Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1897-09-14

of Burlington found the body of an
unknown man in ten feet of water.
The man was well dressed and had q
soft felt hat neatly folded and button
ed inside of his coat. There were no
marks of violence and no clue to his
identity.
Fairfield dispatch: pete Hen
bricks, of Des MONIES, well knowr.
gambler. was seriously shot in the
Cooper billiard hall by Eugene Ristlne.
better known as "Tangle." 1t ap-
pears that both men had been drink
ing during the earlier part of the night
and when thoroughly drunk became
entangled in a row which resulted in
Ristine shooting him in the head.
The bullet passed through the rim of
Hendricks straw hat and then through
the top near the upper edge, cutting
a large cash on the right side of his
head just above the temple. He bled
furiously for a time and a doctor was
sent for, who stopped the flow of blood
and took six stitches to get the scalp
together again.
The presence of Attorney General
Remley was in Iowa Falls, few days
! ago and the fact recalls the investiga-
| ton instituted last winter by the leg
islature of the census frauds in which
Secretary Mcfarland was entangled.
Mr.. Remley. while in that city, was
| closeted with Hon. j. II. Funk, who
was chairman of the house committee
on the investigation. The two gentle
men went over the evidence taken be-
fore the committee last winter with
view of using it in the suit now pend
ing against the ex-secretary for mis-
appropriation of funds in connection
| with the last state census. 1t is rum
ored that after the trial of the suit
| now pending that the testimony will
be turned over to the Polk county
grand jury with a view to indiCting
the ex-secretary for perjury, alleged
to have been committed while testify.
ing before the legislative committee.
a Vinton dispatch says: Frank A.
! Noval, the Walford murderer, has
been turned over TO Benton county Of
/ ficials. There is no excitement or an
| ticipation of trouble. A crowd of per-
haps hundred persons met the train,
but Novak, who was in irons, was hus-
| tied into n hack and driven to the
| county Jail, where he is now confined
| in the steel cage. He refuses to talk,
Z nf hay har 70 hnt VIII ha
! per time arrives he will explain all.
| Novak's return to Iowa has cost more
than $4,000. But staring him in the
! face are terrible charges. While the
evidence is purely circumstantial, no
stronger chain was ever woven. The
taking out of the life and accident
policies; the burning of the store
building; the death of Edward MUIR
ray; the fight to far away Alaska I'M
der an assumed name, all must be ex-
planned before the innocence of Frank
A. Novak can be believed.
AT Fort Dodge recently, Thomas
Rogers, Frank Devine and Charles
Doyle, the three fellows charged with
the burglary of the Ohio postoffice,
were before Commissioner Johnson.
After hearing the particulars in the
case the court held them to appear be-
fore the next session of the United
States grand jury, which meets the
second Tuesday in November. The
three were found to be equally guilty
and their bond placed at $1,000. De-
putty United States Marshal Hyatt
will take the prisoners to Sioux City
for safe keeping. 1t appears that the
three fellows now under arrest had
been seen in the vicinity of Ohio sew
eral days previous to the burglary.
Entrance to the building was gained
by using a chisel and prying open a
window. The thieves started south
east and after hard chase were cap
tured at Stratford. They had in their
possession numerous articles taken
from the Office and store, which aided
materially in proving their guilt
w. M. Mcfarland, ex-secretary of
state, and w. w. Welday and A. Hoi-
land, his bondsmen, a few days ago
filed answers in the district court of
Polk county to the civil action begun
against them by Attorney General
Remley in behalf of the state of Iowa.
So far as the bondsmen are concerned,
they admit they were Mr.. Netherlands !
sureties, but they deny everything
else alleged in the suits brought |
against them. Mr.. Mcfarland in sub
stance denies all of the charges of |
fraud made against him and throws |
the blame upon the executive council |
for everything that was done contrary |
to law or mismanaged. He claims the
council was responsible for the census
returns being forwarded to the secre-
tary of state from the county auditors |
in such detail instead of merely in the |
abstract. He denies that the condi-
tions of his bond were broken; that he |
disregarded his duties MS secretary of |
state. He claims that in making the |
enumeration he had no discretion, but |
that he followed ont the mandates of |
~ l. a..