Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 230, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 September 1913 — PROMPTLY ACQUITTED OF GRAFT CHARGES [ARTICLE]

PROMPTLY ACQUITTED OF GRAFT CHARGES

Road Supervisor F. M. Goff Readily Disproved Charges on Which He Was Indicted. Francis M. Goff, supervisor of Road District No. 2,i Union township, readily disproved the allegations under which he was indicted by the recent grand jury and the state made no showing that would justify indictments. The story as brought out in the trial was to the effect that what is known as the Otis grade became almost impassable last fall because dirt that had been scraped out of a ditch had been left in piles on the road. Complaint was made t 4 Trustee Kight, who saw Road Supervisor Goff and asked him to go and look at, the road, saying that there was no money available for the work, but suggesting that Mr. Goff get every person out who had not worked out their road tax and use all the commutation money he could collect to repair the .road. Trustee Kight went away for about two weeks and Mr. Goff used his own judgment in the work. He collected the balance in cash from three land owners who had worked out a part of the tax and it was on the strength of these payments that the indictments were returned. Goff, however, had receipts for labor covering the amounts collected, which, in all, amounted to only about S2O. On the first charge Judge Hanley instructed the jury to return a verdict for the defendant. In the second case the jury promptly brought in such a verdict and in the third eftse Judge Hanley dismissed the case. Mrs. Addie Warne, the Fair Oaks lady who was charged with cruelly beating her child, appeared for trial Thursday, but there were no witnesses against her, the summons for them not having been issued. Disregarding the defendant’s statement that “The Lord would defend her,” Judge Hanley had instructed Attorney Leopold to appear in her behalf. When he informed her’ that he had been sent to defend her he said, “You did not expect the Lord to send a Jew in your defense, did you?” she threw up her hands and said “Glory to God in the Highest.” She was discharged, and it is said there was evidence that the cases against her showed some indication of spite.