Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-12-06
LOCAL COMMENT.

cit is sad state OF aHalrS, sdio
Judge Burnham the other day, Whlle
chatting with a party of friends over
matters that had come UP in court,
when young men will appear on the
witness stand and, with an air of bra
yado and indifference, tell how they
spend their evenings in gambling rooms.
The subject was brought to my mind
forcibly during the Gather case, when
witnesses, young men of good families,
sat and told in open court, and with
evident satisfaction, of certain instan-
ces when the hours from early Satur-
day evening until Monday morning
were spent over the poker table. new
er dreamed there was quite so much or
this sort of work going on in Marshall
town. and it certainly can't be carried on
without the knowledge of the police"
-
Speaking of the Gather case, there has
been a disposition on the part of few
to criticise Judge Burnham for passing
a penitentiary sentence of two years on
the defendant in the states action for
assault with intent to commit murder.
when, on the day previous, he extended
leniency to Koskuba, the defendant In
an action of similar nature. Those
who have been so free to criticise, how
ever, have failed to consider that Judge
Burnham could not have given Kosku-
ba a penitentiary sentence had he been
so inclined, for the jury in the case did
not think the evidence warranted con-
viction on so serious charge as re-
turned in the indictmnet. While it was
lessened to a degree by the jury in the
X 4, rI.1SS 400 g nnf
great but that the penitentiary stared
Gather in the face. Then, there were
| many other things to consider. There
| was evidence of intent in the Gather
case that did not appear in the Kosku-
ba case. and the simple fact alone that
Gather had purchased new knife,
just few moments before the cutting
occurred, and after he had had trouble,
| indicated that he intended to use it on
some one whether 1t might have been
! Ellis or not. While sympathy is gener-
ally extended Gather and his family.
| the majority Of attorneys, who listened
| to the evidence in the case, and are
| therefore competent to Judge, consider
that under the law Judge Burnham was
even lenient with Gather The making
of an example of man convicted of
felony places judge in a peculiar po-
sition. While he may have every SYM
pathy for prisoner. his duty is before
him, and that duty must be considered
first, last and all the time.
| The closing of the long drawn-out
| October term of the district court
which lasted until almost the first of
| December, brings forcibly to mind the
fact that in Marshall county district
court is almost one continual perform
ance. Hardly does one term end before
| it is time to take up the work OF an
other. The next term is only a month
away. and preparations will soon be be-
| gun for the selection of new grand
| jury for the year 1903 and the petit
| jury for the January term. Incident
ally it might be mentioned that in Mar
shall county there is more business
done in one term. as usual thing. than
there is in both the other counties of
the Seventeenth district put together
| in two terms. 1t isn't because Mar
| shall county is worse than the Others.
but because there is a larger town in
cluded in its territory. 1t has been fig
ured that practically seven months out
| of the year are consumed with court.
The disadvantages that the Third av-
enue railroad crossing may work to the
south side fire crew in cases of fires
was made apparent this week when an
alarm brought out the department to q
South Third avenue dwelling. The
boys from station No. 2 were held at
the crossing fully five minutes in order
to let a freight train on the Central
mass The train was a long one. and