Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-04-15

| Rathbun, and was also under life sen
tence, and showing him the Rathbur
pardon stated to said O'Meara. Sr.
that for Ave thousand dollars $o,o0O)
hc would procure II pardon for said
| OMeara, Jr., also,
Secrecy Enjoinsd.
1t Is shown by the evidence that
when the Rathbuns were handed the
| PARDON by Clark, secrecy was enjoined
that in point of fact the granting OF
suid pardon remained q secret, both
in Des Moines and Ida Grove, from
! Nov. IS. when granted, until Dec. .
| 1915. when it was filed with the clerk
of the court, because ofsthe filing in
Ida Countw on Dec. s, 1918, of pre-
cendendo from the supreme court on
the dismissal of Ernest Rathbun's APP
! peal.
That three months after receiving
| the pardon and on Sunday afternoon
| IN February before the grand jury in
| vestigation was to begin, Clark called
Rathbun in and said the grand jury
would probably ask for receipts and
that he wanted TO get that money 10
| correspond with his bank account and
drew receipts, dating them back and
| classifying the Gate as to when the
s., 900 was paid, and the amount there
! of: that Clark drew said receipts to
read ION account of attorneys fees
| No Reasonable Excuse.
Seventh-That there is in the evi-
dence in this case no proof or tesu-
mony of any reasonable excuse for the
haste shown by the governor in grant
| ing said pardon. or for his failure to
take advantage of the plain provisions
| of the law designated for the very
| purpose of securing full investigation
| of such applications by the board of
parole and of ascertaining all the
| facts before action by the governor;
that one Of said statutes is as fol-
! lows:
1T shall he the duty OF the board.
| under the direction of the governor.
! to take. charge of all correspondence
! in reference TO the pardon of persons
convicted of crimes and to carefully
| investigate each application and to file
! its recommendation with the governor
/ with it's reasons therefor (Code
| 511S-a 93.)
| That the said William l.. Harding
! did himself in 1917 and 1918 take ad-
vantage of said provisions in every
! other case. of which there were scores.
| including six rape cases, under life
sentence and was fully Conversant
with said statutes; that the Ernest
! Rathbun case il the only one IN which
! he failed 10 avail himself Of said pro-
visions. altho he was at that very time
greatly pressed. as he says. by off,
! c!al duties.
Rathbun Regulations Bad.
Eighth-Thet If the governor had
availed himself of said provisions for
| investigation by the board of parole,
he would have found that the reputa-
ton of the male members of the Rath-
bun family was VIGOROUSLY bad; that
among other facts (some OF them al
ready known to the governor). that
could have been easily ascertained by
him by the slightest inquiry IN that
connection are the following:
ta) The rape of Elsie Harsens by
Ernest Rathbun in November. 1917.
| (b) Arrest, fine and Imprisonment
OF a brother, William Rathbun, Jr.. for
illegal selling of liquor.
(c) The charge against William
Rathbun, Jr.. for seduction, followed
by marriage.
Cd William Rathbun. IT. defendant
In suit by his wife for desertion.
(e) Ernest Rathbun's confession to
theft of tires and other parts Of an
,automoblle in Sac county, July 4, 1918.
f) Indictment of Ernest Rathbun
and others for assault at Battle Creek
1 in Ida county, on Ferne Sammins with
irtent to commit rape. only few days
before the rape Of Elsie Hargens.
| go That Ernest Rathbun and o.
| Meara had the same night Of the rape
OF Elsie Hargens. taken two women
into the country, made improper ad-
vances to them. and on refusal had
put them out of the conveyance, to
walk home.
(h) That the father William Rath-
bun, ST., had been arrested and con-
vcted at Spirit Lake for liquor SELL
ing, and at Sioux City for gambling.
| ID That Immediately after the rape
Of Elsie Hargens. Rathbun and o.
Meara ran away to Nebraska for a
month
ID That said application for par
don, prepared by said Clark and
sworn to by said Ernest Rathbun, was
and is a tissue Of falsehoods and a
gross misrepresentation OF the facts
surrounding the commission Of said
crime and of the evidence in the case.
No Pardon Recommended.
Ninth--That the said William. J.
Harding in his testimony before this
committee and in his message to the
! .-nnprol aSaanhly stated that he relied
in granting said pardon. upon the re-
concentrations of Judge Hutchinson
and District Attorney Murphy; that
said recommendations are in terms
entitled Gin the matter Of COMMUNAL
TON Of the sentence Of Ernest Rath-
bum" and are and only purport to be,
recommendations, not for a pardon,
but that said sentence be committed
TO a period AT the discretion &c Jour
honor"
Tentf-That said William L. Hard
ing in his testimony claims also that
in granting said pardon he also relied
on the record set forth in a printed
abstract filed in the supreme court on
Rathbun's appeal Of which he claims
to have obtained copy from the clerk
after his first talk with Clark, and
that he carried it about with him on
the train and read it: that Clark
states that he had no conversation
with the governor about such abstract;
that no such ATTRACT was ever filed by
the governor with the pardon clerk
with the cthe: peners filed by him.
and that the pardon clerk .testifIes she
never saw n printed a hstract until the