the house,
and, taking down the shot gun from
the rack, started for the door. His fam
ly asked where he was going He re-
piled that he was going to shoot some
thing and went out, laughing. He
had not been gone five minutes when
the report of the gun was heard, and
the father, wondering what he had
found SO close to the house, went out
toward the barn. He saw the smoke
rising from behind the corn crib, and
on going around the end he was horri-
fed to find the body of his son lying
on the ground with his head blown
to pieces and the gun laying few
feet away. Life was extinct when he
reached the body. No cause can be
found for the rash act.
A dispatch from jefferson says:
After more than decade of almost
entire exemption from serious accident,
the Chicago &c Northwestern railway
company has been called upon to pay
about $500, 900 in settlement of claims
resulting from the appalling accident
at Logan, which occurred On July II.
Nearly 900 laboring men of Omaha,
many of them accompanied by their
wives, had gone to Logan that Sunday
on an excursion. Strenuous efforts
were at once made by the claim agents
of the Northwestern company to effect
settlement with the relatives of
unfortunate victims of the accident.
The company made no effort to shirk
responsibility in the matter. 1t
promptly acknowledged that the
wreck was the result of carelessness
on the part of its employees and that it
would expect TO make such reparation
as was possible. OF the forty killed
settlement has been made with all but