Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-08-15
RAILROAD DEAL QUIT
Governor Away and Nothing Be-
ing Done on Rock Island
Investigation.
Efforts TO Secure Coroner's Jury
Verdict OF Accidental Death
for Potter.
Will Force Life Insurance Com.
panies to Prove Suicide in
Resisting Policies.
Will Force Life Insurance Com.
snecial TO Times-Renuhlican.


/ ling has been developed in regard to the
Investigation OF the Rock Island stock
governor is away and will not be back
for several days. and in fact. expects tc
be absent a large part of the time the
next month. He has a number OF
speaking engagements at reunions and
the like and will go to ST. Louis 20 at
tend the meeting of the league of re-
publican clubs. The attorneys for the
Rock Island are busy With ordinary law
business incident to doubling their
work by the taking over of the business
pertaining to the old Burlington. Cedar
Rapids and Northern, and say they
know nothing of what is being done if
anything. In fact there is very little
known here about the manipulation of
the larger affairs of the Rock Island
The financing is all done in the east
and results Will tell here. In regard to
the law affairs of the company ii can
be stated that but little is known. Rob-
ert Mather was made general counsel
and a Mr.. jackson general attorney.
Beyond this no orders have been issued.
but it is assumed there will be general
reorganization all along the line. Mr..
Tracy, of Cedar Rapids, has not been
notified whether or not he is to con-
l,,s !, nor ma
So in the operating departments but
little has been accomplished in the Way
of working out the company plans.
For instance. it has undoubtedly been
planned to run a thru passenger train
from Des Moines to Sioux Falls over
the Fort Dodge branch, the Gowrie line
and the Cedar Rapids division, but the
time cards have not been rearranSed as
vet The new superintendent for the
Iowa division has not been appointed,
tho the present superintendent asked TO
be relieved long ago. The present oiti-
cials are continuing their work in the
old way. assuming that when the new
owners of the Rock Island get their
consolidation matters we'll in hand they
will turn their attention to the oper-
ating departments The freight busi-
ness has received some attention and
Joint tariff sheets are in operation that
are advantageous to Des Moines. es-
peciallv in northern Iowa, where the
competition mas been close.
An amusing effort has been made by
a Chicago paper to make it appear that
the legislature of Iowa committees
made a grievous blunder in one of the
new laws. 1t is the one relating TO a
penalty for melting to murder and the
effort has been made To show that
whereas there is punishment for one
who incites to murder when there IS no
actual murder there is exemption il the
murder takes place. The law as passed
reads.
.Whoever shall within this state
advise, counsel, encourage, advocate or
incite the unlawful killing within or
Without the state of any human being
where no such killing takes place shall
be punishable by imprisonment in the
state penitentiaiy for not more than
twenty years.
An inference has been drawn from
this that if there is a killing then ehere
Will be no punishment There certainly
would be none under this statute, but it
WAS explained at the time the bill was
before the committees of the legisla
ture last winter that the thought was
10 avoid repetition of Il law and we
now provide amply for melting TO muir
der where there is actual murder There
was no LAW. however TO punish for i'm
citing murder where no crime WAS COM
mitted. and anarchists might go on ad-
vocating the killing of presidents or
governors or masnates Without danger
so long as nobody had the courage To
commit "A c,lna. The law is in line
With other passed recently by state leg
islatures To provide punishment for
loud ranters against government Off
cias 1t may be. in the opinion of good
lawyers, some time before the law is
applied in a single case. but the time
may come when it Will be very conven-
lent in getting at somebody who talks
too much without weighing his words.
With variety of other sensations
CROW ding upon them the Des MoineS
people have almost forgotten that the
case of the suicide of a. Nj. Potter. of
Waverly has not been finally disposed
OF. The coroners jury has not made a
report as yet Adjournment was taken
To give somebody time to earn good
fee in finding out whether the lstutia-
mum Potter bought and which WAS in
the bottle he left empty near him went
into his stomach. \ report will he
made some time on that matter. The
real reason for the delay. so ii is al
Les ged. is that there is to be an effort
made To have the jury return Il verdict
of accidental death. This would affect
the insurance Potter is supposed to
have had on his life Such a verdict
would throw the res sponsibiitN on the
insurance companies of showing sui
4 i4ie. 1t has been found impossible here
TO ascertain how much insurance is in
VOWED, but it is certain that Il short
time before his death Potter had sew
eis,l good policies. The friends of Pot
ter here are now agreed that the lndl-
rect cause of his suicide WAS the trou-
hleS arising from his attempt to sell the
Red Cross Society to an Omaha con-
Germ. Suits are pending to determine
just what was done in that deal. Potter
was head of the Red Cross. sold 1T out