The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1902-09-05
QUEER D0lNGs OVER AN IOWA LAW
DYING CHILD MADE OBJECT OF A
y.a REMARKABLE LEGAL
FIGHT.
LAW AR ''ll lNDlGNAIIoN
POSSIBLE OUTRAGEs THAT MIGHT
BE PERPETRATED UNDER
ITS SHELTER,

ANSAuh' 1oWds aug. Z3.-ln legal
night for the possession Of her elevn-
+, months-old baby, which is seriously i'll,
Mrs. Vlna Kellar caused the arrest of
the infant yesterday on a charge of
Vagrancy, had herself appointed a sce.
; cal constable to take charge of the
(" diminutive prisoner during contin-
uance of the case, and thus won q VIC
tory over Secretary Elmer Park of the
associated charities, who was landed
in Jail for nearly an hour for contempt
: of court in his attempt to deprive the
mother of her child A construction
rof the new sociological statute passed
by the last legislature has resulted.
All Tuesday night and yesterday sew
; eral courts were kept busy and Sep;e-
tary Park spent forty-five minutes in
Jail, being finally released on a writ of
habeas corpus He is now in legal
! custody of the child and the mother
has actual possession, having OBJ
tanned the infant by extraordinary
means, and hidden it. The doctor says
the baby will probably die. This
: ADDED to the mothers desire to see the
baby as she hitherto had been denied
all access to it. A new law was passed
at the instance of the scientific sociol.
ogists last winter. It provides the pro-
cedure by which children may be taken
from incompetent,
Dissolute or Immoral Parents
and given to persons or charitable So
c1etIes by courts or mayors Of cities.
Judge Hughes of the superior court
yesterday construed the law to mean
that if the mother is found competent
by a trial court and the child be given
back, the filing of a notice of appeal by
the associated charities stops the ex-
ecution of the order to return the chill
to the mother. The effect is to keep
the child away from the acquitted
mother until long series of appeals
through all the courts to the supreme
court are finally decided, taking gen.
orally two years. Judge Hughes is u
lawyer and jurist of the highest repu-
tation in Iowa and Missouri and his
decision rendered in the habeas corpus
proceedings has caused a wave of in
tense indignation over the new law.
The baby involved in this, the first
case in Iowa under the new law, is
actually sick, and the neglect of the
mother Is charged under the new stat
ute. On trial the mother was found
not guilty of anything in purview of
the new law, which also was declared
unconstitutional. Secretary Park ap-
spealed and
Refused to Obey.
the order of the court to return the
baby to its mother. He was then ar
frested on a bench warrant for con-
tempt of court and sunhnarily sent to
Jail. His lawyer then routed Judge
Hughes out Of bed and filed a petition
Nor writ of habeas corpus which had
a hearing yesterday. In the meantime
the mother Of the baby had a neighbor
file an information in the justice of the
peace's court, charging the baby,
eleven months old, with vagrancy. A
big constable arrested the baby at the
hospital where it was being treated
and brought the infantile prisoner into
court The vagrancy case was con-
ttinued until Saturday and the mother
was made special constable and or
dered to keep the baby prisoner in
safety until the case should be called
again. The mother took the baby and
hid it somewhere in the city County
Attorney Marshal said last night that
the next move would be the prosecu-
ton of the justice and the mothar's
lawyers on charge Of conspiracy in
the vagrancy case
Judge Hughes says it is true that the
new law makes it possible for anybody
to file information against anybody.s
child, and after acquittal, keep the
child from the parents for long time
by a series of appeals to higher courts.
If the law is held constitutional he
says he can see no escape from such a
possible outrage.