Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1904-04-29
.sCHERCL|FFE CASE
IS SENSATIONAL
Secretary OF the Treasury
Shaw and Late Judge
Hubbard involved.
WHOLESALE BRIBERY ALLEGED
William Pinkerton Made Some Start
ling Charges = Mercer Made Re-
quests Secured Hubbard to Bring
Influence On Shaw-Hipweli in Case

Des Moines, April 2S.--Considerable
additional light is thrown on the man
ner in which Frank Schercliffe, the
Pollock diamond robber, obtained his
parole from Governor Shaw, by letters
on file in the governors Office in con.
nection with this remarkable case.
which were made public yesterday.
The grand jury at Logan, Iowa, re-
Gently indicted Tom Dennison, the ia
nous policy king gambler and ward
heller of Omaha, for completely in the
robbery which occurred twelve years
| ago. Dennison is supposed to have
| been the brains which furnished the
| ammunition for the gang of which
| Schercliffe was one, and all OF whom
are now in the penitentiary.
Part Of the evidence which was sub
mitted to the grand jury, a copy OF
| which has been exhibited at the Office
Of the governor, is an itemized &C.
count alleged to have been made out
in the handwriting of Tom Dennison,
in which Dennison makes detailed
statement of the money expended by
him in securing political influence in
securing the release of Scherclifte.
In this statement he alleges sums Of
money were paid to several Iowa poll
ticians, naming them specifically.
The efforts to pardon Schercliffe
made during the administrations OF
Governors Jackson and Drake failed.
but the efforts were finally successful
during the administration Of Governor
Shaw, who pardoned Scnercliffe in
November, 1900.
On April rs of the same year, or
about five months prior, William A..
Pinkerton wrote a strong protest
against the pardon of Schercliffe,
charging that several Iowa politicians
had been bought up in his interest,
and that the Pinkerton agency consid-
cred Schercliffe one OF the most dan
gerous criminals on record.
Similar protests were also filed by
Judge A. VanWagenen, who claims
ne has been approached at times for
his influence, and by the county attor-
ney who prosecuted him, and by many
others.
About the only letters on file favoring
the pardon came from John N. Bald
win of Council Bluffs and the LAT
Judge Hubbard of Cedar Rapids, at
torney for the Northwestern.
Judge Hubbard wrote his letter
September Is, a little over month
before Schercliffe's release. In this
letter he said he was moved to do so
by the fact that he was under obliga-
tons to former Congressman David w.
Mercer Of Omaha, defeated by Gilbert
M. Hitchcock of the World-Herald.
Dave" said Judge Hubbard, "had
been very useful to him in getting a
bill through at Washington. He said
that Mercer claimed Schercliffe's re.
lease would be worth 300 or 400 votes
to Mercer, and, therefore, he hoped
that Governor Shaw could release the
prisoner If it wasn't doing too great
an injustice to the public
Judge Hubbard's firm had protested
against the pardon. strong letter be-
Ing written by N. M. Hubbard, Jr.
Schercliffe was paroled, but he re.
turned Immediately to his evil ways.
He was caught in Missouri, where he
attempted another diamond robbery.
He hurled brick into a window and
grabbed tray Of jewels and ran. He
was pursued and captured. In the pur-
suit he was sho. through the foot, ana
is now a cripple for life.