Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-01-28

county clerk asking $4,000 damages
from Thomas Sewers, the wealthy
machinist and bridge builder of that
city, for alleged seduction, breach of
promise, and for the support of her
illegitimate child. Miss Brooks says
she lived at the Sewers home as house
keeper from December, 1894, until
October, 1895, at which time she alleges
Mr.. Sewers turned her out because she
insisted upon his marrying her. Mr..
Sewers and his friends say it is simply
blackmail and that the charges can
not possibly be sustained.
Tom Addie, son of ex-Representative
Addie, of Fayette county, residing in
Scott township, committed suicide by
shooting himself through the head.
He was sitting by the stove at home
reading a book, when he remarked
that he guessed he would go upstairs
and change his underclothes. He
went up and had only been there two
or three minutes when the family
heard the sound of revolver and
IuSlCu upstairs anu loulltt
in pool of blood. He only lived about
four hours after the shot was fired.
He was about "a years of age and no
cause is known for the rash act, except
that he had seemed to be in despond-
ent mood for few days past.
The remarkable spectacle was wit
messed at Sioux City a few days ago of
the sentencing of four members of one
family for a crime. They were SEN
fenced for the robbery of some freight
cars last November, the property hav-
ing been traced to their home. All
four pleaded guilty. Mrs. Graham
was indicted for receiving stolen prop
erty and pleaded that she did not know
it was against the law. She was given
one year and four months in the peni-
Tertiary. Her son, % years old, got
one year and ten months and two other
sons got one year and three months
and eight months respectively. At
present the father of the family and
one son are serving three years SEN
fences in the penitentiary for safe
cracking; four have just been sentenced
to the penitentiary; one boy is in the
state industrial school; and three little
children, Maria, Frank and Freddie,
are at the boys and girls home in
Sioux City.
George Washington Potts, ex-con-
stable, who won fame if not renown,
by his connections with the famous
Frank Pierce, now of Anamosa, but
searching constable of prohibition
times, is on the warpath again. A few
days ago book was issued from the
press of the Hawkeye Publishing com
pany, of Des Moines, entitled THE
Life of Frank Pierce" and the meth
DDS of Potts, Pierce and other searcher
constables. Potts has been talking
ever since the book came out of taking
steps to suppress it, claiming the refer
ences it made to him were libelous and
of a character to injure his reputation
and his standing in the community.
He has now filed his petition in the
district court. In the petition he
charges that three statements made in
the book are ibelous and specifies
them He asks for 81 900 damages on
each count.
Charles Aultensperger general man
ager of the Seibert & Weise Lumber
Company's branch at Minden, has been
arrested upon charge of forgery. He
xyoo + alan 70 A yooo xpbara tho oopopopv
is located, and locked up. From the
facts already disclosed, Aultensperger
is alleged to have played game of
fraud on scale almost equal to the
Cass County bank affair. The Minden
branch of the concern does big
business in building material with
farmers. Aultensperger's plan seems
to have been to put into his pocket
about all the cash he received from the
farmers and then forge their names to
promissory notes. These notes he
would send to the home office. When
due, they would be returned to him for
collection, and if hard pressed he would
dig up part of the money and forge a
new nOUe 1Or Cne balance. Ills IOrger-
les are said to approximate nearly
$40, 900 and his victims to number bout
all the wealthy farmers for miles
around Mindep
The Ottumwa Daily Courier has re-
ceived the following special from Col
vile, Wash: "The jury in the NeiHe
murder trial was out twentythree
hours and brought in a verdict of muir
der in the second degree as to both de-
PENDANTS, Adolph and Hattie Neisc.
Both prisoners seemed glad it was no
worse, showing scarcely any emotion
The crime for which Neise and wife
were held was the murder of Neise's
little son, Adolph, on January 7.
Neighbors discovered the boy dead,
and on examination found his arms
and legs broken and horrible bruises
inflicted over his body. Mrs. Neise
claimed the boy had fallen over an
embankment hundred feet into the
river near by. People at Ottumwa are
gratified at the result, for they have
always thought Neise guilty of muir
dering his first wife in Ottumwa a
couple of years ago and then burning