Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-09-26

10 resign, ana lHat dll llls laheH "
gether showed malice.
Carroll On Defensive?
The defense will make the claim
stoutly that the communication pub
lished by the governor was in response
to an attack upon Carroll and that 1t
went no further than to explain mat
ters referred to by Mr.. Cownie, and
that nothing was shown as to malice
on the part of Carroll.
The significant part of the ruling of
Judge Howe. as the attorneys are COM
ing tc understand the situation. was
| that he wiped off the slate~all that part
of the defense Of Carroll on which EN-
phasis has been placed by the news
papers that nave been engaged IN de-
Tending him the, pas. .%c years; the
1rgumenu that Mr.. Carroll was acting
(, in the Line. of his DUTY as governor
irand that what ne did was his right as
governor and he can not be held to
acomnt for nls official act; Tor FOR err
rors -committeR in the performance of
his official duty. All this went out Of
the case On Saturday. 1t is probable
the attorneys for the defense will argue
this to the jury but under the courts
rulings 1t Is lost issue.
State in Better Position
It - because Of thiscruling that the
attorneys for the state have opened
to them q wide field Of Investigation
which may bring in much that would
not otherwise have been admissible.
They are now able to consider the
whole proceedings as If Carroll was
not governor. What he did was as a
private citizen. He went to MITCHELL
vile in person 10 secure from the
girls affidavit to be used against Cow
ME, not officially nor to serve any pub
blc purpose, but to be used by him
personally to eXtort from Mr.. Cownie
a resignation, some thing entirely for
! eign to his duty or bis right as COVER
nor In fact Carrolrfhad no more right
70 gather up affidavits and collect ugly
Etories and wild rumors to extorl
resignation than Mr. Cownae would
have had directed against Carroll. Az
/ or this was unofficial. 1t must there
fore Dc treated as If done by onA out
of office
| Precautions Contention Sustained.
I Judge Howe in making his ruling ac-
lcepted the argument of the state that
the governor had a right 20 do what
be did up to the time Of his intervie !.
whit Cownie on March IS, but that
When he followed with a demand for
Cownies resignation as The sequel to
4 all that he had done, ii disclosed an
intention to proceed outside his official
duty and thus showed malice. The
governor was greatly angered because
the senate had stood by Cownie in
April. 1909, and the governor attribut-
ed this solely to factional antagonism
The claim by the state is that the gov
| ernor leaving thus became angered
acted thereafter with malice in the
matter Of seeking to humiliate and
discredit Mr.. CoMnie and he not only
planned To force him off Of the board
but to force him off in disgrace. 1t is
now anticipated that in the cross.e1-
animation OF the defendants witnesses
end in the rebutal testimony there
VIII be a great deal done to throw light
on this phase of the case. This will
open the way. If the court permits. for
inquiry as to when Governor Carol
Eeet out to secure evidence against the
Icha racter Of Mr.. Cownie, as to what he
did. as to his circulation of the stories
he fsI gashered, as to the general
knowledge which he had permitted to
get out regarding his Information de-
rogatory to Cownie, and possibly as to
the newspaper attacks upon Cownie
instigated by the governor.
One Blow to State.
! On the other hand the state was
disappointed in the ruling of Howe on
the question of self defense. in holding
1 that whatever was done by Carroll in
reply to Cownie was privileged on the
| theory Of self-defense, and that it must
lbe shown that Carroll exceeded his
right OF self defense in order to make
a libel case. This so completely max
rows the case that 1t is of immense
advantage to the governor, and in fact,
as one lawyer said, II the governor car
not escape the consequences of the
unfortunate controversy with such
bruling he is indeed in hard lines. Cow
die went into print, so it has been
shown, because nc was being covertly
|atAcked and his reputation assailed in
behalf of Carroll; but Carroll also went
into the newspapers because he felt
| that his character was a-ssailed. Now
If Carroll did more than defend him
self 1t would show malice and consti-
tute a crime. II he confined himself
merely to making an answer he was
lwithin hrs right as an individual. If he
Iassailed Cowuie uniustly he was not
within his rights. /, is therefore re-
gafded as certain that in the presenta-
ton Of the evidence for the defense
the attorneys will present but very
small part OF the whole<story of what
| happened, confirming themselves solely
to the motive Of Carroll in writing the
Falleged libelous article and to showing
that In the publication of the article
he was merely defending himself as a
man against aspsrsons by Cownie.
AS to Purchases of Goods.
One other part of the defense re-
mains. That is the accusation made
directly and unenuvocally by Carroll
that Mr. Cownie had made purchases
Of goods for state Institutions without
complying strictly With the letter OF
the law. An effort was made to show
on cross-examlnation Of Mr.. Cownie
j Two ins suallces of this kind-one the
! purchase of a small wagon at Mitch
| ellville without specifications, the other
the ordering of wooens for the prison
ana reformatory WITHOUT the estimates
being oritfile. The wagon incident was
easily explained. Inrhe case of pur-
chase sc woolehs it was shown in ef-
| feet that the board did have knowledge
frf about how much cloth would be
needed, that the same cloth was pur-
chased as in the past, that the pur-
chase was authorized as required by
law, that the lowest price was secured,
| etc But the only irregularity was