The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1915-11-04
is INNOCENT MAN SERVING LIFE
TERN AS OUTLAW?

is INNOCENT MAN SERvlNG LIfE
TERM AS OUTLAW?
Experts Say Chas. Maust In Federal
Prison is Not Ben Cravens.
That Charles Maust is an innocent
man and is wrongfully serving life
sentence in the federal prison at
Leavenworth, Kansas, as Ben GRAY
ems, the noted outlaw, is the belief
of experts who have investigated the
matter, and a movement has been
started to free him, says the Prince
ton Post.
Some time ago while he was serv-
ing a sentence in the Missouri peni-
Tertiary, Maust was suspicioned as
being Cravens. Oklahoma officials
who were acquainted with the out
law, came there and expressed the
opinion that he was Cravens. He was
released from the Missouri prison
and taken to Oklahoma, where he
was tried and convicted as Cravens.
Cravens was charged with various
crimes in that state and heavy re-
ward was over his head.
Ben Cravens, in his early days,
lived in the north part of this county.
At times during his career as an out
law it is said he visited here, and
Mercer county officials at different
times searched there for him. After
he had been placed in the Leaven-
worth prison, Maust wrote to news
papers in this vicinity, asking people
here who knew Cravens to write to
him. He declared that he was not
Cravens and he believed people here
could help him prove his claim.
The following concerning the case
is from the Kansas City Post OF one
day last week: o
A comparison of the photographs
of Charles Maust and Ben Cravens
shows they are not the same man.
They have not a single feature in
common. Any man who says that
these pictures are the photographs
of one man is crazy, says Lieutenant
Parker, chief of the Identification
bureau, Kansas City police depart
ment.
If an innocent man is doing a life
sentence at Leavenworth prison for
another mans crime it Is an out
rage. If he was punished at the JEFF
ferson City penitentiary to make him
confess himself Ben Cravens, that
was another outrage. l will gladly
assist in having this matter taken up
by the pardon attorney of the depart
ment of justice at Washington-Sen-
ator James A. Reed.
Hatfield, Mo-, Man Says Chas. Maust
1t Not Ben Cravens.
That Charles Maust, serving SEN
tence at the federal penitentiary at
Leavenworth for the crimes of Ben
Cravens, is not Cravens at all, as has
been contended, was the statement
made by DR.. J. B. Alley of Hatfield,
Mo-, who returned a few days ago
after a visit to the penitentiary to
try to identify the prisoner.
alley was neighbor of Cravens
when the two boys were growing up
together Alley living in Missouri and
Cravens just across the line in Iowa,
near Lineville. When he visited Maust
in prison, he tried in every way to
trip the prisoner up in his statement
and make him admit his identity as
that of Cravens, but there never was
q glimmer of recollection in Maust's
eve as Alley tried to recall incident
after incident of their boyhood car
GERS, nor did Maust show the slight
est knowledge of any Of the persons
that Alley mentioned during their
conversation.
Grilled for Three Hours.
Alley went armed with letter OF
Introduction to Thomas w. Morgan,
the warden, and was accorded every
courtesy. Maust was called into the
warden's office and left alone with
Alley for three hours. Their CONVEX
sation recurring to incidents with
which Cravens would have been ia
miliar. But there was never any
recognition by Maust.
He talked willingly enough on any
subject with which he was familiar.
but he couldn't take up the thread OF
conversation, Alley said, when Mer-
Ger county, Missouri, and wayne
county, Iowa, topics were touched on:
He told of his life in the Missouri
penitentiary from which he was freed
two years ago only to be taken into
custody by federal officers as Cravens
and taken to the Leavenworth peni-
Tertiary. Since then there has been
a lot of interest in the case, but no
move has gained Maust his liberty.
Once Worked in NOdaway.
Maust says that he once worked IN
Nodaway county, Missouri, and that
there are men living there now who
could identify him and get him his
freedom. !,
Crayens was not a bad boy until
one day he threw rock into the
window of railroad train and was
arrested for the defense. He immed1-
ately got the idea that he really was
a .'bad man. and from then on took
to outlawry. He robbed train IN
oklahoma while it was still terri
tory and was sentenced to the feder-
al penitentiary. He soon made 9
wooden pistol, covered it with tin
foil, bluffed the guard with 1t ana
made his escape.
Bertillion experts. after an exam
ination Of the photographs OF Chas.
Maust and Ben Cravens, declare
unanimously that Maust is not CRAY
ems for whose crimes Maust is serv,
ing a life sentence in the federal
nrison at Leavenworth.
The proof that the presumably IN
4ollihla legal machinery OF the cOun-