Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-02-11
Withdrawals to be deducted 2s4.

/
Section 2,452 of the code provides
that every statement of general con
. sent shall be accompanied by the afi
davit Of some reputable person, show
Ing that such person personally wit
messed the signing Of each name ap
7 pearing thereon, and any false state
ment contained in such affidavit shall
be punished as perjury, and all pro
visions Of the law in reference to the
bribery of voters shall be applicable
to the bribery of signers to general
consent petition.
The Question Of Reputation.
In this case, as heretofore stated
the petitioners each signed separate
petition and each petition was accom-
panied by the affidavit Of another that
he personally witnessed the signing OF
! the petition. Various persons were
engaged in securing signers and such
persons signed as witnesses to the
names they secured. A number of chal-
lenges are interposed to entire lists
of names returned upon the ground
that the persons witnessing the sigma
! lures are not reputable persons within
the contemplation of the statute. A
number of. these challenges were not
urged in argument and will not be
| considered now. w. S. Wilson, John
| MCGUIRE, J. H. Genochio and Ernest
! Davis are charged with not being
reputable men because 1t Is claimed
that they made false affidavits as to
signatures. The claim in each case
was based upon a single instance and
it very clearly appears that in each
instance the party acted In entire
good faith, had no corrupt or unlawful
purpose. They are all men of good
character and the challenge to the list
of names in each instance is over
ruled. This finding has support in the
Oskaloosa case, 1874 N. w. R. $40.
In the Waterloo case, 1877 N. w. r.
$40, the question Of what constitutes
reputable person within the mean.
ing Of this statute is extensively dis
cussed, the authorities upon the ques-
ton collected and copiously quoted
from. The holding practically is that
reputability has a meaning different
from credibility and is character dif-
ferent from reputation. 1t implies
character which Is worthy Of good
repute and entitled to the esteem and
respect of good citizens generally.
That person is not reputable may be
proved by specific acts and is not con-
fined to proof by reputation as Is the
manner of proving the credibility of
witnesses generally. Specific acts Of
bad repute may not only be proved by
records of conviction, but also by
other evidence A person who Is a
violator Of the law, whether in refer
ence to the sale Of liquor or otherwise.
is not a reputable person. All men are
not expected to have and maintain the
same standard of morality and reputa-
bility. but what is expected Of all is
that they shall obey the laws and not
persistently violate them. A person
may be of good repute and yet COM
NIT an offense against the law and one
violation. though serious, would not
destroy a character otherwise repu-
table.
DeBord vs.. Williams, 1874 N. w. R.
$50.
Jackman VS.. board of supervisors,
1877 N. w. R. 906 /
Under these authorities and the EVIL
dence in the case there is no difficulty
in finding all the witnesses attacked
except L. A. Mongerson.
Even young Kitto, against whom |
record Of conviction in police court |
was produced f. "iolating city ordi-
nance, was sustained as to his char
acter by some of the leading citizens
of Ottumwa While his offense could
not be excused it would not destroy
his reputability, either under the evil
dence or the law.
Monoarcor Le1d No$ RApufahIA
L. A. Monserson was one Of the CT
ton and he witnessed the signing of
sixty-nine names counted on the petit
ton. He has resided In the vicinity of
Ottumwa for number of years He
last summer for Abe Jackson
and then went to South Dakota to
work in harvest. After ten days or so
there he came back to Ottumwa. He
did nothing more until September.
when he again worked for Jackson
about month. He did nothing more
legitimately until he went to work on
the petition. He worked on that ten
days and since then has done no law
full labor. He abandoned his wife and
child and left them to shift for them
selves since last summer; his wife
was compelled to get court order to
prevent his abuse Of her. While work
ing for Jackson he slept in the barn
and for while after he quit and then :.
went to room with Harry Leonard
over a drug store on Church street.
Reed Fielder, merchants police on !
the south side, testifies that Monger-
son was running a gambling house in
the Leonard rooms In November and
December. He said he got his first in
formation from Eve. EFT Humble and /
then watched the place and saw
various persons going to and from the
rooms after night. Also that Monger-
son offered him money on two &C.
casions to keep quiet about the game
and let him keep running it.
Humble testified that he was in the
rooms on several occasions, saw a
crap game going on in November, and
in December he played in a poker
game in which Mongerson was the
banker; that he bought both beer and
whisky Of Mongerson in the rooms. y
Mrs. Ella Mahaffy. a sister-in-law Of
testified that In the fall l.
Mongerson told her he was bootleg
ging. and in December that he had