Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-10-29
STORY COUNTY ATTORNEY NOW
IN PRISON SEEKS IMMIGRATION
AMONG FRIENDS.
ISSUES CIRCULAR LETTER
SHOWING HIS INNOCENCE
Relatives Will Carry Case to Pardon
Board as Soon a. Time Limit Per-
mits-TjernaseI Apparently Serving
Time For Crime Never Committed =
Other Iowa News.
,,ecial to rimes-Republican

Special to Times Republican.
Story City, Oct. 29.-P. G. and q j.
Tiernagel, brother and son OF l.. j.
Tjernagel, the Story City attorney who
is now serving a term in states prison
for the embezzlement of a note which
on the face of new evidence was never
have issued red-hot state
ment in an effort to show that the law
Yer is being unjustly punished. In this
circular, which is being mailed TO
friends turnout the state, the governor
is criticized for his failure to extend
leniency on the presentation of evil
dence controverting that given on the
trial when conviction was secured.
TjernageTs case is peculiar. He was
convicted on the evidence of an old
man who now admits that he was en-
tirely mistaken, that the note was not
embezzled, and that Tjernagel has been
guilty of no wrong doing, yet he can
not gain his freedom on the statement
of the man that convited him.
The relatives have had the case be-
fore the governor, who refuses to inter-
pardon board for a hearing as soon as
the required eleven months of lmpris-
onment have been served.
Tjernagel has had stormy career.
He was at one time well-to-do, but
years ago lost considerable money in
the Scandal Publishing Company. 1t
was the failure of this concern that
brought on his troubles. Relatives de-
clares he has been prosecuted. Be that
as it may, Tjernagel has been defen-
dant in thirty suits in court, and won
every one of them until the embeZzle-
n1ent case resulted in conviction.
The statement in his behalf in part
is as follows:
The Relatives Statement.
The evidence taken in the trial of
this case was confiic ting only in re-
spect to one question, and that was
whether Tjernagel did purchase the
three notes which he was charged with
embezzling At the trial Tjernagel
maintained that he purchased these
three notes by giving his own note in
the sum of 1913, and which note Siver-
son accepted five years before. Siver-
son denied having entered into such a
bargain or accepting such a note,
tho the defendant introduced in evil
dence carbon copy OF said note which
is in the following words:
Story City, Iowa. April %. 1905.
For value received promise to pay
Ole Siverson on the eleventh day of
April, 1910, with interest at s per cent per
annum. This note is given for three
notes for 1925 each signed by Hans j.
Handal and wife"
= In response to this issue the trial
Judge instructed the court as follows:
"One Of the defenses (the court
should have said the defense. urged
by the defendant is that he purchased
the notes alleged to have been en-
bezzled of the said Ole Siverson and
paid for the same by the execution of
his own note. You are told that if the
said Siverson sold or transferred said
notes to the defendant, then the de-
PENDANT can not be found guilty of the
charge made against him. and your
verdict should be an acquittal." Upon
this statement of issue and the evil
dence adduced, the prosecuting witness
testifying one way and the defendant
the other the jury found the defendant
guilty.
An appeal was taken to the supreme
court. No abstract was prepared set
ting forth the testimony and rulings Of
the court, and the supreme court af-
firmed the decision of the lower court
upon what is known as short tran
script" that is to say. all it had before
it was the indictment and the minutes
of the testimony taken before the grand
jury. The case was not tried upon its
merits, the appeal was merely dis
missed The reason for not perfecting
the appeal was this: that newly dis
covered evidence, or rather proof and
demonstration of the correctness of the
defendants position, was not made
manifest until it was too late under our
law to use it as provided by law, and
the only resource that the defendant
had, was to the governor of Iowa for
pardon, and these reasons and facts
which follow were set forth and
shown TO the governor of this sta te,
and the following recitation is an abb
stract of the record made in the Of
flee of Governor Carroll in an applica-
ton for a full pardon.
Record in Governors CarroIl's Office.
The record here is voluminous, it
comprises affidavits, typewriter argu-
ments, oral statements taken in short
hand before the governor at various
times ana from various parties, COM
prisins about fifty or sixty pages OF
legal cap typewriter matter: in addi-
ton thereto, the transcript of the
court reporters notes taken at the
time of the trial about 100 pages, also
a transcript Of cross-examination con-
sisting of 107 questions propounded by
Governor Carroll himself to the pros :
ecuting witness Siverson on March is,
1910 Indeed the entire record of this
trial to the present time VS. before