Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-12
BUSSE GETS RESPITE
Request of Supreme Judges and
Personal Plea of Relatives
Move Governor
EXECUTION is SET FOR JAN. II
Murderer. Little Son and Daughter
Appear in Person to Plead With the
Govsrnor-susse Adds a Personal
Plea by Letter From His Prison Cell
and Tells Of crima.
Special to Times-Republican.

Special to Times-Republican
Des Moines. Dec. 12.-The recon-.
mendations of the members of the Iowa
supreme court, supplemented by per.
sonal appeals in behalf Of their father
by the young children, gave Louis Bus.
Sc, confessed murderer, another lease
on life, and the date of his execution
has been postponed.
The date for his execution has beer
fixed for the fifth time, for Jan. IL
1907. But in the meantime a hearing
has been granted by the governor on
the question Of Communication of the
death penalty to life imprisonment, on
Jan. 8. 1907.
Yesterday the children of Busse and
his sister and brother accompanied his
attorney, e. A. Dawson, when the lat
ter appealed to the governor for com-
mutation Of the sentence or for post
ponement OF the date for the death
penalty. The children are boy aged
10 ana girl aged 8, and they mingled
their tears with these Of their aunt
and uncle, suffering 8. grief SO genuine
that it is believed they fully realized
that the shadow of the gallows had
fallen upon them, and what 1t all
meant, even back to the horrible TRACE
dy which deprived them Of mother
and suspended q moose above the head
of their father. And yesterday morn
ing g personal plea for Busse found its
way thru the mails to the governors
desk. =
Upon this showing Governor Cum
MINIS felt that his former conclusion
ought to be reviewed and in order to
give the attorneys who represent the
state on the trial In the district court
an opportunity to be heard he post
sponed the execution until Friday, Jan.
II, and hxed the hearing for Thur sday,
Jan. 3.
The judges Of the supreme court and
the attorney general were in confer
ence with the governor all during the
day, one by one. The sole question I'M
der consideration way the policy Of q
state proceeding to the execution OF an
accused man when three members Of
the supreme tribunal believed he had
not had a fair trial and would give him
another, and three, ortly. were left who
voted to affirm the death sentence
against him.. under the law, in Iowa,
passed recently. when the supreme
court, there being six justices, divides
evenly on question OF appeal. the
judgment Of the lower court stands In
Identical tax cases from Scott and
inn qrpc ri
evenly divided and both were affirmed
by operation OF law: and yet the de-
cisions In the lower courts were dia-
metrically opposed. Had the law not
been passed when the bench was in
creased to six members. neither the
tax cases nor the Busse case would
have been disposed Of at all.
Buses Appeal.
"Anamosa, Ia, Dec. 10.-Governor A.
B. Cummins, Des Mednes, Ia. - Dear
Sir: am writing you to appeal in my
own behalf.
Y my lawyer, Mr.. Dawson, no doubt
has covered the ground in my case
pretty thoroughly, but there is a point
or two which wish to note.
AFTER my children and the hired
man had been done come twenty min
utes, my wife came out to the barn and
remarked that If all her relatives in
Ackley should die she. would not go to
the funeral, as they would not send
her some things she had there. told
her she ought to be ashamed, and made
as tho would throw a pail Of ground
feed at her, telling her to go into the
house. She went in and when fol-
lowed and stepped in at the kitchen
door she hit me over the head with
chair. Now, while this appears in my
confession at that time it does not ap-
pear in the evidence and wish you
to know the circumstance as it will
show you that did ;aot act from pre-
meditation, but from aggravation and
on the spur of the moment.
81 am perfectly innocent Of any
planning to carry out such an act, and
acted at the time in anger caused by
the blow given me by my wife.
Had this act been planned should
not have confessed, for having MUIR
der in my heart would have kept it
there
81 do not plead innocence, but that I
did not premeditate, plan and carry out
this crime, and my appeal to you Is for
such mercy and executive clemency as
you think due me under these consid-
erations. If I-were guilty of planning
and waiting an opportunity to carry
out my plans the death penalty might
not be too severe. But I trust that in
your Judgment you will consider such
q penalty too severe in my case, as
presented, and take such action that
It may be made less severe, not alone
for myself, but for the sake OF the
father and mother who will suffer with
me and for the children left behind. I
am very truly yours, LOUIS BUSSE."
The letter added nothing, of course,
to the facts already before the gov
ernor with respect to the case, but it
served to supplement- the plea of the
attorney and the tears of the family
group which gathered about the gov
errors desk, having come here from
homes in Butler county
STOCKHOLDERS ELECT.
Annual Meeting of res Moines, Iowa
Falls e Northern Held.
Special to Times-Republican
Iowa Falls, Dec. Fat the annual
meeting of the stockholders of the Des
Moines, Iowa Falls 4 Northern rail-
way, held at the general offices of the
in this city, yesterday, but |
few changes were made in the directory |
or the official personnel of the company |
which owns and operates the Des
Moines Short Line, and is now building