Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-10-23
SCENE ENACTED BEFORE SU.
PREME COURT LIKE ShER.
LOCK HOLMES STORY.
PACKAGE CONTAINING $4,000
FILLED WITH BROWN PAPER
Theft Which Has Been in Court Three
Times During Twelve Years Proves
Problem to Learned Jursts-con-
fronted by Conflicting Decisions
From Courts in Two Counties.
ee!al to Times-R Republican.

Special TO Times Republican.
Des Moines. Oct. 2S.--I.ike chapter
out of Sherlock Holmes detective
story there was told and demonstrated
to the supreme court yesterday an in
teresting narrative of events worthy an
extended recital.
The story WAS not only told but it
was acted out in part. 1t circled around
a certain express package which II one
time had $4,000 enclosed and AT another
time was found TO have only brown
paper. 4 package containing brown
paper and sealed as express packages
are. was produced in court 10 show how
ii looked, and while Attorney George
Lyon. Of Dubuque, WAS arguing to the
court that = package OF that kind
couldn't Very well be opened without
breaking the seals. Attorney II. ".
Byers sitting 1T the table. opened the
package without disturbing the seals.
and when his turn came he handed the
opened package UP to the judges.
All: this doesn't pretend TO have real
money in IL" qucried one OF the judges.
No" said he ex-attorney general. 4
did think of using money 10 demon
strate but | hesitated about leaving il
around here" He was thinking OF cam
paign necessities.
In Court Three Times.
The express package case. however,
had been before the court three previ-
Gus times in the twelve years since the
mysterious disappearance. Some new
turns appear in the case every time.
The package was one shipped from
the Des Moines National TO the Bank OF
Erwin. via American Express. Beyond
any question the money was sealed up in
the package in the sending bank and
when II was opened at Erwin the money
was gone Who got il?
1t seems from the testimony that
when the package was tied up and
sealed. following custom. more than one
official of the bank watched the opera
ton, so that there was no question
about the money going in. The local
agent for the express company says
that when ne got ii the package did not
attract any attention from him, as II
would have done had !. not been money
Men who handle packages of money
usually know by the feel whether il is
money or net. The agent who carried II
to Arles said it had money. the one who
when il reached Carroll the agent said
IL had a feel which aroused his sus-
picions.
Bank Sues Express Company.
But the Bank of Erwin sued the ex-
decided that the express company was
at fault and judgment was recovered
and paid. Then the express company
c,aT -ba Nee Moirac hrY7t-
Now here's another coincidence. At
the very time this loss occurred there
was in the Des Moines bank clerk who
subsequently confessed to taking large
sums of money from the bank, for
which he served time in punishment.
The conclusion was natural that in
some way he had 10 do with the loss.
Accordingly the express company bot
toned its suit TO get back the judgment
and costs on the theory that the dis
honest clerk took the money and the
bank officials fraudulently connived to
keep this fact secret. On the trial there
was complete failure to connect up the
aforesaid clerk with the package, but 1t
was found that it was handled only by
men above suspicion. Still the jury
gave a verdict against the bank.
Has Many Sides.
This is the case that is now before
the supreme court. It has many side
lights The testimony concerns men in
the :.ervice both of the bank and the
express company who certainly had
nothing TO 90 with the loss. But there
was total failure to trace the package
to any one person and to say that here
the money disappeared.
And the supreme court is confronted
with peculiar problem. To sustain
this judgment it must say that the
facts presented to jury in Shelby
county which justified a conclusion the
express company lost the money when
presented TO a jury in Polk county
justified a conclusion that the express
company never had the money. Now
what is a lot Of supreme judges to do
N a case like that?
But started out money and ended up
brown paper-that is about the only
thing on which everybody agrees.
HEATHEN NATIONS scoFF.