DEPENDENCE
ENTERPRISE
AND WEST SIDE.
TH YKAK.
JNDEl'KNDKNCE, l'OLK COUNTY, OREGON, AUGUST C, 1903.
NUMBER 3G
MRS. ELLAfWINK.
Mn. Klla Swluk, winner of the
first rl. in our last Correspondent'
CkxiUnl, ia a unlive of Illtnol, re
mowiiig In tiarly childhood with her
rciit to Orpgou, Mot of her early
childhood wm ut In Murim mul
I.lnn counties, and wm a tctclinr In
the school of Linn county, 8h won
married to K. W. Hwlnk in '(Ml, and
bright littto daughter graro their
flrvslde. She resided In Hnver, hut
In 'U they removed to Parker, where
her hulwiii li at present station
atrcntand rxMlmaeter,
Mn. Hwluk li wonmn of refined
tastes, and is a clever business
wonmn. Her winning flrt position
in a contest where so umny bright
writers coinpttlnd 1 compliment of
which the may well I proud.
SWINK IS FIRST.
t, With riiU Total of
nun.
WINNERS IN THE CONTEST.
JiT, July 31. lit (1:00 P. M
ttiki'BIhk'm Tenth Correspon
i' Contest wm brought to I
tod when the snnke of
k cleared away it wa found
H W. Swink, of Parker, wee
Wr by oyer 2,000 points. Iur
L last hour of the contest
j,000 points were placed to
k Grace K. Hull, tle winner
IsKCond prize, secures a pio-
N .Ualleok, of , Monmouth,
third lite, a student's lamp.
iSlaats, of Airiie, is fourth,
im i it of Ping Pong.
t Frum, of Suver, etaodi
tud take as her premium
lyrighted book. I
k Ollie Byers will read the
M Home Journal tbia coming
it being, sixth prise.
k Finback, representing An
can tend the E.nterpkisk to
ddrew for ft year Iree of
Tear List of Desired PrlMW
fur Another Content
re interest was manifested
ii contest than any of Its
kwwri, and the friendly ri-
existed to the last.
will start a new contest at
nd will aak our friends, the
fpondenta, ' to send us a list of
'hey think would be deei
presents This is the policy
M in the last contest, and it
eminently successful. We
the correspondents to have
Nay in the matte'. ' "
died.
WEAKER. On Friday, July
W03, at 12:30 P. M., Mrs.
Whiteaker, of a complica-
P of troubles', aged 29 years,
mnnths and 25 days. ,
Ada VVhiteaker was a very
iw lady, and her early de
M a treat shock to her
h She leaves a husband and
lt'l children. Her maiden
u Inlow, and she was mar
rled October 12, 1893, to Geo.
Whiteaker, a prosperous farmer
living near Monmouth.
Funeral services were conducted
from the family residence Sunday
at 12:30 P. M., Rev. W. V. Ed
mondson, of this city, officiating.
The burial occured in the White
aker family burying plot.
PEACOCK WILL NOT 11ANO.
The Governor Commutes Sen
tence to Lite Imprisonment
d-
T.
IB
Pursuant to a petition, numer
ously signed, and the recommend
ations of a number of prominent
physicians, Governor Chamberlain
Thursday commuted the sentence
of William P. Peacock from death
to life imprisonment and ordered
that he be confined in the Peniten
tiary, owing to the facilities for the
care of criminal insane elsewhere
acock was convicted of the . , dijary wouid not be
mnrdnr of Alex Kerr, at Parker ,. i . :.... r or.
... v . - i liar imm IAJU1LDI1CIO niVU ww . v
Station. J'olk county, on May 18
1003. bv shooting with a shotgun
loaded with bird skt. The petition
and argument of the case was heard
by the Governor on 1 uesuay mor
ninir and taken under advisement,
the matter the
All loooi , ' " "
Governor said:
"ADDlication is made to me for a
-
commuUtion of the death sentence
of William P. Peacock, who is to be
executed on the 7th proximo tor
billinir nf one Alexander S. Kerr in
Polk county. The ground on which
.Ki .wtiiion is uraed is the mental
irresponsibility of the time of the
commission of the crime,
"The rjotition is numerously
signed by many of the most, prom
inent people of Poik county, includ
ing county officials, lawyers, doc
tors, merchants,' editor, buisness
men senerally and farmers, .in
addition to this I have received
letters from various persons urgmR
a commutation of the sentence.
., other hand a vigorous
protest has been filed against exer-
cisiog executive cieuwuvj -
-..mh f wealthy and mflu-
. . ... r auni couniv u
entiat citizens u - -
: life, most 01
every avocation m -them
residing in the neighborhood
where the killing occureu.
Immediately upon the presen-
tionofthis petition, having
somewhat familiar with the case
. . lha AAlTilTllHlUll VI
from the time a-
and alenists, namelyt I)rs J F C
breath. W. T. Williamson. J.
(Jriflith, Harry Lane, and W.
Cusick. askinir them to thorouel
examine into the mental and phy
sicial condition of the defendant
and to rive me their oninion as to
his responsibility, and in addition
to suggest what should be done
with the defendant In case they
should advise and I should see fit
to exerciie executive clemency.
"Each of these physicians and
Dr. J. I). Shaw, the prison physicia
as well, have complied with my
reuuestand each of them concur
in the opinion that the defendan
is and was at the time of the com
mission of tho crime irresponsible
and urge executive clemency in b
behalf All of them, with the ex
ception of Dr. W. T. Williamson
advise bis retention in the Pen'
itentiary, because of the fact that
no provision has as yet been made
lor the confinement of tbe criminal
insane.
"In addition to the gentlemen
named, the following physicians
signed the petition addressed to me
for a commutuion of the sentence
mposed upon the defendent, E, X
Howard. B. II. McCallon, L. M,
Woods and William S. Cary.
'Arguments for and against the
netition have been addressed to
me by Hon. Oscar E. Hayter, rep
resenting the defendant, and Hon.
J. N, Hart, representing the state. t
"I have given the ease most
caeful consideration, and have on
two occasions visited tho condemn
ed man and spent a considerable
time in conference with him at the
prison.
"I have not much patience with
the plea of insanity as a defense to
diet of i ury or the sentence of a court
where tbe defense had been present
ed and disposed ot adversely to the
defendant, but in the ; resent case
I feel that I would be a party to a
iudicial murder if I refuse to inter-
fere with the imposition oi mo
death penalty.' The defendant is
a physical and mental degenerate
as is evidenced not - only by the
opinion of the physicians, but by
the appearance of the man himself,
A more horrible, misshapen and
deformed speciman of humanity
my eyes never beheld. ; Not only
is be a hunchback, his shoulders
being elevated almost as high as
bis head, but he has what is termed
a "pigeon breast" which protrudes
in front of him out beyond his chin,
so that his head sets yirtually be
i.p.n his shoulders and his breast
hardly resembling when stripped
a human beingwhile the aisiance
between the point of his breast and
the highest point on the hump on
his back is alnaoast as great as the
distance from the point of tbe
shoulder to his hip joint. In height
he is only about four feet, whilst
bis weight does not exceed 11 0
nnnnrls. I question if he is heavy
enough to dislocate his neck if he
- - M 1 1 I
re dropped from a scanom uniess
a weight be tied to his feet.
naiW all this, his limbs are de
formed, and whilst be appears to be
bright there is no question in my
mind from the evidence before me
the crime until the hna j --congtBntly haunted by
wft9 rendered against in. j idea that the deceased was con-
. . i,...a to the IOllowiiJ i , h,m and to
T addresseu ion.- .;. BnirinU oovu vu
physicians, cujiu... -
4 Wm. Peacock, Who Escapes Hanging, and His Victim, Alex. Kerr.
- r-T r r
take his life. Though there was ho
motive for the commision of . the
crime, yet to him in his diseased
condition of mind the taking of the
life of thdeceased was as necessary,
and the provocation as real, as it
the necessity actually existed.
1 Takins the history of the life
of the defendant into consideration,
his deformity of body, the circum
stances attending the killing of the
deceased and the opinion of the
DhvBicians who have examined
him, I cannot but believe that the
defendant was irresponsible afthe
time of the commission of the crime;
that he acted upon circumstances
which to his mind justified the
taking of human life, and even at
this time he claims that he was
ustified, ana is apparently with
out remorse.
'It is unfortunate that there is
no provision made by the laws of
this state for tbe confinement in a
nrorler place of the criminal insane.
The defendant ought to be confined
m a proper place. His type of in
sanity is incurable; and in case of a
commutation of his eentence he
must be confined either in the pris
on, or in the asylum.
After giving the defendant s case
mv most careful consideration I
feel that it is my duty to commute
the sentenoe of death, and because
of the fact that there is uo place for
the proper confinement and treat
ment of the criminal insane and
because of the relsommendation of
the maiority of the physicians
named above, whose opinions were
asked in the premises, I have con
cluded that the defendant should
be confined for life in the peniten
tiary of the state."
This case has had a tendency to
impress upon the mind ot the Gov
ernor the fact that the state is in
need of a proper place for the con
finement and care of the criminal
insane and he has made a memo-
ndum of the "matter in order to
nclude in his message to the Leg
islature the recommendation that a
building be constructed, either sep
arate or in connection to either the
nsane Asylum or the Peniten-
tiary, expressly . ror me connne
ment of the criminal insane where
ev can receive- treatment for
their malady and at the eame time
under the same restrictions and
iecipline as the inmates of the
State Prison. ;
In his long experience in the
practice of law the governor says
that it is a notable tact mat wnen
nf insanitv is entered in a
case as a defense for the commis
nr a prime of more or less
enormity and where there is the
slightest foundation for such a plea
and the jury is satisfied that the
plea is well founded, .while it is
plain that the defendant is guilty
of the crime 'charged, they have
only one of two things to do; find
them guilty of the crime and send
them to the Penitentiary, or find
them insane and commit them to
the Asylum, neither of which is
the, proper plane for the confine
ment of the criminal insane.
MCMINN VILLE WON.
Our Boys Defeated by a Score
of 5 to 3.
ra
be
Sunday afternoon the McMinn
ville baseball team won an in
teresting contest from the local
nine. The game was hotly con
tested, and belonged to either side
to the last inning. The score was
5 to 3. . ' -- .
Buena Vis to Improvements,
Special.
While not so much is heard
the past lew months concerning
the boom of real estate and the
improvement of neighboring
towns, in Buena Vista the work
goes on and there is a visible
start'towards a betterment of ex
isting conditions.
The latest step' looking to
wards a change in affairs is the '
contemplated overhauling of the
Odd Fellows building in the
central part of town, the lower
floor of which is occupied by the
cash store and ' postoffice, the
upper portion being in service
as Woodmen and Circle lodge .
rooms. The building is first to
be leveled; then new siding will
be put on, a new trussed roof
added and other needed repairs
made. Upstairs the two lodge
rooms are to be thrown into one,
making a splendid hall 32x50
feet, with the ceiling arched to
16 feet. The workmen engaged
are Finch and Simmons, of In
dependence. We are not in
formed as to whether or not the
exterior of the building is to be ,
repainted, but lor the general
appearance of the town we hope
a fresh coat of paint may be in
cluded in the work.
Buetia Vista should keep up
this '.movement of progression "
and guard against a reaction
that would surely result in the
disappearance from the map of
this once beautiful village. Let
the good work be encouraged.
It means much to one and all.