Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 April 1904 — APPEAL DISMISSED. [ARTICLE]

APPEAL DISMISSED.

Echo of The Famous Halligan Cattle Stealing Case. The last chapter in the famous Halligan cattle stealing case which caused so much excitement in this county a few years ago, was enacted in the appellate court this week, when the appeal of Mr. Halligan from the decision in the White circuit court, whereby he secured a judgement of SI,OOO against ex-County Commissioner Simeon A. Dowell and $6,500 against the Sansotn Commission Co., of Chicago, was dismissed. The judgement against the above parties is said to be worthless, they being execution proof, and the Halligans sought to get judgment against other parties alleged to have been connected with the running of the cattle out of the county from whom the same could be collected by law. The result is that the Halligans are not only out some SIO,OOO on the mortgages held on the cattle, but the costs of the various cases in court will probably reach $2,000 more. In dismissing the appeal the court held: ‘'Where a plaintiff, suing eight defendant!, recovered a verdict against two of them only, the verdict being in favor of the other six, and the court accordingly rendered final judgment in favor of plaintiff against the two defendants without mentioning the six defendants in whose favor a verdict was returned, the plaintiff can not maintain an appeal to question said verdict in favor of a defendant not mentioned in the final judgement.” The facts connected with this case are familiar to most of our readers, and we will refer to them only briefly: In November, 1900, and at night time, some 293 head of cattle on which the Halligan’s had chattel mortgages for about $12,000, were secretly shipped out of this and White counties, where they were on pasture, and sold to commission houses in Chicago and Indianapolis. Suit was brought against George W. Tanner, Simeon A. Dowell, Clinton Brown, Robert Helm, Harry E. Leyis, Charles Murray, Wm. W. Burns, Stephen W. Thayer and the Sansom Commission Co., to recover pay for wrongful conversion of said cattle. Most of the parties connected with the alleged getting away with the cattle were republican politicians, of near Rensselaer, Dowell being a county commissioner. At the trial the proceeds of the sale of the Indianapolis shipment were traced into the hands of County Commissioner Dowell, and a judgment for SI,OOO was returned against him. Dowell is now in lowa and the judgment is n. g. All the other defendants except the „ Sansom Commission Co., were relieved. From this finding an appeal was taken. Grand jury indictments were later returned against several of the parties alleged to have been mixed up in the deal, including Dowell, and Geo. W. Tanner, said to have been one of the principals in running the cattle out of the country was tried, found guilty and fined $25 by a Jasper county jury. The result in this case discourged the prosecution to such an extent that the other cases were dismissed. Thus ends oae of the most noted criminal cases in the history of Jasper county, and it is to be regretted that some one was not punished. There was evidently a conspiracy to beat the Halligans out of their money on these cattle, - and it has succeeded admirably.