Omaha daily bee., 1899-01-28
VERDICT FOR LIBEL STANDS
Chicago Newspaper Pays Good Rates for a
Sunday Feature Story.
CLAIM OF PLAINTIFF SCALED MATERIALLY
Ruling by the Attorney General on
soldiers Exemptions as Applied
to Those who Participated
in the Late WRr.

| in the Late wnr.
DES MONIES, Jan. 27.-(Special Tee-
! gram )-This morning the supreme court
| handed down an opinion in Tie famous
Locke libel suit against the Chicago Chron-
ice. The verdict for $1,000 rendered by
Judge Spurrier In the Polk county district
court will stand. The case is well known.
! the suit having been brought about by the
publication in the Sunday Chicago Chronicle
as a feature story, January 10. 1896, Of an
account of certain Iowa grave robberies, in
which Edwin Moffit, living at the home Of
the Lockes. was accused OF being implicated
and carrying the bones of certain corpses TO
the backyard OF the Locke residence and
boiling them. Mr.. Locke sued the company
for 100000 and secured judgment for
81 900, which the supreme court aflirms. The
Chronicle company admitted the publication
Of the article, but denied the right OF the
plaintiffs to sue 1t as corporation of 1lli-
nois, asserting 1t had no office in Iowa and
that the agent who represented 1t In this
state at the time the article in question
was published was not it's agent and the
service Of the notice on him did not affect
1t. The court satisfied itself that the agent
in question. one Shannon, was authorized
by the company to do business in Iowa and
therefore the company was responsible for
his acts There was some objection to the
admission of the testimony Of Judge Steven
son and OF J. X. Macomber, but this was
overruled.
Titles OF cases settled today:
J. b. Locke against Chicago Chronicle
company, appellant from Polk district;
affirmed
Webster City Grocery company, appellant,
against Lasey q Doty ct al, from Butler dis
trict; affirmed.
John Seery, jr.. administrator. with will
annexed, against Anna l.. Murray ct AL ap-
pellants, from Jones district; affirmed.
j. N. Cassidy, surviving partner of j. p.
and j. N. Cassidy, against ID. +. II. Grim
melman, administrator of the estate of w.
r. Grimmelman (deceased), appellants, and
J. w. Doane ct al, receivers, defendants
and Margaret Hamilton and A. W. Cassidy,
intervenors, from Pottawattamie district;
affirmed.
Jacob Nodle, appellant, against w. f.
Hawthorne. sheriff of Monona county, from
Monona district; affirmed.
Brennecke Bros. against A. w. Heald ap-
pellant, from Marshall district; affirmed
Serious Charge to Answer.
Lyman w. Chittenden is under arrest on
the charge of incest. Chittenden is the
men who fell from the third story OF the
| engaged in raising a smokestack and thereby
received almost fatal injuries. The infor-
nation against him was drawn up and signed
! in Justice Hallorans court. Mrs. Babcock,
police and depot matron, filed the charge.
The principal witness Is Eta May Chitten-
den. aged II years, daughter of the de-
fendant.
The state Grand Army of the Republic
department today issued an order for the
benefit Of assessors and Boards of Super
visors in regard to the statute which COW
ers exemptions from taxations of home
steads Of widows Of union soldiers and
| sailors 1t is in line with an opinion
which Attorney General Remley has given
the department. He holds that under the
statute the widow Of a union soldier or
sailor who died during the late war, while
in service or since, should be entitled to
the prescribed $500 exemption. regardless OF
her financial standing or what property she
has. This exemption is held not to affect
the assessment for the years 1897 and 1898.
but becomes operative only when the real
| estate Is assessed In 1899. The $500 exemp-
tion under the old law Is held to be applc-
able to these years. In order to be entitled
to the exemption the attorney general holds
that any soldier or sailor who comes under
this provision must be unable to perform
manual labor and must be dependent on the
exemption for the support of himself and
family. II he has other property which
produces him an income he would not be
entitled to the exemption, even If he were
! unable to perform manual labor The SOL
dier who comes within the class entitled
to the exemption Is entitled to have $500
deducted from the value OF his homestead
and the balance should be assessed to him.
here was opened today by filing OF papers
with Federal Commissioner Mason. Today
creditors OF Herman Idsall. wholesale and
retail jeweler. filed a petition in involun-
tary bankruptcy. In which they allege that
Idsall. on December 80. 1898. gave chat
| tel mortgage to Ida B. Kramer covering
| the stock Of goods to the party named. and
| Idsall was insolvent at the time. Commits
| sioner Mason issued a subpoena for the de-
| fendant to appear February 6 to plead. II
ne denies the insolvency then he has the
right of judgment In federal court.
Contest on Court House Site.
| The court house site decision will be con-
! tested This was decided at the Board Of
| Supervisors meeting this afternoon. The
| board met to canvass the votes. After its
work had been completed 1t was announced
that the official count showed that the river
| front had gained eleven votes. or had a
majority OF 40 votes. Attorneys for the
present site managers appeared and de-
manded that the ballots thrown out or
known as illegal ballots. be submitted to
the board and especially requested that the
! total number OF votes cast as well as the
! total number that voted yes and mo
be ascertained by the board. To this the
river frontiers demurred. County Attorney
Cheshire was called and he declared that the
board was not compelled to ascertain the
number OF ballots cast but simply the num-
Der that voted yes and no. The county
| attorney further contended that persons who
voted illegally did not cast votes. They are
| pieces of paper and of no account. If the
board wished to count pieces of paper to
satisfy idle curiosity II could do so. There
will be a contest. There were AL votes
| thrown out and 1t is asserted a majority of
| these votes were for the present site.
| Des Moines is to have another through
| service with St. Paul and Minneapolis. II
was learned today that party OF surveyors
is at work at Rockwell City and will sur
| yey a line from that point the Des
I Moines, Northern & Western to Fort Dodge.
1t was stated at the general Offices OF the
Northern this afternoon that there was no
! secret as to the working OF the surveyors,
! but that no details regarding the work
| would be given out. 1t is a well known fact