Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-11

Special to Times-Republican.
Muscatine, March live. the jury,
find the defendant, Harry Jones. guilty
of the crime Of murder in the first de-
gree, and fix his punishment at ------ :"
Such was the verdict returned by
the jury in the Jones case at the
court house, after learning of the tragic
end of the defendant. l.. 0. Steninger,
be termed 81 straw vote. Every one
Of the jurors quickly responded with
an affirmative answer when asked as
to the guilt OF innocence of the man
on trial, and notwithstanding his life
less body lay cold in death only
few blocks away, every man who heard
the evidence believed he had committed
the most ttendish crime that has ever
stained the annals of eastern Iowa, and
adjudged him guilty. The verdict. nat
urally is hardly a fair one, as the de-
Tense had introduced no testimony. and
was therefore based solely upon the
evidence presented for the state. 1t
shows, however, how convincing was
the testimony introduced and how
carefully and thoroughly the states
case had been prepared. Or in other
words. how closely was the chain of
circumstantial evidence wrapped about
the defendant, in the effort to convict
him of a. crime Of which the public
generally believed him to be guilty.
Left Letter to Judge.
Before hanging himself Jones penned
the following note to Judge Jackson:
Judge Jackson. your honor: The
testimony against me, Harry Jones, is
something awful, but 1 must say that
there are more lies than anything else.
I will give you the names of the ones
that are not true against me: Jim Sny-
der. Jim Lewis Lottie Houston, Mrs.
Scott. John Bassett, Fannie Hobart and
Bill Hobart.
Those are the names of the parties.
Now, judge, for men and women to
take the stand, tell so many lies as they
have told, there ought to be something
done, as have no show with them as
to defend myself am up against 1t, l
can see that; but I will tell you that
l am not the party that did the crime
and I will hope that the man that did
it will be made to make a confession
and let the people understand and
know in their own hearts that Harry
Jones is not the party that the crime
should go on, judge. ! might have put
this in other words if | were able to
spell them. so on that account l have
to take the long way around. so that
you VIII be able to make it all out. and
there is one more that did not name. |
that is the sheriff; he told what was
not so. He made it good and strong He
did not tell me the name was Harry
Jones until he got the papers from
Kansas and did not say anything |
about the Fairport people cutting my
heart out, I think it is a put up job of |
the Fairport people They are bound to
make me out the man that did it, so as
there is another crime in Pennsylvania /
against me I don't see anything but
prison ahead of me as long as live so
might as we'll do it first as last and be
lone with it; when am dead my trou-
oles are over,
"Yours respectfully,
''HARRY JONES'"
To Be Buried in South.
In accordance with a message re-
,eived by wire by H. K. Kemble, of
L49S Washington street, from Sherman
Beatty, brother of Harry Jones, the
.emains of the alleged Fairport slayer
will be sent to Chattanooga, Tenn, to-
lay The brother stated in the telegram
hat he would take charge of the body
It that place. Mr.. Beatty resides in
Alton Park. small town near Chatta-
,ooga, and it is thought that the body
will he inferred at that place.