Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-08-31
CORONER HAMMER, OF NEW.
TON, EXPECTS MARSHALL
COUNTY TO PAY.
SAYS HE WAS ASSURED
NO INQUEST WAS HELD HERE
One Inquest Having Been Held This
County Will Not Pay Expense In
Cured at Newton Inquiry-Jasper
County Coroner Assumed Respon-
sibiIity of Second Quiz.


over the body of Harry Sanders, re-
moved from it's grave in poweshielt
county, it was with the conviction
that the bill of expense could be
submitted to Marshall county for
payment Who gets the bill? That
is the question now uppermost in the
minds of the Jasper county officers,
who have discovered that Marshall
county can not be made to pay for
two inquests.
Jasper county officers are said to
be Directing to the coroner mourning
what they describe as needless" eX-
pense and asking the Jasper county
taxpayers to pay the bill. Marshall
county, having paid FOR one inquest,
will not pay 70: another, according
to local officers. PoweshielS county,
from which the body was removed,
probably would object to paying the
bill or any part of it.
Officials Work in Dark.
Acting on the assurance of S. Il.
Waterman, a private detective OF this
city, that no inquest had been held
oNSi A,t'iiaSiS pNlS iiiiS WY WI
oner NJ +. Hammer, of Newton, di-
rected that a>Seconu inquest lac held,
Coroner Hammer in his office at
Newton, Monday afternoon. told a
representative of the Times epub-
lican and Desk Sergeant Frank
Campbell. of this city, that Water
man had assured him no inquest had
been held in Marshalltown. Believ-
ings this, he undertook the case. He
EXPECTED that the expense would be
paid by Jasper county and that. it
would be repaid by Marshall county.
1t was not until Monday afternoon
that the coroner realized that Mar
shall county, having paid for one in 4
quest, could not be held for another.
Jasper Officials Disguised.
Jasper county officials express dis
gust at the action taken, holding
that the Newton inquest was rneed
less" and was conducted without an
effort being made to determine what
action had been taken in this county
before assuming more expense at
Newton.
Coroner Hammer said that he be-
lieved 500 or more had been spent
in conducting the inquest This did
not include the expense of the au-
topsy for which, the coroner said,
he would not file o bill for his SER
vices. Another officer said the ex-
pense of the investigation probably
would reach several hundred dollars.
The coroner frankly admitted that
he had not had the support of othe-
county officials in the case.
Confidence in Local Officials.
It was said by one officer that
Jasper county office holders had cons
fidence in the ability OF the Marshall
county officers to conduct an inquest
and they had no reason to believe
the case had not been properly con-
Quoted.
In the statement OF Mrs. Craig,
| mother of the dead boy, filed with
| the petition asking that the body of
| Sanders be exhumed, it was set out:
"There is no evidence or legal rec
ord that i. NJ. Singleton, the official
coroner Of MARSHALL county, ever
| held an inquest upon the dead body
of Harry Sanders or any other per-
son that was qualified to act in the
capacity of a coroner of Marshall
county, to ascertain the cause of the
| death of Harry Sanders, who was
shot to death on the 10th of June,
1920, In the city of Ma"shalltown."
Inquest Held June 20.
An inquest was held in this city
on Sunday. June 20, the day follow
| ing the shooting. The finding Of the
coroner's jury and the stenographic
report of the testimony offered were
filed with the clerk of the courts, the
stenographic report being filed
June 20.
Had the Jasper county coroner
visited the office of the clerk of the
courts here he might have had this
information.
Marshall County Not Paying.
County Attorney A. b. Hoover said
he would oppose any effort of Jas
per county to saddle the expense Of
the Newton inquest on Marshall
county. If no inquest had been held
here and the inquest at Newton !
proved regular in every respect, Mar
shall county probably would have
been compelled to pay.
The Newton inquest, it was said, !
was without approval Of the Jasper
county attorney.
Coroner Hammer, on hearing an
account of the crimes with which
Sanders and Fay, alias LaBelle,
were charged, expressed surprise.
Going to Attorney General.
According to Waterman the grand
jury In the local district court will ,
be asked to. indict Watt for murder.
Failing in this, the case will be car
ried to the attorney general.
A Jasper county officer is author
ity for the statement that a sum of
money! said to have totaled $1,000,
had been raised by residents of the
Kellogg and Newburg neighborhoods.l
to pay the expense of Investigation
and prosecution of the case. Asked
about the twentySseven men who had
signed the petition asking that San
ders' body be exhumed, he said they
were all good citizens but he believed
some had signed without complete
knowledge of the case.