Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-09-26
CARROLL RELATES
.CONN|E Quarrel!
GOVERNOR ON WITNESS STAND
IN DEFENSE OF LIBEL
INDICTMENT.
RULING OF JUDGE HOWE
slMPLlFIEs THE ISSUES
Case Is Narrowed Down to Several
Fin, Points, With Both State and
Defense Gaining Some Advantage
carroIPs Charges Of Misconduct With
MitehellviIle Girls Go GImmerine

MitehelIviIle Girls Go Glimmering
Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, Sept. Ex-Governor Car
roll on the witness stand today told
the story in a striking and dramatic
manner of his long controversy with
John Cownie. which led up to his Sc
curing from him his written resigna-
ton Of his office. He was given the
widest latitude by the court in telling
all the details of his various conversa-
tions with the persons interested, and
of his visits to the Mitchellvtlle school.
His first information of complaint
about Mr.. Cownie 1came In ApfD.3ust
following the close ofthes1aSt legisA-
ture. when in conversation with State
Veterinarian Koto toiaelearned about that
Glenwood, cattle that had Indicated
signs OF tuberculosis: howaCowniahad
toTd Koto he wouldhlave them slaught-
cred; that he said he would send them
to Ornahasand,Kotoln insisted that they
should be sent to an Iowa packing
house. The governor then counseled
with Judge Robinson and found that
the cattle had been sold thru Clay.
Robinson ls Co. to.SCuda.hy, and there
had been no claim oa1refund because
of the sale. Ge also told Of getting
into communication with the.packsrs,
with the result that in the end the
state paid s25y for ten head alleged to
be not fit for meat.
Tho Trouble at MiteheIvile.
fIfirfpo l11rp =
mer, received letter from a girl at
N1itchellvflle complaining as to condi-
tions.And he showed this also to Judge
Robinson. with theTesult that an in
vestigation followed, the result Of
which Ire had never received. He had
understood. tonever. that many bad
things were brought out about Super
intendent Fitzgerald and the school. In
September he went to Mitchellvflle and
Miss G4erison told him Of the trouble
she claimed to have had with Cownie.
of the quarrel she had had With him in
the presence OF the gtrlsesHnd OF Cow.
nte making the assertion TO the girls
that their attempted escape was a triv-
ial matter, and how she had told the
girls the contrary. Miss Garrison had
said that since that time Cownie had
mistreated her and made it impossible
to run the school.
At holiday time one OF the cottage
matrons came to his office and told
him all about what happened when Cow
ME had notified them they were to
have a new superintendent and had
praised her highly and assured the
girls that the new superintendent did
rot believe In corporal puntshm ent.
He told of the outbreak ten years ago,
and said that If he had been one Of the
girls he would have been a ringleader.
Cownie also told that Miss Garrison.
who was soon to be the new superin-
tendent, had been superintendent of the
Benedict home, and what she had done
there for the unfortunate girls An
outbreak followed this event.
Quarrel With Miss Garrison.
The governor then told of what Miss
Garrison had said to him about her
quarrel with CoWnie before the girls
on one occasion. when they differed as
to dancing. On one occasion. according
to Miss Garrison, Cownie came to the
school without her knowledge and she
found him In room talking to the
girls, and when she came into the room
he explained that the girls were asking
the right to have societies and other
privileges, and Miss Garrison said that
it was for her to decide. whereupon
Cownie became indignant and upbraid-
ed her before the girls, and said:
'If you were a man would take OIL
my coat and thrash YOU" OF words to
that effect. Miss Garrison stated she
had told her story to the board
and Mr.. Cownie had denied all of it
before her attorney.
All Goes Into Record.
The state undertook to have ruled
out much of this as leading up to an
official action or conduct which might
have taken place, but as having moth
ing to do with the purely personal ac-
ton in having the alleged libelous ar
tfcle printed, but the court insisted on
permitting all the matter to go into the
case.
Confirms States Witnesses.
Governor Carroll, continuing his d.
rect testimony, told all about how he
came to secure the affidavits Of the
various girls at Mitchellivlle in which
were charges against Cownie; that
they were made up from notes Of the
stenographio report taken by his pri-
vate stenographer. and afterwards
signed. He told. also of his various
conferences with Judge Robinson and
how he had f6llowed Robins1n's advice
as to proceedings; then told Of his cd1-
ferences with Murphy, Ram. Ingham
and others, in which he told them Of
his plans. In this he brought out 11oth-
Ing new but generally confirmed the
statements OF the states witnesses.
The Issues Simplified.
When the testimony is all in and the
court is ready to turn the Carroll libel
case over to the jury it will be found
that the issues have been simplified and
that practically only two contentious
will be pressed hard upon the atten-
ton OF the Jury.
The state will insist that the publica-
tion which Is on its face libelous be-
cause OF its falsity as to the character
of Mr.. Cownie, was a part OF the gen.
eral attack which had rum over many