Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 37, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 December 1905 — DIGNITY UPHELD [ARTICLE]

DIGNITY UPHELD

In Special Judge R. W. Marshall’s Court. SHERIFF O’CONNOR FINED $50.00 For Contempt In the Jasper flay Case Before Final Adjournment Saturday Night. Figuratively speaking, there was a great big red spot on the moon Saturday night, and it came to a head shortly after six o’clock, when special judge R. W. Marshall, appointed to sit in the state case against Jasper Guy, ordered the heat kept up at the oourt house, summoned the judge and ordered court officers all to'their places, turned on the electricity and convened court in due form. He then fined sheriff John O’Connor SSO for contempt in failing to carry out bis orders in the aforesaid case. The order of contempt of Judge Marshall, as it appears on record, is given below. The date therein is given as November 8, but the order it refers to was made December 8, Friday: "The State of Indiana vs. John O’Connor. (‘ln the case of the State of Indiana against Jasper Guy, this court on the 8 day ot November, 1905, directed the sberifi of Jasper County, Indiana, to-wit, the defendant herein, John O’Connor as sheriff of said county, to take into his custody the said Jasper Guy, the said Guy in a trial had before this court having been convicted of assault and battery and the court having pronounced judgment thereon, and ordered said sheriff to take charge of said Guy and confine him in the jail of said county until the fine and costs assessed against him were paid or replevined, and said O’Connor as such sheriff willfully refused and failed to obey said order of this court is now ordered to show cause why he should not be fined for contempt. "Defendant for cause says ‘Well your Honor I supposed that the bond he had given was sufficient to release him, that is that he could go that is the reason, I supposed that be was under bond.’ "The court finds the defendant guilty and aseessed his fine in the sum of fifty dollars (and the coroner of the county is charged with the execution of this judgment.) "It is therefore considered adjudged and decreed by the court that the defendant herein the said John O'Connor make his fine to the State of Indiana in the sum of fifty dollars. "R. W. Marshall, "Special Judge."

That part of the above order E laced in parenthesis by as was nally stricken oat of the record after the same was written np. It seems tronble had been brewing between Mr. Marshall and the attorneys in this case for some days, and in his ordero made the day previous in this case, which are given elsewhere, the attorneys mildly undertook to point oat to him that he should grant an appeal to the supreme court. The sheriff, not understanding the matter of the bond fully, bad let Mr. Guy return to Remington, and when Mr. Marshall heard Saturday that no replevin bond had ■ been executed before Guy was allowed to go home, he became furious. In the meantime, on Saturday, a bond in the sum of $1,200 had been made on the margin of the order book, signed by Mr. R. W. May, of Remington, who owns real estate to the value of $85,000, and accepted by the clerk. When Mr. Marshall saw this bond entry on the margin of the record he deolined to sign the record up, declaring he would not approve it, and called the court officers to their places and entered the fine against Mr. O’Connor,who, it appears, while possibly guilty in a technical way, had no intention of disobeying the court’s orders.

The clerk insisted that the bond given Saturday was not a part of the record of the judge in the case but was his own official act, and the signing of the record in the did not make the court accept the bond taken by the clerk. But Mr. Marshall would not sign up the record nntil after he had again donned the ermine and inflicted a tine on the sheriff, when he did sign it, and the December term of the Jasper oircuit court was adjourned by Judge Hanley. We understand that Mr. Guy will appeal to the higher court by what iB called supercedes proceedings, and file appeal bond there. — l 1 Don’t forget to go to J. H. Cox for Xmas candies. Prioes and candies to suit all.

GREAT CHANGES IN FIFTY YEARS. George Welsh, a prosperous farmer of southwest Carpenter tp , was in this oity a row hours Monday on business connected with the settlement of his father’s estate at Syracuse, N. Y., who recently died at the age of 92 years and 8 months. George was born in England, bat came to this country when 14 years of age. He tells us that he first came to Rensselaer in 1857, coming by stage from Monon —then called Bradford —and that it was so wet that every once in a while the stage-driver would yell to his passengers: “Hold up your feet thar!” In going through some of the low places the water would cover the floor of the stage. He was then eoroute to Brook to visit Henry Marsh, but was told here that there was so much water and the river was so high it was impossible for him to reach Brook, so he returned to New York state. Three years later, however,'he again came to Jasper county and has made his home here every since. He bought the 80 acre farm miles east of Goodland on which he resides soon after the war, paying sl2 per acre for sajne. A short time before he bought it the price was $6 per acre. He has resided on this farm for 38 years, and if he wanted to dispose of it could now easily get $l5O per acre.