Omaha daily bee., 1903-06-18
DATE OF THE RHEA HEARING
Lawyers Urge Communication Of Sentence on
Purely Legal Grounds.
PLENTY OF WATER FOR IRRIGATION
Several Nebraska Towns Actively I'm
the Field for Location of the
Additional state Normal
school.
rrom a star correspondenN


LINCOLN, June 17.-(Special) )-Governor
Mickey has received request from At
torney William Meinzes of Indiana asking
that he set Friday Of this week for a hear
ing of the Rhea case. The lawyer Is sent
here by relatives OF Rhea at Mt Vernon,
Ind, to plead for mercy for the condemned
murderer. Rhea's real name is Klein. and
II has recently been discovered that he is
also a granddaughter Of Emil Pretorius'
editor OF the st. Louis westiche Post, as
well a member Of the Dutch family Of
which the Pretol1us, after whom the old
Boer capital was named after, was lead
ing light.
The lawyers propose to appeal to the gov
ernor on purely law points. basing them
upon the dissenting opinion of Judge sedg-
wick in the Rhea case, when his convic-
ton in Dodge county was affirmed. This
is made necessary because no further APP
peal can be made TO the supreme court, too
long a time having elapsed. They propose
to show to the governor that the supreme
court has recently approved an opinion of
Commissioner Pound which affirms Judge
sedgwick's holding in his dissenting opin-
ion. The point In question is whether the
Nebraska statutes. being taken bodily from
those of Ohio. should be governed in their
Interpretation by the interpretations of the
COuTIS Oh OHlO Inc dNlollts6 AOA ANANo
contended there must have been malicious
purpose on Rhea's mind when he committed
the crime to carry the death penalty. They
insisted that their point had been decided
by the Ohio court in such a way that all
that could be given him is q life sentence.
The court held that the Ohio statute did
not apply. but since then 1t has affirmed
an opinion of Commissioner Pound which
overrules the basis of the ninth syllabus Of
the Rhea case. The case in point is Sim
eral against Goble, sSd Northwestern.
Big Slice of AIimOny.
Bruno o. Kostka. a prominent druggist
was defendant in a divorce suit fled and
heard this morning. His wife charged him
with extreme cruelty. Kostka appeared In
court, but made no defense. He gave his
wife 5000 cash alimony and $25 month
for the support Of their one child until
he is IS,
Lincoln Man Faces Murder Charge.
'Frenchy'' Leonard. a former Nebraska
crook IS in jail at Little Rock, Ark, facing
a charge of murder He went by the name
OF Wattles there and conducted rooming
house. While attempting to rob drunken
roomer the man made a squeal and was
killed. The police claim to have cinch
on him. Leonard was once convicted of
robbing a bank at Geneva, but got new
trial in the supreme court. While on the
way back to Geneva to be tried again he
got away from the officers and has never
been captured.
Stricken with ApOpIexy.
While q woman and two children were
out fishing last evening they came across
mar lying. his face half hidden in the
watsr of Salt creek, just south of Lincoln
park. The sheriffs office was notified and
the man removed to the hospital He
proved to be Andrew Rickner. fisherman
living at 1926 North Twenty-second street.
The doctors said he had received an apo
plectic stroke and that he will not recover.
He has not regained consciousness.
DobsOn Says Water is Plenty.
State Engineer Dobson is back from a
visit to western Nebraska. He says that
the rivers and streams of the state have
yet to attain the high water mark for the
spring and summer. incident to the melting
of the snow ia the Rocky mountains
Measurements Of the several streams
dlvulge the fact that June usually the high
month. has been abnormally low and that
July viii be the heavy month. This insures
an abundance OF water in the irrigated dis
trictH at the very time II is most needed
June / the flow of the North Platte was
5000 cubic feet per minute, June 10 is ex'
ceedcd 1000 feet and is still increasing. II
Is expected to reach the highest stage
about July 10. Reports from the mountains
are to the effect that the snow has Just
begun to melt and that 1t will be fully
three weeks before II has become wet and
soggy.
He states that during the period of floods
and cloudbursts in other parts OF the state
the South Platte river was absolutely dry
from its junction with the North Platte
west to the state line where 1t enters
Colorado. This is accounted for by the