Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-20
WATERLOO JAIL ENTERTAlNs
STRANGE MAN OF BRILLIANT
INTELLECT.
IN PRIESTHOOD
AND MASTER OF LANGUAGES.
Educated at Oxford, Long in Priest
hood and Later Expelled for Radical
Views, He Became an outcast and a
Wanderer-Now 66 Years Of Age
Still Abhors Filth.
pecial to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Waterloo, March ia brilliant
man with his self-respect entirely
submerged has been the marvel of the
local police officials during the past
few days.
Worn and wearied from constant
ltramping, John Rivers, a highly edu-
l.cated, cultured and refined ex-priest
of the Catholic faith, wandered into
the police station and asked for a
nights lodging and a bite to eat. He
of fifteen miles thru the snow without
food since 6 O'clock in the morning.
and Chief Leighton gave the old man
la meal and berth in the boys ward
where the cot contains a little more
bedding than in the ordinary cell
The applicant was short heavy
set man claiming to he Sc years old.
His flowing beard and his hair were
tinged with white but had the appear
ance of having been given attention
regularly. His garments We're tattered
but his overalls, tucked into a pair of
heavy felt boots, were clean and his
general appearance Indicated a man
with a desire to keep as clean as pos
sible. He dotted his hat to Chief
Leighton when he made his applica-
tiun for bed and something in his
polite manner attracted the attention
of the chief, but when he showed him
to the cell he did not realize he was
showing the way,to a place of rest for
a man who in his day had shown the
way OF comfort and petsce to hundreds
of others.
Tells Pathetic tale.
Some of the city hall habitues In
vaded the old gentleman's quarters
while he eagerly devoured the little
plate of steak, potatoes, bread and
butter and drank his cup of coffee.
There was something about him that
attracted attention and 1t was not long
before indisputable evidence of edu-
cational training was manifested. IN
der the rough exterior Of travel
stained garments, there shone mind
so bright that his interrogators mar
veled 1t seemed Incredible that this
old man had once been student, brill
liant in theology, a master of six
languages, a teacher in the moral well
fare of the world. and withal a gem
itleman of means and intellectual abil-
ity.
Suspended From Church.
John Rivers claimed to have been
born in England sixty-six years ago of
Irish parentage who had it's share Of
the worlds goods. He was given adj
vantages in the educational and social
way not enjoyed by many young men
of this country. He graduated with
honors from oxford University and
from the Jesuit Seminary, becoming
a Catholic priest in England. He was a
close student and developed ideas and
theories of his own, in fact demon
strated that he could think for himself.
All went we'll for several years until
one day he delivered a public lecture
which was partiallyqu in the news
papers 1t did not meet the approba-
ton of the. presiding bishop and he was
taken to task for his remarks, the bish-
op claiming Rivers was preaching
heresy. He was told that another dis
gression from the principles of the
faith would mean punishment, where
upon he told the divine that he might
relieve him at once if his preaching
did not suit Accordingly he was sus-,
pended from the priesthood for insub-
ordination. That was thirty years ago.
He then became a traveller and when
his funds were exhausted he degener-
ated into a mere tramp, minus the
viciousness of the common run of ho-
boes.