Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-05-06
NEW LAW GIVES ExTRAoRDl
NARY AUTHORITY TO PENAL
COMMISSION.
PRESENT BOARD NOT IN
SYMPATHY WITH NEW LAW
Passage of Statute Was Secured by
Canon Bell, After Board Had Re-
jected Application of Youth in Whom
Bell Was lnterested-BeII Says He
Will Secure Even More Liberal Law:
to Times-Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, May 6.-Just how far
the state board of control will exercise
the extraordinary authority given it
in the new law passed by the recent
legislature to grant a pardon to a
man convicted for the first time Of a
crime before he is sent to the peni-
tertiary, is a matter of considerable
speculation.
The first application to the board to
exercise this discretion was turned
down. 1t was in a case from Des
Moines, where boy was convicted of
uttering forged instrument. His
cause was taken up by Canon Bell,
Of the Episcopal church here, who
urged that as he was young and had
never before been convicted of a crime
he should be paroled. The board re-
fused TO grant this parole. Rev. Mr..
Bell was incensed and openly accused
the board members of being out of ac-
cord with the altruistic spirit of this
christian age and of being hard heart
ed BY this precedent it is expected
the board is going to be rather reticent
about taking advantage of the new
law.
Now as a matter of fact this law
was passed by the legislature at the
instance of Canon Bell. He secured the
Introduction of the bill and worked
for it's passage. He says that two
years hence he will do even more He
then expects to have the bill amended
so as to make it compulsory upon
the board to parole the first timer"
into the custody of some good chris
tian citizen. He expects to have it
included that the paroled man shall
pay back to the state the cost of his
conviction and make good, so far as
possible, any wrong he has committed.
1t will be provided he shall be given
reasonable time to do this. If he vio-
lates the provisions of his parole and
does not report properly to his guar
dian ne must be returned to the court
TO be dealt with more severely. Canon
Bell says that If men who make their
first mistake are thus handled and the
spirit of christian manhood awakened
within them they may be saved from
doing further wrong. 1t is the stigma
of having been in the penitentiary he
says that prompts many men to be-
lieve society is against them and they
might as we'll be against society. He
believes tlree-fourths of the men con-
victed of crime the first time can be
redeemed and saved to good citizen
ship.
Inasmuch as the last Legislature
passed law giving employees of the
state institutions vacations at full pay
preparing a schedule of vacations fol-
the hundreds of men and women work
l. ing in the various state institutions. II
will probably be necessary to start the
vacations the middle of this month OF
not later than June / in order TO give
all the provided outing.
According to the monthly report JUS
issued by Wesley Greene, secretary Of
the state horticultural society, the
prospects of fruit crops in Iowa are d.
minishing. The predicted crop thi:
month is materially diminished 1t il
not now estimated that there will b.
more than per cent of a full peach
crop while last month it was though
there might be Is per cent. The pres
emit predictions on fruit crops are a:
4 follows:
Apples 81 per cent; pears SO; Amer.
lean plums SO; domestic plums 70
japanese plums 70; cherries So
H peaches s; grapes 80; red raspberrie!
60; black raspberries 65 blackberrie!
ST. currants SO: gooseberries 81
strawberries 10.