Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, September 11, 1912, Page 1

THE BEMIDJI | VOLUME 10. NUMBER 116. BEMIDJI MINNESOTA, WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPTEMBER 11, 1912. TEN CENTS PER WEEK. DUMAS SENTENCED AND TAKEN TO STATE PENITENTIARY AT STILLWATER Former Cass Lake Mayor Faced Court ‘Without Tremor and Was Coolest Man In Room. THE TERM IS INDETERMINATE Cannot Be Held More Than Three and One-half Years and May Be Par- doned Earlier. TO DROP FEDERAL INDICTMENT C. C. Haupt Says That Charges Will Probably Not Be Pressed—End of Puposky Case. The Story By Minutes. 3:20—Dr. Dumas and counsel ar- rived in Bemidji. 3:45—Theparty arrived at the court house. Dr. Dumas appeared unconcerned and chatted with friends until court opened. 4:02—Judge McClenahan took his ) place on the bench and opened court. 4:03—Judge McClenahan called the case of the State vs. Delbert F. Dumas. E. E. McDonald, as special prosecutor, moved that sentence be passed. 4:04—Counsel for Dr. Dumas voiced no objection. Dr. Dumas took his place before the court. 4:05—George H. Spear, attorney for Dumas, addressed the court in behalf of his client for thirteen min- utes. 4:18—Dr. Dumas sworn in and questioned by Judge McClenahan. 4:20—Sentence passed. 4:25—Was placed behind the bars in the county jail. 11:45—Left for Stillwater in cus- tody of Sheriff Hazen. “It is the sentence of this court that as punishment for attempted arson in the third degree you, Delbert F. Dumas, be and you hereby are, or-| dered confined at hard labor in the state prison at Stillwater,” said Judge McClenahan to Dr. D. F. Dumas in district court yesterday afternoon. Dr. Dumas came from Cass Lake with his counsel yesterday afternoon and they proceeded at once to the court house. Dumas was busy with his Cass Lake practice up to the last moment of leaving. It helped him keep up his iron nerve and when he appeared in the court room he was the coolest man present. Dumas made no statement to the court beyond answering the questions propounded by the judge. The ru- mor early in the day that he would make a full confession appeared un- founded as he maintained his inno- cence to the last. Spear Addresses Court. In speaking for his client, Mr. Spear said in part: “The defense will take no further action in the case. I make this statement in order that the court may know that the stay granted last spring was taken in good faith, but the expense of the litigation makes it prohibitive. In the early stages of the defemse, it was seen that Dr. Dumas would have to appeal for assistance. His father responded nobly and is still ready to spend the money if necessary, but my client refuses to allow it and is before the court for sentence. “He shows no disposition to com- plain. He is not whimpering. He is not down on his marrow bones. He only regrets that due to the pro- gress of his trial and the advise of former counsel, his story was denied the jury and the general public. Counsel does mot wish to reflect on previous counsel but had my client had the opportunity to take the stand and testify, I am satisfied the result would have been different. At least, the jury would have had a chance to weigh the case and pass fairer judgment. Maintains His: Innocence. “My client realizes that by aban- doning his motion he is appearing before the court in the light of plead- ing guilty. He is a victim of cir- cumstances. Because of the advise under which he acted, he did not go on the stand and now the door is closed to him forever. The doctor would have liked an opportunity to appear on the stand and state the facts as he knew them. “Notwithstanding his misfortunes, he feels thankful for the attention given him and the sentiment of his home community. He tells me that he has many friends who are confi- dent of his innocence. He now stands before you on his own protestations of innocence. I believe that he is innocent. “I only regret that he had no op- portunity to present the facts as known to him. If so donme, I feel sure that this hour would not have materialized.” Never Before Convicted. Before passing sentence, Judge Mc- Clenahan had the prisoner sworn and questioned him. Dr. Dumas said that he was born in Waterville, Minnesota, April 4, 1879; that he lived in Minnesota all of his life with the exception of one year spent in the study of medicine in Chicago; that he was a graduate of the Uni- versity of Illinois Medical College; and that he had been house doctor in the Minneapolis city hospital for one year. Asked if he ever before been convicted of a crime, he said that at one time a warrant had been sworn out for his arrest on the charge of using language provocative of an as- sault but that the warrant was never served. His parents are alive and live in Minneapolis. Judge McClenahan then passed sen- tence. Sheriff Hazen and Deputy Cahill at once took charge of the (By United Press). Stillwater, Sept. 11.—Dr. D. F. Dumas, of Cass Lake, convicted in a Beltrami county oauri; of an attempt entered the state prison this morning to begin the daily rou- tine of a conviet. STRIKERS IN RIOTS at arson, (By United Press). Duluth, Sept. 11.—Early this morning, car men on the Superior lines voted to join the street railway strike. The Duluth merchants asso- ciation has asked for arbitration. During the night, the mob got beyond the control of the police. Rioters prisoner and led him from the court room to the corridor. He took his grip and went at once to the county jail. Sheriff Hazen and his prisoner left last night for Minneapolis and he will be taken to Stillwater today. Drop Federal Charge. Now that the state has succeeded in convicting Dr. Dumas and actually getting him behind the bars, it is probable that the federal indictment will never be pushed. C. C. Haupt, United States District Attorney, was in the court room yesterday and after sentence was passed stated that the federal authorities held the indiet- ment largely for use in case the state failed in its prosecution. The passing of sentence on Dumas and his trip to the state prison mark a closing chapter in the story of a gang which is believed to have oper- ated in Northern Minnesota for many vears. It was on Friday night, June 16, 1911, that the store of R. E. Smyth at Puposky was entered by Martin Behan and Mike Davis for the purpose of robbery and arson. Dumas was convicted of being the master mind behind these men. To Burn Smyth Store. Sam Fullerton, assistant state fire marshal, and J. C. Fielding, a Pin- kerton detective, had been warned by Smyth that his store was to be burned. Sheriff Hazen, Deputy Sher- iff Helmer, who was killed last month in Bemidji in a battle with a tramp, and Detective Fielding went to Pu- posky and laid a trap for the rob- bers. A battle ensued in which Be- han and Davis were both wounded but Davis made his escape. He was later found in the Michigan state prison at Marquette where he is serving a term. Dr. Dumas was in Hibbing and was arrested on a warrant sworn out in Bemidji. At the preliminary hear- ing before Judge Simons, Behan turn- ed state’s evidence and told the story of the plotting. He said that they were to be paid $300 by Dumas for burning the building and were also to rob the postoffice safe which was kept in the same building. Dumas was brought to trial in the fall term of district court and found guilty of an attempt at arson. The case was certified to the supreme court on two technical points but that court decided against him last May. He secured a stay of sentence for the purpose of taking an appeal on other points, but his attorney stat- ed yesterday that it had been decided not to take such action because of the expense involved. At the time of the trial, it was freely predicted that he would not bombarded the cars with rocks and attacked the barns. They fought the police with rocks and planks and many were injured in the melee by flying missiles. ‘While the condition is not looked upon as serious, the crashing of stones through car windows made riding dangerous. DEFENDS ACTION (By United Press) Seattle, Wash., Sept. 11.—Facing an audience that cheered him to the echo in Dreamland park here Colonel Roosevelt detailed his taking over the Panama strip. His speech followed the greatest demonstration that has yet been accorded the colonel. He headed an automobile parade about the city and the sidewalks were lined with cheering thousands. Roosevelt declared that he believed the greatest service he had rendered was not in settling the Japanese- Russian. war, for which he was awarded the Nobel prize, but the sending of the United States fleet around the world. Discussing criticisms of his action in securing the canal zone he said: “If 1 had followed the regular course we would have made an able report on which congress would have debated for several years and the ca- nal would have been fifty years in the future. “Congress did not have an able re- port to debate on so they debated on me. The debate goes fitfully on. “But congress got the debate and the people got the canal. “I never acted like a dictator. I tried to give Columbia a good propo- sition, but when I came to the con- clusion that someone was trying to hold up Uncle Sam, I took the zone. “When I lived in the cow country I found that when you needed a gun you needed it awful sudden.” The crowd yelled its approval. VALENTINE RESIGNS (By United Press). ‘Washington, Sept. 12.—Commis- sioner of Indian Affairs Valentine announced Tuesday that he had sub- mitted his resignation from office to Secretary of the Interior Fisher. Fisher is in Hawaii but at his office it was admitted the resignation had been submitted. It is known that Valentine has see Stillwater prison from the inside (Continusd on last vasa. THE' CUB SCOOP rerorrer [Fscoop - want Nou YO START 1N TO DAY AND TAKE. A STRAW VOTE OF OUR PROMINENT CITIZENS, ONTHE. PRESIDENTIAL RACE!, I been out of sympathy with the Taft administration for some time. i J S 152 NEW DEPOT IN SIGHT Heads of Nine Railways Meet to Inspect Plans: Prepared By 3. 3. Hill. ENGINEERS TO CONSULT St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 11.—(Spec- ial to the Pioneer)—After years of vain hopes by the business men of St. Paul, the capifal city of Minneso- ta, is to have a new station commen- surate with the size of the city and in keeping with the rapidly growing territory of the northwest. Executive officers of nine of the railways, which use the present sta- tion in St. Paul, met last week in the mayor’s office at the call of M. D. Munn, chairman of the River and Harbor commission, and after discus- sing the need of a new station they went to J. J. Hill's office to inspect the plans which he had prepared for a station over a year ago. Although there was no approval of these plans in any official manner, it is under- stood that the railway heads were much pleaged with the tentative out- lines, and agreed to send their engi- neers to St. Paul at once to go over the plans in detail. & At the present time, but one sta- tion in the country, so far as records go, has more trains passing through the station in the twenty-four hours than has St. Paul. The large num- ber of railways centering along the river fromnt, bringing thousands of people- every day to the city, many of them to remain, and others to con- tinue their journey to the Pacific Coast, calls for a station of larger capacity. An average of nearly 30,- 000 people per day pass through the station at the present time, and dur- ing state fair week, and extra occa- sions, its numbers are considerably augmented. The new station will have more than double the trackage capacity of the present one, and fifty or sixty thousand people & day can make use of its facilities without crowding any portion of it. No estimate has been made of its cost nor when construc- tion will begin, although the rail- way heads have agreed that the work should be pushed as rapidly as pos- sible. The construction of the sta- tion will require the use of a con- siderable portion of what is now the bed of the Mississippi river. The Depot and Harbor commission has al- (Continued on last page.] WH0 IS WHO Being one of a series of short biogra- phies of some of the men who are coming before the public at the GEORGE H. FRENCH. George H. French, county treasur- er, was born in the village of Hender- son, Sibley county, Minnesota, in 1871. His father was of Welch blaod while one of his maternal grandpar- ents was Irish and the other Penns- sylvania Dutch. Mr. French’s father ‘was a farmer and the boy George was born on the farm. GEORGE H. FRENCH. ‘When Mr. French was three years old, his parents moved to Story coun- ty, Towa, and there the family lived for one year. Story county is near the town of Ames where the Iowa State Agricultural College is located. Leaving Story county, the family moved to Mapleton, in Manona coun- ty, and lived there until George was eleven years of age, when they re- turned to Minnesota and.settled in Redwood Falls. George French went to school in Redwood Falls and graduated from the high school in the class of 1895. He immediately went to work at ab- stracting but after opening a set of books his health broke down and he was forced to seek a different climate. In 1899 he started for Northern Min- nesota and got as far as Walker. In Walker, Mr .French took to sur- veying and timber crusing and stay- ed in the Walker woods until 1901, when he went to Blackduck in this county. In February, 1904, he was called to Bemidji to take the office of county treasurer upon the resigna- (Continued on last page.) ELLIS FUNERAL THURSDAY Services Will Be Held in Presbyter- ian Church By Reverends White and Flesher. BROTHER ELKS PALLBEARERS Funeral services for Vinton L. Ellis will be held Thursday afternoon at 2:30 in the Presbyterian church, Rev- erends White and Flesher officiating. The following Elks, brothers of the deceased man, have been chosen as pallbearers, Charles Dailey, Bert Barker, Carl Heffron, H. H. Mayer, George T. Baker and Arthur N. Gould At a meeting of the Bemidji band Tuesday night, it was decided that the entire band would attend the funeral and would accompany the body to Greenwood cemetery. ' The band w38y a funeral march while accompanying the cortege. Bemidji printers, the band, and Elks will each have floral pieces near the casket. One will also be received tomorrow morning from Harry Masten at Grand Forks. Mr. and Mrs. B. Ellis, of Ellis, Minnesota; Mrs. A. S. White, of Pine River; and Mrs. J, J. Ellis, of Staples, have arrived to attend the funeral. | Mrs. W. Worcester, Mrs. Ellis’ sister, is expected from Chicago on the Soo this afternoon. ROAD SIGNS ARE PLACED. ‘W. L. Brooks and Clyde Bacon yes- terday placed twelve road sign posts in position on the Bemidji-Park Rap- ids road. The last one was placed near Skunk Camp beyond Lake George. COMMISSIONERS MEETING. The hoard of county commissioners met yesterday and are also in session today. Members say that routine business is the program. Several tax matters are being settled at the same time. .HORNET. Robert Shaw went to Minneapolis’ ‘Wednesday morning and returned on Friday night. A daughter was born to George Bo- gart and wife, Friday morning. Paul Peltier and George Bogart went to Blackduck on Saturday. B. F. Winans and J. D. Bogart went to Blackduck on Tuesday. By "HOP” FULL PROGRAM OF OUTDOOR SPORTS County Fair Officials Ready to Enter- tain Public Thursday and Friday Afternoons. PLAY BASEBALL AND LACROSSE Red Lake and Cross Lake Teams to Meet Tomorrow at 2 P. M. in Front of Grand Stand. MANY EXHIBITS IN PLACE Specimens Brought In and Entered Today Indicate Quality This Year Will Be Excellent. Fair Program for Thursday. Auto races. 100 yard dash. High jump. Standing broad jump. Hop, skip and jump. Baseball game: Red Lake vs. Cross Lake. Lacrosse game: Red Lake vs. Cross Lake. Tepee raising contest. Men who have charge of the coun- ty fair were busy today placing in position the exhibits ready for the grand opening tomorrow morning. All entries were in by 2 p. m. and when the gates are thrown open on Thursday, the buildings will house one of the best fairs of Northern Minnesota. The morning train from the north brought down many farmers with ex- hibits; the Red Lake train brought ‘more; and Bemidji and vicinity peo- ple made up the rest. Reports from Red Lake are to the effect that a large band of Indians will come down tomorrow for the Indian camp and athletic contests. C. W. Jewett says that men have been busy on the track for several days and that it will be put in con- dition for some fast auto racing. Part of the races will be run off Thursday afternoon and the balance on Friday. The Red Lake train will be held un- til 5 p. m. Thursday afternoon in or- der that the people from that line may have a full day at the fair. Bemidji business houses are mak- ing arrangements to close at noon in order that every employe may attend the fair. As there will be no attrac- 4 tions in the evening it was proposed § to close up all business houses one afternoon. Friday was selected as Bemidji day as it is the last of the fair. The awarding of premiums will start at 1 p. m. Thursday, while the field sports are scheduled to begin shortly after 2 p. m. General ad- mission to the grounds is twenty- five cents but children under ten years of age will be admitted free. On Friday all children who attended any school in this county for a period of twelve weeks during the past year will be admitted free if accompanied by a parent, guardian, school officer or teacher. At press time, Mr. Jewett stated that at least one auto race would be pulled off tomorrow about 2:30. He will drive one car but his opponent has not yet been found. The auto races will come between the lacrosse game and the baseball game, the la- crosse game coming first and sched- uled to start at 2 p. m. The Cross Lake Indians who are i to play the Red Lake Indians are boys from the school at Ponemah, commonly called the “Cross Lake” school. These teams have been prac- ] ticing for some time and are eager to E meet each other. Lacross is charac- g teristically Indian game and the Red ] | Lakers should prove fast at it. } i Elks’ Attention! All Elks in the city are requested to meet at Elks hall Thursday at 2 p. m. to attend the funeral of Brother V. L. Ellis. W. N. Bowser, Exalted Ruler. FIRST NORTHERN WHEAT IN. C. Petre of the town of Liberty yes- terday brought in the first load of wheat to be received in Bemidji. It was taken to the Beltrami Elevator and Milling company where it was graded No. 2 Northern and brought $.75 & bushel. 3