Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-12-21
WATERLOO STAYS DRY
aupREME COURT HOLDS PETIT.
TloN or CONSENT WAS BAD.
~ soTcHEp.
FORGED NAMES iNvALiDATEs
ONE cIRcuLAroR's WORK
Court Throws Out More Than 200
Name, Secured by canvasssr Who
Did Crooked Work-0thsrwise Petit
ton Would Have Been Sufficient
Several Saloon Cases Decided.
to Times-Republiean.


Special to Times-Eepubliean.
Des Moines, Dec. 21-The Waterloo
vets would have won their right to OPP
crate saloons but for the fact Of re-
lying on poor material for circulation
OF their petitions. The supreme court
simply had to decide that the job was
90 badly botched 1t would not stand.
& One D. Ryan circulated a petition
and got between 200 and 225 names
He had sought tho signature Of man
named Patteson and failed to get It
, Then another man coolly signed the
Patterson name. and Ryan In the veri-
fication swore to the identity and COR
rectness of every name. On the stand
he admitted knowledge that the Pat
terson name, and perhaps others, was
q forgery. The court says 1t could
not escape the conclusion that Ryan
was guilty OF wilful perjury in max
ing the affidavit: and he therefore Ger
tainly is not Of that good moral char
acter the law requires. His entire list
was thrown out.
In going thru the Waterloo list the
supreme court held that Judge Durham
should have accepted several names
that he rejected. Some Of these were
because OF use of initials instead OF
full names. These changes would have
changed a petition deficient by four
names to one sufficient by about so
But the Ryan list is what sunk the
petition below the line and keeps Wa
terloo dry.
In the Valley Junction case the sole
question was with regard to the time
OF revoking Withdrawals. The VETS
claimed that as the reyocations and
Withdrawals were presented to the
board to be canvassed at the same
time, the revocations Cancelled the
Withdrawals. But the court held that
the time of filing with the auditor is
what counts, and the revocations were
not filed until the withdrawals had
killed the original signatures.
In the Plymouth county case the
vets have another chance. The carry
ing Of the case up by certiorari was
held to be mistake az appeal is
proper But m appeal is already
pending. But that doesn't matter SO
much for they have already laid the
foundation In Plymouth county for a
: new petition OF consent. At the recent
election plans were taken to get out a
s full vote and new petition OF con-
Z sent will be circulated which, there
/. seems to be no doubt, will legalize .sa
/ looms in that county.
Valley Junction IL suburb Of Des
Moines and the bigger city will now
get chance to get back some of what
1t lost last year when the Des Moines
saloons were closed for short time by
court decision. Then Des Moines
sent it's people out to the junction in
such great numbers the town was
overwhelmed. Valley Junction now has
!. but two saloons.
Closes Years Work.
The supreme court virtually closed
it's years work Saturday evening, at
he end Of a busy week when about
fifty decisions were rendered and two
days were given over to hearings on
full bench cases. One of the Judges
declared it was about the busiest week
they ever put in.
There has been no reason at any
time to anticipate that decisions would
cases involving constitutional questions.
as they involve questions on which-the
court probably Is divided and they will
be held In an effort to secure unani-
NOUS decisions. It has been no sur
prise at all that no decisions were rem
dered In the blue sky case the red light
isv case and some others. The con-
stitutional question in the automobile
case was an easy one and not con-
tested with much vigor. The decision
on the workmen's compensation law
will probably come while the legislature
IS in session, so that If it is held faulty
anywhere 1t can be repaired at once.
Justice Ladd retires automatically as
chief Justice andstakes his place in the
divisions, and Justice Deemer will pre-
side, by operation of law. when the
court next SITS
Decision on Jurors.
Courts are advised to make sure
y hereafter that in Iowa, Jurors get
their law filtered thru the instructions
OF the judges and not directly out of
the code. This was the nub Of the de-
cision In the case Of William Kirk
(DeerfOot), the Indian medicine man
s who killed his wife at Iowa City.
The Jury was figuring on what to
do with him and a controversy arose
+ az to what is the penalty for man
y slaughter They induced the bailiff to
get Code Of Iowa which they perused.
/ From this they learned something
1 about the penalties for various crimes
but overlooked the entire indetermin-
4 ate sentence law. Because Of getting
/ this wrong cue as to the law new
\ trial IS ordered.
The court did decide, however, that
4 the Jury was within its rights by de-
Gliding that Deerfoot did not act in
self defense. The evidence was that
Il the wife shot at him three times and
missed him. He evidently was not in
any danger. Then he shot her four
times.
Dee Moines Case Of interest.
The decision of the supreme court in
Il the Des Moines street railway franz
i chise case is OF interest in every COM
mission city Of the state. for 1t in
wolves the manner Of securing fran
u chises.
An interesting phase OF the case was
that attorneys for each side, on going
\ before the supreme court Indicated q
hope that the other side would win.
The citgF did swim; but 1t is admitted
that Il the plan Of the street car COM