Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-01-05
OUTSIDE POINT OF VIEW

Some of us read the other day that
in one county in Iowa a miserable
brute called man, raped his own niece
and that he is now walking the streets
of the towns free, under bonds of ST.
900.
In another county seat in Iowa, ac-
cording to the sworn information of the
woman two men called at her home on
the outskirts of town and compelled
her by force to comply with their brut-
ish demands These two men are also
at liberty under small bonds.
1t is very much to the credit of the
citizens living in the communities
where these crimes were committed
that mob law was not resorted to, and
the law was allowed to take it's course.
but it is very much to our discredit
as a state, that such criminals are. able
to secure bonds of so low an amount
making an escape from punishment al
most a certainty. In case these GRIM
inals are unable to arrange a satisfac-
tory money arrangement with their
victims, then the next obvious move
will be ito jump their bonds" and in
either case the law and the prescribed
IRENE.
But worse than all is the present lack
of sentiment which makes such a con-
dition of affairs possible. The result
of such supineness on the part of the
better class of our citizens, is almost
an incentive to the criminal part of
the community to repeat such crimes,
knowing that punishment is dilatory
and doubtful.
There has been almost an epidemic
Of bank defalcations and failures in
Iowa during the past two years. Many
of these bank cashiers have sought a
suicides grave and this would seem
an argument showing that public opin
ion is still so strong against crime of
this nature that death is preferable
to life in an outraged community But
on the other hand, we have now liv-
ing in Iowa several bank cashiers free
to go and come as they please, only
under bonds for trial, SAID trial In
some of these cases having already
been postponed once, twice or three
times And in this class OF crime there
is this bad feature. Sucn men have
strong and active sympathizers who
use arguments in their favor, such as
he was obliged to pay heavy political
assessments and some OF his shortage
was money he borrowed" Of the bank
for that purpose. Or he was only paid
SIS month by the bank to handle
each year hundreds of thousands of
dollars. This same remark Is fire.
auently made of one cashier now fill
ing a suicides grave, and Of another
it is sympathizingly said he probably
first used the banks money to pay
some of another's defalcation.
In this state Of Iowa we have a few
ex-officials politicians. if you please,
that are now the defendants in suits
brought to recover money, as alleged,
obtained fraudulently. Such cases,
from evidence printed In the state pa
pers, have already been tried by the
court of public opinion, with verdict
of guilty as charged. The only de-
Tense offered In the law courts Of Iowa
is Of technical nature and the prob
able acquittal will be a result Of legal
hair splitting ALI this is bad, but
worse, far worse, is the attitude Of the
better class Of citizens in failing to
ostracize, businessw wise. politically and
socially, these men. convicted at the
bar of public opinion. The youth of
today see such men received every
where with all the cordially and
friendship accorded to strictly honest