Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1912-02-26
mouLToN BANKER TEsTlFIEs TO
SELLING SEED TO CROFT
SHORTLY BEFORE FIRE.
kELso WOULD IMPLlcATE
REPLoeLE WITH CRIME
Handy Man u Search of Rep'os'o's
Barn az Quick to Discover Tools
Said . Have Been Take" From E's-
vassr-Arson Case Brings Out Bad
FEELING Between MouIton Residents.

Centerville, Feb. 26.-The testimony
of William Edwards, his son Charles.
and their farm hand; John Mckinley.
were the features of the trial of the
Hendons for arson. All during the trial
the names Of the Edwards have been
linked with A. c. Croft and the Hen
dons in the suspicious circumstances
Of the fire. On the stand both father
and son denied that their teams hauled
shelled corn away from the elevator
the night Of the fire, and Mckinney,
their hand, denied that ne drove one
of the wagons
William Edwards, the Moulton bank
err whose farm is out in the country
from Moulton, on which his son lives,
stated that they sold timothy seed to
the Croft company about week be-
fore the fire, and that about ten days
after the fire other seed was sold TO
Mr.. Croft. The seed that purported to
have been sold before the fire was
claimed to be old seed that had been
bought for speculative purposes, but
neither father nor son would venture
to say who they bought it of, saying
they believed some OF it was bought
| originally OF Mr.. Croft himself and
some from Beecher Carson, of Moul-
ton. The elder Edwards admitted that
ne holds A. c. Croft's note for $4,000
In being questioned as to his interest
! in having the insurance money paid,
but said it was secured by mortgage on
| the Croft farm.
Edison Kelso came in for large
share OF attention. He had been Croft's
right hand man, according to the the
DRY OF the state, in looking after many
features of the defense. He was ma
chinist at the elevator a few weeks be-
fore the fire. He told of going with
| the Moulton constable Feb. l to search
Ray Replogle's barn and finding tools
| there that he had left in the elevator
| the night of the fire The constable,
when he was examined, said that Kelso
went with him to make the search and
was handy in finding things in hurry,
and that some Of the tools looked like
| they were brand new out of store,
| while others were tools burned in the
fire. The state claims Kelso planted
these things in the Replogle barn to
reflect on one of the leading witnesses
for the state.
Kelso told of threats Ray Replogle
| and also his father John Replogle,
made against Croft in the presence Of
the witness. He also told Of seeing Ray
Replogle take feed from the elevator
at different times, and of his lying one
| night on the Kitchen floor in the Croft
home and listening, at Croft's request
to conversation in which Mr. Croft,
the fire marshal and John Replogle
participated. He said he mades notes
Of the interview on a piece of paper
by the light that shone thru the door
crack.
No action has yet been taken by the
court in the contempt case of the at
torneys who engaged in fight in the
court room. The Witness Kelso. ad-
mitted on the stand that the sheriff
had taken revolver off Of him since
the trial began which he was carrying
to protect himself against John Rep
logic,