Page:06-24-1920 -The Story of the Jones County Calf Case.pdf/17

 Because Foreman's calves were light colored that he lost and found out in Greene County. The Smith calves were dark colored. Who stole John Foreman's light calves?

Now, gentlemen, I am not near so rank in my opinions as I used to be. I am not nearly so sure that I am right. There does not seem to me to be as many liars and perjurers in the country as I used to think there were. Who stole the Foreman calves? Not Bob. Not Smith. Who? Was it Potter? Potter, the man that came down from Greene County; Potter, the man that bought the Smith calves of Johnson, who had the four light colored calves, the Foreman calves, in his herd before Johnson came with his calves? Was it Potter? Bob always claimed it was. I make no claim. He is dead.

Now those questions have never been answered in a satisfactory way to unprejudiced people, although forty-six years have passed. The parties are all dead. The lawyers pretty nearly all dead. And, in thinking the matter over the other day, gentlemen, I want to call attention to some of the lawyers who took part in the Jones County Calf Case for one side or the other. Some of you older gentlemen will remember them. There are a number, I should say, who took part in the different counties where we tried the last case, eminent gentlemen, whose names I have forgotten. There was the Honorable W. A. Foster, of Chicago, formerly of Davenport, a very distinguished advocate of those days; there was Colonel Preston. You gentlemen of the old school will remember that Colonel I. M. Preston was the kind we referred to when we talked about advocates—a real cracker-jack. Ex-Governor Boies tried the case for the defendants in season and out of season for many years. I had a letter from him the other day, ninety-three years old, back from California visiting his son, the Judge, up in Waterloo. And I want to say to you gentlemen who never heard ex-Governor Boies try a law suit to twelve jurymen, that in my judgment he was the greatest of advocates. I never have seen his like to a jury. Honorable N. M. Hubbard—you all know, and have heard your fathers speak of Judge Hubbard, who died my partner. I thought in those years, and I still think, that Judge