The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, December 29, 1930, Page 2

{ CONNOLLY 10 CONFER WITH JAMES, MORRIS IN REGARD 10 AFFAIR Sheriff John Gates and Kenneth McDonald Still Are Facing Charges | \ WICKS AND NORD ARE FREED; Rearrest of Two Against Whom Charges Were Dismissed Would Be Legal Authorities today were uncertain as| to their future course in their case against Sheriff John Gates of Sioux county, and Kenneth McDonald, Fort Yates attorney, against whom charges of bank robbery are pending, although similar charges against two other men implicated with them were dismissed by a justice of the peace at a pre- liminary hearing at Fessenden Satur- lay. A. R..Nord of Mandan, and Deputy Sheriff Joe Wicks, also of Sioux coun- ty, were freed by the decision of the justice and today were at liberty. The court held evidence against the men ‘was insufficient to hold them on bank robbery charges. Gates and McDonald are at lberty on their own recognizance with no definite date set for a hearing. They were charged, together with Nord and Wicks, on information, furnished au-' thorities by Mrs. Streitmatter, 23, Mandan, who testified Saturday that Nord: and Wicks had told her they had robbed the Farmers and Mer- chants bank at Hurdsfield August 14. ‘To Confer With Morris L, H. Connolly, Morton county state's attorney, who was appointed special prosecutor in the case by At- torney General James Morris, had planned to confer with Mr, Morris to- day as to the disposition of the cases, but because of the destruction of the state capitol by fire Sunday, the at- torney general was busy with other affairs. Until he car confer with the attorney general, Mr. Connolly planned to take no definite action. Mr. Connolly pointed out that it would be possible to rearrest -Nord ‘and Wicks on the same charges be- cause rearrest of men dismissed at a hearing does not place/got Preliminary their liberty in jopardy for a second time. Had the case been dismissed in district court at a trial, they could not be rearrested, lie said. Mr. Connolly was unable to say whether the state would proceed against Gates and McDonald in the event that Nord and Wicks are not rearrested. He sald this would be de- termined after a conference with Mr. Morris. Justice Kershaw Saturday said though proof of the robbery had been established there was not sufficient evidence to bind the two men over to district court for trial. Kershaw was called in on the case after William Langer, Bismarck, and ‘W. E. Matthael, Fessenden, defense counsel, had filed an affidavit of prejudice against County Judge J. L. Johnston. The case was submitted to Kershaw, however, under protest of Langer who before testimony was offered, told the court that Kershaw was not the next nearest justice who should have received the case ac- cording to the statutes. Langer was overruled. Fails to Identity A, T. Giltner, cashier of the Hurds- field bank, on the witness stand dur- ing the morning session Saturday failed. to identify Wicks and Nord as the bank bandits. Saturday afternoon G. L. Hougen, Hurdafield lumberman, testified that he was in the bank at the time of the robbery, and that the first man who entered resembled Joe Wicks. He said this man’s build was something ‘8, and that the features correspond, but he said the man didn’t appear to wear the same kind of overalls as Wicks had on when at the hearing. He gave this testimony on l- nation Morton county state’s attorney, acting 9s spe- by L. H. Connolly, cial assistant attorney ‘general. On cross-examination by Mr. Langer, he said he was not positive that Wicks THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE, MONDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1980 Future Action in Hurdsfield Bank Robbery Case MOTHER NATURE'S CURIO SHOP Iner who the other men were, but she said Wicks referred to the group which held up the bank as “we.” | Gunder Osjord, head of the state; bureau of criminal identification and apprehension at Bismarck, called to the stand to testify whether any) OF THE SOUTHWEST, PATROLS DOES HE GET THE OIRT UP THIG PERPENDICULAR. HOLE? SO FAR, NO D0G GOES SIRAIGHT DOWN 10 TO S FEBT- -A PLUNGE-HOLE FOR. QUICK GETAWAYS. BUT ITS TERRITORY ANO OFTEN LIGHTS ON THE BACK OF AN INTRUDING ‘Preise BIRO, PECKING ANO SCREAMING AS ITGOES. . 29 ay eA night after the robbery, she was with ‘Wicks and Nord at the home of Ire: Senty, two blocks from her hom‘ by Nord end Wicks to go on a part: Kenneth McDonald and 2 girl friend, Joe Wicks, Gates and a girl friend, | and she (Mrs. Sireitmatter) and Nord went on a party in three cars. | Went For Ride She said after the party the group | went for a ride to a point near Bald- win, near a clump of trees. She said ahe didn’t know where they were) going, but that they traveled about 60 miles an hour. Near this clump of trees all the cars stopped, and the men, with the exception of McDonald, | got out. Nord came back with a) sack and threw it in the car. Mrs. Streitmatter said. “I asked him what was in the! sack,” she testifield. “Joe said it, I asked him where he ‘We held up the Questioned as to who was there! during the conversation, Mrs. Streit-' matter said that McDonald and his; girl were there. She testified that the party then returned to @ Bis-! marck cafe after which she and ‘Wicks want to Mandan. “When we got to Mandan,” she testified, “Jae made me promise to say nothing about the money.” Argued With Husband { Recounting how she happened to divulge the information which she gave to authorities, she said Wicks UNE 20—Dizabled at sea! But the Queen of the Skies is not like an ocean vessel, tossing in a raging tempest! We are a thousand feet in the air. A mammoth storm pitches us like a huge kite broken Wind currents lash the sturdy sides of our massive We creak and groan! sounds fill our ears and strike a mortal agony in our hearts! apt. Goodmaster and the other: —————————_________ envelope! We rattle! was the man who entered the bank but that “he looks like the man” He said the second man was taller than ‘Wicks, and Langer asked him if this second man resembled Nord, to which Hougen replied, “I don’t remember.” ‘He Couldn't Say’ Langer questioned him gs to de- tails of Nord’s dress, but iougen re- Plied that “he couldn't say.” Langer asked Hougen, “If right down in your heart you feel this man was in the bank—you feel Wicks was one of the men who entered the bank,” to which Hougen replied that Wicks merely resembled the man who entered the bank. Hougen said he was certain the three other men in the robbery were not Nord, John Gates, Sioux county sheriff, or Ken- neth McDonald, Fort Yates attorney. arrested on similar charges several days ago. At the Saturday afternoon hearing | Mrs. Marie Streitmatter, the state's star’ witness, who furnished aythori- ties with information which led to the arrest of Wicks, Nord, Gates and Mc- Donald, was on the stand. Ger il ‘soon ‘My father!” I ejaculated, m¢ Tatre the crew, mos' the winced 2 that this was Tait nott “T Know the Queen ot deciphering ‘my ‘secret "cade, with .the Skies will prove her great dura- Jack and learned our pian” Biby, Mies ane wi r the ele- ‘And here's another serious ment recently came to her home and had in argument with her husband. She ‘id she told him not to fignt, but she asked him to apologize to her husband, she said, or she would bileog what she alleged he had told er, Mrs. Strietmatter testified Wicks told her “If you open your mouth again, I'll kill you.” Pred Feland ‘was present at the time. On cross- examination by William Langer, she said she had met wicks| at Irene Senty’s place. She told; how they had gone to Baldwin and! reiterated her statements made on direct examination. he said that all the girls and M¢Donald remained in the car while the three other men were gone, She told again how Nord came back with the sack which she believed contained money. ‘Was Game Night’ Asked by Langer when Wicks told her he had robbed the bank, said, ht. I asked He said, “We held up the Hurdsfield bank today.’ He told me that if I would go along with him I would make easy money just sit- ting in the car, I asked him, how? He said ‘burying rocks.’ I asked him what he meant, and he said, ‘You know what I meen,’ : Ps told me ho would shoot me if I didn’t keep my mouth shut.” Mr. Langer from its moorings! 2 d it. And for this accident, I am lad! It % i T retly gi means delay. fx } Silent Menace. | £ every hour of delay Stone, my aviator-lover, nearer, his spectac ular non-stop f! Hollywood. hours over which he riven him to ut I had to talk to some about Jack ‘and myself; al Already be, lus gained © on his bi this same storm igake that disabled rudder.” Unknown thing,” he went on, referring to his Gs thip, hiss Dare" be v menaoet® w nearer, although we were he SSP alin th Au ifingerprints had been taken in the) bank, said none had been taken. In his final arguments, Langer | said: “We do not believe the evi-| dence is sufficient to bind over the, men, or to put Wells county to the expense of a trial. In view of the testimony of the men in the bank: at the time of the robbery, that they| North Dakota state capitol Sunday | could not identify Nord or Wicks,: ‘there is no evidence to show that these men robbed the bank. said that if the case were dismiss- ed {t would be an assumption on tl part of the court that the state's witnesses had perjured themselevs. summer of 1883. The campaign for | thews, Alexander Hughes, After Mr. Connolly's arguments, the | and packed into corners an aisles. j applauded him. McKenzie Guiding Power in Moving Capital From Yankton to Bismarck Schemed and Plotted Against South Dakotans Complete destruction by fire of the serves a8 a reminder of the stormy Dakota Territory days when Bis- marck fought to establish itself as Mr. Connolly in his final argument the capital. moved from Yankton, in what now is South Dakota, to Bismarck in the re-locating the capital here was out- crowd which filled all avatlabel seats; jined and supervised by Alexander | Thompson. McKenzie, McKenzie, colorful political figure of State Senator J. P. Cain of Dick- inson and John Layne, Wells county state’s attorney, aided Con-/| nolly at the hearing. Gallagher | vof the law firm of Sullivan-Hanley- | Sullivan, Mandan, was also present lin the interests -of Gates and Mc- Donald. ‘Conference of Miners | And Officials Called’ Springfield, iL, Dee. 29.—(F)—With | the purpose of relieving unemploy-_ ment in the coal mining industry of | dent of the Miners’ Union, has asked) Joseph Zook, head of the State Coal operators. Fishwick said the conference: prob-/ ably could work out details for a! ‘are now “practically starving.” The letter, dated several days ago, was made public by Fishwick Satur- Alexander day. Much of the unemployment) father of E. A. Hughes of Bismarck, ‘among miners was attributed by him to the introduction of machinery. ' STICKERS | asked her if Wicks told ‘Stickler Solution on Editorial Page) | tic my waist, and I felt a hot on my cheek! this man without direction, in spite of the ‘They could ve bribed, heavy mi i A hand sought me, an arm éncircled this city. In that year the bulk of the wealth | of the territory was in the southern part, but the settling and developing of the northern part, or North Da- kota, was going ahead at a rapid Pace. The principal objection to Yankton capital was its inaccessibility from parts of the territory, partioular- | ly the northern part. The movement for moving the capital began when the northern population grew large ' enough to demand the change. , Williams Was Speaker ing the territorial legislative | y.-2™ 1883 held at ‘Yankton, the! Mitnols, Marry Fishwick, state presi-| inte E. A. Williams of Bismarck was, | session of at that time, speaker of the house. The South Dakota members under | Operators’ association, to call an im-| the leadership of the late Sen. Petti- | mediate emergency conference of| grew were aware of the fact that state mine union officials. and coal! members from part. | the territory would attempt to move! the capitol, out in case the bill beg el shorter work-day and work-week to/ feat the same. The bill providing for She testified how she had been asked'he struck her a blow witn his fist} provide work for many miners who) the creation of the capitol commis- |and knocked her unconscious. Later the northern troduced they were sion to select the new site for the capitol was drawn up by a young Jaw- yer by the name of Hughes, |. D. The forces favoring the removal of the capitol were directed by Alexan- der McKenzie. The conditions for ‘the introduction of the bill were so unfavorable that no action was taken bill, but a few lines of it had been read when. the South Dakota forces realized what was up and made fran- objections, but the objections were breath Remains Uncertain CAPITOL’S FLAMES Colorful Pion eer Politician | too late and the bill was successfully introduced and later passed. | Speaking of the matter later, Gen- eral Williams told friends those few seconds, in which he waited to see if an objection would be made, were the most trying and critical in-hijs long Political career. It was in the summer of 1883 that | the capital location mn was | Selected. Members were Alexander | McKenzie, Milo W. Scott, Burleigh F. Spaulding (who less than two weeks The capital of the territory was ; ago in a speech at Fargo urged that | a capitol site and the battle was won North Dakota build a new capitol), | Charles H. Meyers, George A. Mat- Henry H./ DeLong, John P. Belding, and M. D. | Scott, and | | Spalding were residents of the north- | ern part. | Many Sought Honors | |, Plerre, Canton, Mitchell, and other | South Dakota towns immediately ered claims for the capital designa- ion. Bismarck’s “boomers” had referred | to this city as the "capital city” even in the early 70s. } McKenzie apparently seized the \ idea of naming the capital | after he was named to the commis- | ; Sion, when he learned of the lack of , unity among the southern communi- | tles bidding for the honors. | Judge Hudson. Judge Hudson ap- Proved the bond and agreed to keep the matter secret for a few days, McKenzie did the rest. He worked on the fears, hopes, and prejudices of the representatives of the various South Dakota interests and he con- solidated North Dakota for Bismarck. There were many meetings of the commission and the various cities in the candidacy were visited. Bismarck did better than the law required and Provided 320 instead of 160 acres for June 23, 1883, and announcement that Bismarck had been selected was made by the commission after a ses- at . MEMBERS OF BIDGET BOARD CONSIDERED CAPITOL STUATION House Member of State Body Commented On Fire Hazard Caused By Rubbish SERVE AS REMINDER OF INDIAN WAR DAYS Custer Left Point Not Five Miles From Building On His Last Campaign Editor's Note: The following story was broad- cast through the nation by The Associated Press end is reprinted herewith to give the Tribune readers knowledge of how the capitol fire attracted attention elsewhere. H. B. Burton formerly was a Tribune ithrrertigel Ph Dh ae reporter ployed in the cago offices of The Associated Press. By H. B. BURTON A funeral pyre to bygone frontier days smoldered here last night. © Where Indians once lit signal fires, and called their tribesmen to counctl from the broad , charred wreckage sent up a pillar of smoke to mark all that remained of the rambling North Dakota capitol. The old red brick building had crowned the hfll since territoria) days, Within its hells had walked the swashbuckling explorers of a vir- gin territory. | Consideration need for a aes of Saeed pared to put f the Ly Fmise {new capitol bullding was had by the stop to the. activities of the commis- of sion before they were exercised by enjoining the organization. ‘the commission, following McKen- Hwa Nebo outwitted the Yankton wyers by making all the necessary Preliminary arrangements for the outa eae drawing up all the pa- and getting everything ready for official signatures, Then they started into Yankton on special train of the Milwaukee road and, while running through the cor- Porate limits at a speed which defied sheriffs and deputies, the papers bend signed and the legal - disarmed, proceeded to sive some thought to the possibility of Bismarck the capital of the territory. McKenzie’s next step was in rais- ing the necessary $100,000 bond for capital city and having it approved in the capital, which, of course, was the hostile Yankton. He succeeded in raising the equivalent here through Pledges of real estate and the big bond and certifi¢d eheck were turned over to George P. Flannery, now of Minneapolis, who, by the way, visit- ed in Bismarck last summer. Some of this information leaked out, and, fearing opposition, in Yank- fully. It was arranged that reach Yankton, to seek approval of the bond before Judge Hudson, at Yankton on a special business, Flannery appeared before ‘The first warning 2 received was terrific of wind on my face. tion 58 state budget meeting nee, ee n of the house a: tions , Said or A Hew ‘capitol fored the to recommend any it le need building and fav was unwill Dakota Territory Then It was “Dakota territory,” at first, and the settlers were few and timid. The Indians ranged the buttes and eth eadord . Bs Roneip ‘The ‘oads were inning to push their feelers into the broad country of bonanza grain. Tt was from a knoll not five miles S| distant from the capitol hill that General George Custer marched out on the trip of the Little Big Horn. . | Custer’s last stand still was fresh in of a $650, memory here when representatives came—some of them traveling a thousand open the new capitol. That was in 1884, and the terrftory lived only five years longer. There was dissension. The at away. The settlers at Bismarck and Fargo resented the interference of the “southerners. So in 1889 ” to become ‘Dakota’ “South Dakot Bismarck remained the capital of the northern state. the territory was split, “North ” and the} Pierre, on another bluff of the Mis- or ton, McKenzle laid hié plans care- | 94 Flannery “SILENT ROAD Passaic, N. J, Dec. 20-—Tt 1s not the last minute. Under the guige| improbable that-sometime in the fu- of appearing for the Northern Pa-|ture automobile traffic will move cific railroad, of which he was a|noiselessly over rubber-paved streets. gpecial counsel, Flannery went to| Experiments have already been con- train. After | ducted here with this type of road on making an appearance: before Judge | the Second Street bridge. The Edgerton, at Yankton, on sailroad|is composed of hexagonal road rubber Fi FF i | souri 300 miles to the south, was the Capitol of South Dakota. The Indians dwindled in number. Settlers poured in. North Dakota settled down to the business of colo- STATE CAPITOL WAS THREATENED OFTEN BY CONFLAGRATIONS Fires Started In Building Twice Before 1908, According to McGillis couldn't they?” were destined to move i t the , Something tightened about my would they cripple the fast and terrifying for me during nis Sueenteh, “mene of the Skies?” the next few moments. been broken? I st. fom, I hung suspended. Bev pe, sate 7ou Sd to SneOw soe Pre that hn an walked in, ignorant of my Below me I could the whirr start Pn bal Why ‘vould they, but ths ing ts to the status of 8 voles °'Gurely, they would not open them he, Ya, ull of sie and rain, done. Keep you from communication with the fay Jidio room the ghee of "reached out in the Gasnene gel” yan, Pucpanded, ‘amps er Stone. were extinguished, hand came tact reas, clock I ae % 1 Clectrio switchboard, the forded, in itp works tn the fora of the blueprints room was a grating: By amasement, T T hurried £6 the, various ther= ie eee cree sole ot 7 among the as a whok. lishing oe ere eee wn, pale faces build- ‘here was grim effort on the part Fe certain a side. J. ludicrous, for every Table was Uldag beck and’ forth @ wes pignt fit in one position long before aid : ing to and tro. A : ua reed Reeey ae y »