The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-09-18
The Mother Wants to Apply For
a Communication
OF EMMELTS SENTENCE
Mrs. Dalton Tells the Sad Story
of Her Life.
Visits COffeyviIle After Petit
tiOns of Credit.
The Citizens There Give Her
Slight Comfort.

Coffeyville, Sept. 1s.-Interest in the
old Dalton raid has been revived here
by the appearance in this city of Mrs.
Dalton. mother of Emmett Dalton, for
the purpose of getting letters and petit
lions to lay before Governor Stanley
to secure a Communication of Emmett's
sentence. She has not been very sue
cessful so far.
Public sentiment is bitterly opposed
to having the original sentence passed
upon young Dalton changed in the
least. The people of CofeyviIle will al
ways fight any attempt to release him
from the penitentiary, either by pardon
or otherwise. They feel that if he re-
mains in the penitentiary for life he can
never restore Justice to the widows and
orphans made by the deaths of the Dali
ton raid.
Mrs. Dalton now lives on a farm near
Kingisher, Ok, with her youngest son,
Sine, now tWenty-One years of age. She
left her home last Monday and went to
Lansing, where she saw Emmett for the
first time since he was sent to the peni-
Tertiary in November, 1892. She went
upon the advice of friends, and with
numerOuSly signed letters and petitions
for Communication of sentence, which
she expected to lay before Governor
Stanley, but Emmett would not allow
her to do SO.
Emmett seems to understand fully
that the time has not yet come to take
such action, and he asked his mother
instead of going to Topeka, to come to
Independence and Coffeyville and as
certain the feeling in these places on
the subject.
The past ten or eleven years have
brought to Mrs. Dalton a weight of care
and sorrow that does not fail to the lot
of many. She has been the mother of
nine sons and three daughters; the sons,
in the order of their ages being: Benja-
min, Coleman, LittletOn, Frank, Graf
hon pnh .771lTa lff a nd
Simon. OF her three daughters, one is
single and at home and the others are
married to respectable citizens Of Okla
hOma.
Benjamin Dalton is a respected farm
er and lives near Kingfsher, Ok. Cole
man and Littleton live in California
and are respected citizens Frank Dali
ton was killed near Fort Smith in the
discharge of his duty as deputy mar
shall in 1887. With a posse he went after
a band of outlaws and found them. His
posse deserted him and left him to fight
his battle alone. He killed two of the
outlaws but was shot to death and his
remains rest in the cemetery at Cofey-
vile.
Mrs. Dalton's husband, Lewis. was
formerly a well to do stockman of Cass
county, Missouri, but lost his property
during a financial panic in the '70's. He
died ten years ago and was buried at
CoffeyviIle. Grafton and Robert, be-
fore they were. charged with crime,
We're deputy marshals in the territory
and noted for their courage, but it was
probably this wild and adventurous life
that led them eventually into crime.
Through all of their checlcered ca
reers in the territory, California and
Mexico, a mothers sOlicitude and anx-
iety followed them and she seems to
have exerted all her influence to keep
them from a criminal life. Certain it is
that time and again all of her available
means were used to get them out of
trouble.
Mrs. Dalton does not attempt to ex-
tenuate her sons offenses against So
ciety and the laws of the land, but she
believes that unjust treatment was
largely responsible for starting them on
a career of crime. Emmett was not 10
years of age when the fatal raid was
made on Coffeyville, and she thinks was
an unwilling participant in the affair,
being compelled to take part because
the outlaw band had made known their
plans to him. She thinks that he took
no part in the shooting, but in this she
is probably mistaken.
One can not listen to the story told
by Mrs. Dalton of the sorrows of the
past ten years without feeling the deep
est sympathy for her and being moved
with a desire to help her so far as is
consistent with the best interests of the
public.