Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-10-05
State Board Educating County
Officials to Return Prisoners
at Once it They go Wrong
SECOND TRIAL UNNECESSARY
indeterminate Sentence Law Had for
One Object obviatine of RetriaI-
Democrats Continue to Assume That
Iowa Is Doubtful state-Bryan to Be
in Iowa Tuesday.
pec:al to 1'imes-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Oct. 5.--The state board
of parole is trying to educate the coun-
ty attorneys and other officials of the
state to use the indeterminate sentence
law to return criminals to the peni-
tentiary without trial when they COM
nit crime while on parole. One of the
chief reasons for passing the indeter-
inmate sentence law was that it obvi-
ated the necessity for further trials.
Under it when paroled convict COM
n1its crime he can be returned to
the penitentiary to serve the unex-
pired time without further trial and
can be left in to the maximum. Many
county officials are paying no attention
to this feature and are going to the ex-
pense of trying a man second time
and giving him a further sentence.
The other day a paroled convict
from Ananlosa broke into a freight
car in Des Moines. The man had
served less than one year for prev
ious crime. The maximum time for
that crime is four years He could have
been returned and made to serve the
full time of over three years remain-
ing. Instead the Polk county officials
went to the expense of trying him
again and then sentenced him to thirty
days on the rock pile
The theory Of the indeterminate sem
tence law was that it would save
money to the state and counties and
would lengthen the terms OF the per-
sistent offenders. 1t was shown that
many convicts are in the first place
sentenced under the old law to but a
third or fourth of the maximum term.
They were then given the benefit of
good time and in a short time were out
If they committed a second offense they
had to be tried again at expense to
the county and sentenced again, having
paid the penalty fully for the first Of
fense.
Under the indeterminate sentence
law the proposition is to sentence the
man to the penitentiary. If he shows
signs of being good the parole board
in due tirne and with due consideration
of the mans past record and character
and age lets him out on parole with
the provision that If he doesn't behave
he is liahle to be returned to the pen
itentiary to serve out the balance OF
the maximum term. Thus If he COM
mits crime or felony while on parole
the only expense to getting him back
into the penitentiary is the expense of
an officer arresting him and returning
him to the penitentiary.
AS soon as the Des Moines man fin
ishes his thirty days on the rock pile
here he will be returned to the peni-
tentiary and there is little doubt but
he will be kept there till the end of
the term for which he was first SEN
tenced or a little over three years.
Good tirne is all marked off when a
man commits an offense while on pa
role.
The democrats are assuming that
Iowa is doubtful state They are
acting On the belief that the normal
republican majority in Iowa is about
10000 and that it only needs ITO change
10000 votes to put it in the democratic
column, and they are working tooth
and toe nail to get that 10000. They
claim to have THE 10000 already IN
fact and the work they are doing is
for the purpose of keeping it lined up
Extravagant are the claims, but here
is the way they figure it out: They
say there were 3OS,OO0 votes for Roose-
Welt in 1904 and 100000 for Parker in
P1,f a
normal republican strength in Iowa
is about 100000, and the normal dem
ocratic strength about 100000. 1t
needs, therefore, only to change 3d..
900 votes.
AS evidence of the change which
they claim has already set in they
point to the Polk county democratic
club, which, according to their claims)
has a membership of 300. republicans.
They claim again that every county is
organized and that every county dem
ocratic club in the state has on an
average. of 200 republicans who this
year will vote for Bryan, while they
claim THAT there are no democrats to
speak Of that are going to vote for
Taft. At the democratic headquarters
in this city everything is as quiet as a
grave yard. The newspaper report
ers who call every day never get an
item or an interview except a few
speaking dates for Fred White and
Claude Porter But around the cor
ner the democrats can be found who
are on personally good terms with the
reporter who tell just what the ex-
pectations are.
1t needs only a bright boy and a
slate and pencil to figure out that If
the democratic claims are right and IL
their normal majority of 10000 is right
and if for every 500 democrats in Iowa
who vote for Bryan there will Ibe 200
republicans vote for him then he will
get $4,000 votes in Iowa and Taft will
get but 100000. If in the votes for
Bryan only 100 out of each thousand
are republicans Taft will still have a
majority of about $4,000. OF course