Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1910-09-30
4 JUST VERDICT BUT NOTHING DECIDED

A JUST VERDICT BUT NOTHING DECIDED
The Jury in the Cownie Carroll case
held that Carroll was not guilty o.
malice charged in the indictment ane
from a careful reading of the cour'
proceedings any reasonable man WI
agree that the jury could not have de-
.cided otherwise under the limitations
prescribed by the law in the case
When John Cownie was notified BY
phone of the verdict his only reply
was At expected as much and 50 dlc
everybody else The vital question o.
whether Carroll pursued Cownie un-
1nst,v in securing affidavits or whether
Cownie was really guilty OF lmmora
conduct toward the inmates OF 'he
Mitchellville school We're excluded from
the case. The people OF the state OF
Iowa must await some other pNpAe
hearing to get al these facts and john
Cowr1ie must still carry the load o.
stigma and suspicion cast upon MIN
The court Instructed the jury that
"Before you can convict the defendant
in this case you must find from the
evidence. beyond a reasonable DOUBT
that in publishing the article charged
in the indictment he acted lnfo
malice" And the jury rightly found no
proof Of malice in the particular pup
ltcat.on to which the Indictment was
confined. Carroll had Comics hide on
the fence long before he wrote his arti-
Gle In the Capital. He had no occasion
for malice or.object in defaming CoWnle
al the time Of publication for Cow
ME had resigned The question OF
malice at the time he solicited am
davits and flashed them on Cownie 70
force a resignation was not admitted
as an issue The jury was confined 70
the question of malice in the news
paper publication only; such are the
technical restrictions of the law
However. neither the public, Cover
nor Carroll nor John Cownie have had
iustice In this case. The questions o!
Cownie's guilt or innocence and of Car
rolls guilt or innocent Of very
serious wrong doing have not beer
tried. Carroll remains under the same
verv general suspicion of having black
mailed Cownie out of his JOB while
there is justification in the evidence o,
suspecting Cownie of black immorality
, If these affidavits We're not false and i
cny itI
designing persons
Cownie published his story in tbs
newspap ers first. Carroll came back a
him in self defense and this saved hin
under the law from being guilty o
malice but did Carroll actually solicit
false affidavits against Cownie? Thi:
question was not permitted to go to the
Jury. Carroll was permitted to tell u
the jury what these affidavits were
and it appears from the record tina
he wrote for them and went PERSONAL,
to get them and it also appears un'
officially that his Representative
wrote some of them for the girls Il
sign but when Cownie proposed to pu
the same girls on the witness stan(
to tell the jury what they knew apou
him he was barred because Counie wa!
not being tried upon any indictment il
that case. This was the law but no
justice.
The Times Republican long ago de
manded a public trial and hearing o
CAROLS case against CoWnie. TIL
people OF this state have right I,
know whether the dean of the boar,
Of control made improper proposals t,
girls in the state school or whethe
the governor of this state soIicice,
false affidav.ts of this vicious characte
and used them to backnail a man GU
OF his office. Therefore there shouit
be a general demand that these issue
be tried out. They were barred from
This case but they are the issues tina
ought to be settled for the good OF tn
public service. John Cownie ought :,
demand their trial. Let's have n
facts about Cownie or about Carroll.