Jasper County Democrat, Volume 7, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 August 1904 — FACTS IN COURT AND OUT OF COURT. [ARTICLE]

FACTS IN COURT AND OUT OF COURT.

Parr, Ind., Aug. 5, 1904. It was not an old family row. The editor of the Rensselaer Republican in hi* last week’s issue prints an article headed “an old family row. ” The writer of this article regrets very much to see such an article published in a county newspaper. The first statement naming the old family row is whoiy untrue. It if true that Lyman Zea swore out an affidavit and a warrant was issued for the arrest of Lizzie Hurley. Jessie See, William See, Blaine Wood, Melville Wood, Alfred See and Edgar See. These are the names of the parties who were arrested with the exception of Edgar See, whom Lyman failed to find in his search for somebody to arrest, and when the prosecuting attorney found that there was no such a man as Edgar See he did not prosecute him. Lyman Zea was placed on the witness stand and testified that he lived in Rensselaer; (hat he swore to the affidavit charging the parties above named with a riot. He testified that he did not read the affidavit that he signed; that Ralph Marshall wrote the affidavit; that he Lyman swore to it but never read it. On that kind of information these pa rties were arrested and tried on the charge of riot in Squire Troxell’s court, which is one of the most disgusting, humiliating circumstances that a respectable family ever was placed in. Mrs. Linnie Gant was used as a prosecuting witness, was forced to go into court and testify to statements that if she was in good health mentally, the world could not induce her to testify to. Let alone Ralph Marshall and Lyman Zea. The next important feature of the case on the part of Ralph Marshall and Lyman Zea was to put Dr. Moore on the witness stand, who testified that he was the administrator of the estate of Mrs. Gant’s husband, who died some years ago. The doctor testified that he had transacted all of her business since he had been appointed administrator, but on cross examination it was shown that he had only made two transactions for her in the whole three years. The first transaction the doctor got a judgment against Mrs. Gant’s little home for $227.50. That judgment can be seen on the clerk’s record and is drawing interest at the rate of 6 per cent. The next transaction he made for Mrs. Gant was to borrow S9O from her at the rate of 4 per cent. He testified that Logan Wood, Mrs. Gant’s brother, was a good business man and that he perferred Mrs. Gant to have him for administrator, but the doctor said that Mrs. Gant did not want any one else for administrator but the doctor. We want to say right here that if Logan had been administrator for that little estate that Dr. Moore would not have had a judgment against her home for $227 50 and that judgment drawing 6 per cent interest, and at the same time the doctor borrowing the woman’s money at the rate of 4 percent.

They tried ,to show that Logan Wood wanted to be the administrator and charge his sister $75 or SIOO for his services, but they failed to prove it. The facts are that Mr. Wood told his sister that she did not need any administrator at all and that if she did have one appointed it would cost her $75 or a SIOO and that she had better save that money to raise her four little children on. She said she owed nobody but Dr. Moore but she did not know how much. Logan Wood told her to find out how much the doctor bill was and if the bill was in' the bounds of reason that he would pay it and by so doing her little estate could be kept out of court. The facts are that when Mrs. Gant informed her brother that the doctor bill was $225 or $250, that Logan Wood, her brother, investigated the matter and was convinced that the bill was $75 or SIOO too much. Wood said that if he had been appointed administrator that he would not allow Dr. Moore within $75 or SIOO, as much as he got judgment for. There were a few witnesses testified that they heard a noise on the night of July 28, but Lyman Zea testified that he did not hear any, but yet he took an oath before Almighty God that there was a riot in Rensselaer, and that is the kind of information that the state of Indiana, represented by Ralph Marshall, is trying to convict these poor people of a riot on. The facts are that Mrs Gant hasn’t a brother or a sistet that has a particle of ill feeling against her or ever did have, and when the writer' of this article was obliged to see his sister leaning on the arm of Lyman Zea for his would be protection it made his blood run cold. If the writer of this article did not have any more sense than to believe that Mrs. Gant would not be better protected and in better company while with one of her brothers or sisters or any relatives that she may have than in the company of Ralph Marshall and Lyman Zea, then I think this world would be a dreary place to be in, for I heard Ralph Marshall call her brother a vile name and at the same time was the cause of Mrs. Gant striking Geo. Williams, when neither of the gentlemen had said a word except Mr. Wood, who, seeing his sister sit down in a fainting condition, asked her what was the matter,. and was met by Ralph Marshall and the vile language referred to above was used by Marshall in the presence of Lyman Zea. Lyman made no pretension to file an* affidavit for Marshall’s arrest. If the amount of this fine and costs was to go to the support of Mrs. Gant and those four little orphan children, I am quite sure that the innocent people who were arrested on the blue sky affidavit of Lyman Zea, the defendant would be better satisfied, and it is not a reasonable conclusion in the minds of intelligent men and* women to believe that brothers and sisters of a family would band together for the purpose of making a riot on account of their own sister. There is an infinite love that exists in the minds and hearts of men and women that would teach any reasonable person that; these people that were arrested and stand as criminals convicted of a riot in Jasper county had no intention of doing anybody any harm and that they did no body any harm. Mrs. Gant has not brother or a sister but what is willing to pro tect her, and always will protect her. The article as published in the Rensselaer Republican sounds to us a good deal like Ralph Marshall’s law. It is peace meals and more peace than meals. We do not uphold any one in violating the law and we are proud of the fact that ninetenths of the people of Jasper county and in fact we believe that every body except Lyman Zea and Ralph Marshall believe that these defendants are being persecuted, as none of the defendants were ever arrested before and in fact never were in court before, and not a single word can be said against any party to this suit— neither Mrs. Gant or her brothers and sisters. We believe the whole transaction was brought about to put a few dollars into the pocket of Lyman Zea, as he testified himself on the witness stand that he expected to get sls or S2O out of it. If Lyman Zea is needing money that bad we would advise him to get a job and go to work and not try to meddle with other people’s business until he becomes capable of managing his own. With no ill feeling against any one and due respect to all parties to the above transaction I remain Respectfully, William L. Wood.