Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-09-19
DR.. Jones Boldly Discusses Lo-
cal Politics and Prefers
Singing Criticism
COUNTY ATTORNEY WAS LAX
Says That This Official Failed To
Bring Before Grand Jury Witnesses
to Whom He Had Been Cited And
Gave FIimsy Excuse-Attorney's
Explanation.

DR.. Elijah Brown Jones disturbe
the ordinary routine of Sunday evening
church services with a plain spoken
sermon on Lights and Shadows of
Marshalltown Politics." at the Baptist
church Sunday evening. Beginning
with the issues and candidates of the
national campaign, DR.. Jones criticised
Roosevelt for his strenuosity and inn
perialistic policies, predicted that he
| could not return to the white house
free from embarrassing pledges to the
politicians, and then praised Judge
Parker as being a clean, able man, but
concluded that he was untried and UNI
known.
However" continued the speaker,
it will not make one particle of diff
ference to our spiritual, moral or bus
mess welfare which Of these two men
is elected" The lack of "a moral issue
in either the democratic or republican
party was that of which the doctor
complained. The prohibition party did
have that issue, but no chance of sue
cess.
Coming then to local politics DR..
Jones thought the saloon influence III
opr politics was most lamentably
strong. AS evidence he told of a list
containing the names of forty citizens
who would testify before a grand jury
regarding gambling place, it was al
legged, was being permitted to run, in
an upstairs room on Main street, which
list had been placed in the county at
torney's hands but no action was TAX
en-. DR.. Jones than said that it had
been learned from grand juror that
the county attorney had given as his
reason for not bringing the matter be-
for the grand jury that the list had
been stolen from his office. The infer
ence the speaker intended to convey
was that such apparent subterfuge as
this convicted the county attorney Of
attempting to evade the responsible
ties of his office.
The fee system, too, came in for
condemnation by the preacher. He
thought that it was a vicious and dam
gerous system to allow a mayor to
preside over police court as judge and
profit by the fines he assessed upon the
prisoners coming before him for JUS
tice. The fee systems for arrests was
wrong too. Our officials should be
salaried, he thought, and the fee sys-
tenn ended. And finally he would re-
form our customs to such an exent
that candidates would not be forced
to seek an office which so Inundated
the better kind of men as to bar them
from politics.
Among the lights" in modern poli-
tice. The fee system for arrests was
sacrific and devotion to the public
service displayed by such men as those
who have entered the Roosevelt cabi-
net. Also the fact that our primaries
are cleaner and our voting fairer than
they once were. The public schools,
he thought, were educating a healthy
political mind in the rising genera
ton.
There was not a large attendance
present, but the sermon will prove
a subject for lively discussion for sew
eral days to come.
County Attorneys Explanation.
County Attorney Northup was asked
by the es-Republican to state his
side Of the case. He had not learned of
DR.. Jones' sermon, and tells a story en-
tirely different from the statements
made by the Baptist pastor
Mr.. Northup says that the list OF
referred to did not contain
forty names, but about twenty He
prepared the list himself and presented
it to the grand jury, together with
other lists Of witnesses in cases, names
Of persons he knew who might be able
to give evidence in the cases under in
vestigation. The grand jury selected
from the list the names OF those they
these were suppoenaed, and
The case was disposed Of as in the US
lal manner when no indictments are
returned. The list was placed with
other grand jury papers, and after
wards turned up missing. "The last
[ knew Of the list" said Mr.. Northup
st was in the possession of member
IF the grand jury. He may have 1t now
and return it to me when he so desires,
Or it may have been placed with other
papers, and overlooked. At any rate
it is immaterial, for the case was dis
posed Of before the list was lost and |
it could have been duplicated if nee
assary.
Or. Jones must think am fool,
f he suspects that I would suppress a
list before grand i1ry. I cannot i'm
agine where he would obtain any infor-
nation that would lead him to make
any such statement as you say he did,"