Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-09-26
Text Of H. o. Towers Speech in
Judge Dewey's Court at
Montezuma
REMARKABLE FOR ITS DlcTIoN
Times. Republican Readers Express
Curiosity to See Prisoners Speech in
Print and Their Wish Is Gratified-
shorn Of Dramatic Incident It !. Still
q Literary Gem.
Special to Times-Republiean.

Montezuma, Sept. 26.-The dispatch
in the Times Republican telling of tn,
sensational incident in the court room
when H. o. Tower was sentenced b!
Judge Dewey has aroused so much in
terest that curiosity has been expressed
| to see the prisoners speech in print
Your correspondent therefore. asked
Court Reporter j. III. p. Robinson t.
| furnish q transcript Of the speech
which he very kindly did and which
lis herewith appended. Shorn of the
excitement of the occasion the plea
loses much of its dramatic interest
Even in cold type, however, It shows
itself to be literary gem, and com
ing from horse thief is certainly re-
markable
The court having made the usual in
|terrogatory as to whether the prisoner
had anything to say why sentence
should not be pronounced Mr.. Tower
said:
If your honor please: I have moth
ing to say in extenuation OF the great
wrong done this man whose horse and
buggy took away, but in justice to
myseli desire to make q brief state
ment Of the facts.
ITO begin with, am physician
For twenty five years practiced my
profession in one community and was
honored and respected by all. For more
than twenty-five years mine was the
pleasure of perfect domestic life:
reared to honored manhood and wom-
anhood family of boys and girls; my
social life was alike one Of honor and
respect.
"A year ago financial depression set
in, occasioned by fire which burned my
house and by disastrous speculation;
that was followed a few months later
by the death Of the companion OF my
married life, the mother of my chill
dren, the other half Of my soul.
.As temporary solace for my grief,
which almost maddened me, began
the use of a narcotic drug. thinking 20
stop in few weeks after my sorrow
was less intense, but l found to my
everlasting regret that the morphine
habit once formed, there is no human
power can overcome it. The demor-
alizing effect OF the drug can only be
known to persons whose conscience has
become blunted and whose mind de-
stroyed.
"A few months ago left my home
with few dollars in my pocket. my
sole possession, and started on an end
less and aimless wandering about the
country, with no object in view; some
times with one pretext, sometimes an
other, my baine and only comfort being
the morphine pill. do not know that
have ever committed crime before,
I do not know why / wanted this old
horse with me, and further still l do
not know what might have happened
to me- had this thing not occurred.
but I do know that / am not willing
criminal. Ihave always despised crime
in every form, but am under the law
a criminal and the penalty must be
paid.
TT matters but little what becomes OF
me now. l wish only to hide from the
world. I would that could hide from
myself. Physically I am strong and
youthful for a man in his fftieth year.
Mentally am vascillating. visionary
wreck MY future seems dark indeed,
but even now, sometimes hope seer
a star, for hope springs eternal in the
human breast hope to overcome this
narcotic appetite. to return to my chill
dren and grandchildren, to the practice
OF my profession.
Public sentiment is always aroused
when AN overt ncf ia lone In my case
fictitious runors, void of truth, have
besn circulated to my prejudice, but to
society's credit be 1t said, that when
time has softened It's anger. it's judg-
ment is usually correct. Character is
formed at an early age; criminal ten
dency usually npanifests itself in youth,
or not at all. My habits are formed
unchangeably so-except as they have
been temporarily perverted by appe-
tite. Remove this diseased appetite
and and am q man. To give me my
liberty today, would be to do me a
great wrong. / do not know to what
Fdept11-to what manner of degradation
/ might descend with my appetite I'M
checked. Victor Hugo once said: "As
the victim of appetite nave never
heard of any crime could not have
committed at some time in my life
I am legally condemned to punish