Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1907-08-01

to-wit: that he shot John Polk in
the back of the head.
But this goes for naught with
our superlatively discriminating
Governor, and he apparently sets,
as conclusive against it, the testi-
mony of the murderers. He by
inuendo seeks to discredit the
States witnesses in this particular
in the following paragraph of his
reasons:
"There was introduced in evil
dence a confession alleged to have
been made by VIM. Spaugh to the
posse that captured him. In this
confession he is quoted as saying:
81 shot him in the head with a
Winchester rifle, and bent the
barrel over his head" How the
barrel of a Winchester rifle could
be bent by striking a human head
is dificultto understand, especially
as the skull of the deceased showed
no evidence of fracture that a hard
blow with a heavy instrument
would produce"
The thought does not seem to
have occurred to the Governor that
the statements made by the wit
nesses might be true and that they
simply told Bill Spaugh's story as
he had related it to them. | am
told that an indentation in the
floor near the victims head showed
that the end of the gun-barrel had
struck there.
The Governor lays much stress
on Arthur's statement that he fired
the shots while his brother Will
liam was backing away from the
sheriff. He is not ingenious in
this, inasmuch as he does not go
on and state Uhy Arthur insisted
that it was he did the killing, and
the casual reader would be led to
believe that Arthur was magnani-
mously telling the truth though it
must imperil his own neck. The
fact is, that he was trying to show
that Sheriff Polk was shooting at
Bill, and that he, Arthur, had
killed the officer to save his broth
er. OF course, his testimony was
false in this: a last resort to save
himself. The reports from the
shotgun and the other weapon
were almost simultaneous, and the
wounds showed that the shots
came from different directions.
But there is no need of pursuing
the subject further, and if Cover
nor Folk had been square and
honest with our people so much
need not have been written. But
he has dallied with this matter fol
months and months; he has had
before him, time and again, depu-
tations from this community, and
protested great incertitude as to
his final action.
Hon. G. H. Polk, brother to the
murdered official, is Iron county's
Representative in the Legislature,
and his duties called him to Jeffer-
son City last winter. He waited
upon the Governor several times,
and returned home at the close of
the session fully impressed with
the belief that the laws sentence
would be carried out. Recently he
went to California, by way of JEFF
ferson City, and to a friend writes
that he called upon the Governor,
who assured him that he would
abide by the recommendation OF
the Pardon Attorney. MI. Polk
then saw the latter official who de-
clared to him that he would moi
recommend the Governor to COM
mute the sentence passed upon
Spaugh by the court, and gave
him his hand upon it. When, a
short time later, MI. Polk told the
Executive of the Pardon Attorneys
declaration, the former official be-
came evasive and said he would
"see about it," This was one
: time when the Pardon Attorney
, refused to throw himself into the
breach, no doubt to the great an
noyance of his superior.
/. The very peculiar conditions
under which Arthur Spaugh re.
, ceived a lesser sentence and the
!, mother was acquitted have beer
made known to him. If there has
| been a miscarriage of justice il
one instance, shall that work as ar
estoppal of punishment in anotherf
Under the assumption that nc
man can be executed without his
consent first being obtained, the
, Governor places himself above
court, Judge and jury, as we'll al
| the Jaw they have interpreted anc
; applied. This may be correct
/ but, if SO, what fools are the peo'
pie who pay hundreds of thou
sands of dollars in criminal costs
| every year! Why not formulate
) the charge and at once refer it tt
: the decision of the Governor anC
his Pardon Attorney? If their sense
of justice, eked out by biased anc
. sometimes lying er-parte testimo'
0 ny, must in every instance b.
satisfied, why all this intermediate
and costly legal procedure?
: 81 told you so" is always ex'
: ~asperating to him who has hopec
!? for something that has not come tt
: pass; but the truth is | never hat
: a doubt as to the ending of the
/ final chapter of this tragedy
< to be written at the State capital
: Therefore, l I'm neither surprised
nor disappointed; | am only dis
= gusted at the thinly drawn-ou
"monkeying'' with SO grave
I matter, and the puerile reasoning
in behalf of the long delayed con.
clusion. The Communication, hat
| justice demanded it, should have