Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-09-14
Will File Its Report to the
Court Either This Evening
or Tomorrow Morning
INDICTED
PlcKPocKET
w. H. Chapman, With Several Aliases,
Is Indicted on Two Counts = Hoov.
err Goes Free on Bcah Bigamy and
Embezzement Charges = No Bills
Against Fak and WikIe,

The grand jury of the August term
of the district court which, including
today, has been in session thirteen
DAYS. will conclude its work this even
inp and will file its report either TINS
evening or tomorrow morning. Inc
grand Jury has considered an immense
amount of business, but much of it has
gone by default, because of the lack OF
conclusive evidence. Several import
ant indictments have been returned
including two against w. H. Chap
man, pickpocket, who is known by sew
eral aliases Edwin j. Hoover. bound
over on two charges, bigamy and ems
bezzlement, will go free. as VIII also
Frank Falk and Harry Wikle. who ar,
awaiting the action of the grand jury
on a. charge of robbery.
led experiences at its session. Much
of the work of other terms has devel-
oped upon it as the juries of the pre-
vious terms this year have let matters
requiring investigation go over untu
a more favorable time for considera>
ton. Hundreds of witnesses have been
examined, but in many case before the
Jury the evidence has fallen very fiat
and is far from what was promised
would develop by those who brought
the matter before the grand jurys at
tention.
The grand jury has had enough ex.
perience this term to be of the opinion.
expressed in plain words, that II peo-
pie were more prone to mind their own
business, the county would be saved
the expense of paying for needless IN
vestigations. There has been so much
of this business before the jury tina,
members have become utterly disgust
ed with it, Case after case, where
some one. would inform, was looked IN.
to, only to find, after thorough inves-
tigation, that it woGid be needless to
indict for there could not possibly be
enough evidence gathered to warrant
conviction.
Many nuisance cases were consider
ed, including five from Gilman. Forty
witnesses were subpoenaed for the
Gilman cases alone, and there was no
evidence that could be termed sub
stantial. A similar condition prevail
ed in nuisance cases from Ferguson.
The grand jury considered vast
amount of whiskey business, alleged
illegal sales. also many witnesses to
ascertain whether or not gambling was
conducted as a business. 1t was
hard, however, to obtain any very sat-
isfactory evidence, and any that might
be used to advantage if indictments
were returned An effort was made to
stir up evidence in a supposed case or
murder that occurred twelve years
ago, but after an investigation into
this it was found that the neighbor-
hood gossip was largely responsible.
A death by accident had always been
supposed the case, but some one sug-
gested that it was really case of
murder. After investigating the grand
Jury is more than ever convinced that
it was accident, pure and simple. An
other wild goose chase in evidence
hunting came in a case of alleged
lewdness Nothing came out of the
case, and the grand jury is of the
opinion that if an indictment had
been returned it would not be safe for
any widower to employ housekeeper
to care for his children or keep house
for him. Neighborhood gossip was
responsible for this investigation.
Chapman Smooth One.
The pickpocket who was arrested
here on circus day, September 6, is
believed to be crook of the smooth
est type by the grand jury. He gives
hir name as w. HI. Chapman here,
but in other places he is known as
Murphy and Bud Copeland" H. E..
Copeland is supposed to be the mans
correct name. Copeland is wanted in
many places, and if the grand jury
here had failed to indict Blackhawk
county was ready to take him in
charge for pickpocketing on an Hi
nois Central train, near that city,
shortly before circus day at Waterloo.
Chapman, or whatever the mans name
may be, was indicted on two counts.
Edwin j. Hoover, who was bound
over to the grand jury several months
ago on two counts, bigamy ana en-
bezzlement, was not indicted. The evil
dence at hand did not show that a
very good case could be made out OF
the action for embezzlement. which
was preferred by the Sinclair Tea ana
Coffee Company, for which Hoover
was working at the time he was ar
rested on the bigamy charge. Mrs
Nettie Travis Hoover, second wife OF
the defendant, was the complaining
witness in the bigamy charge, but
the grand jury did not see fit to indlct
unless the first wife should take ac-
ton. Mrs. Hoover No. l refused. to
appear. An action for divorce is pend
ing in the district court now, IN Whlcn
Mrs. Hoover No. is the plaintiff.
No bills were returned against Frank
Fall1 and Harry WilSle. charged with
burglary, in holding up Henry Jensen,
at Third avenue and Arson street, last
summer. Fallx and Wikle were re-
the city after an extended absence.
near as he could swear that F'alk was
the man that did the business, with
Wikle, who was with him at the time,
rs an accomplice, was that he thought
he recognized Falk's voice, behind the
mask thru which the hold-up's eyes
we're alone showing. The grand jury
lid not consider this sufficient evil
dence to hold the young men. Other
indictments were returned, but at
present are not in shape to be made
public.
The grand jury spent the day at the