The Searchlight (Guthrie, Okla.), No. 479, Ed. 1 Friday, June 28, 1907 Page: 3 of 16
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MR8. KAUFFMAN GUILTY
Flandreau, S. D.. June 22.— Mrs.
Moses Kaufmann. wife of a wealthy
Sioux Palls brewer, was round guilty
of manslaughter in the first degree,
the charge being that she tortured to
death Agnes Polreis, a 16-year-old ser
vant girl in her employ.
®as® has been bitterly fought,
with aU the wealth and social and
business prestige of the Kaufmanns
pitted against the sentiment that jus-
tice be done, although the victim was
a poor foreigner, practically unknown
and friendless. The entire west has
taken the deepest interest in the case.
1 he sudden verdict was a great sur-
prise and Mrs. Kauffann and her rela-
lves were stunned. Her attorneys im-
mediately moved for a new trial, and
arguments will be heard at. Yankton,
October 10. October 21 has been set
ior passing sentence upon Mrs. Kauf-
mann, her bond of $25,000 standing,
meanwhile. This will ensure her lib
erty until October 21.
Evidence Againtt Woman.
»he trial ordinarily would have
taken place in Sioux Falls, but the de-
fense by hard wrk secured a change
of venue on the ground that sentiment
rnhln6.!^?111.^118 home clty was 80
rabid that Mrs. Kaufmann could not
be given an Impartial hearing. Ac-
cordingly the case was sent here. The
people of Flandreau know only the
general details of the alleged murder
when the trial was opened, and had
no particular learning one way or the
other, but the evidence against Mrs.
thoV been 80 sensational
tnat the feeling now is markedly bit
An unlooked for episode undoubted-
ly increased the rancor or the people
against Mrs. Kaufmann. Only a few
days ago there suddenly walked into
the courtroom a gray-haired, soft-
f7f.d Tomf"• u was whispered around
that the visitor was the mother of the
girl whom Mrs. Kaufmann was accus-
ed of murdering. A movement in the
crowd attracted the deputy sheriffs
who quickly escorted the woman out
or the Place.
Mother Prays at Bar.
,J^teVnd .during the recess Of
court she returned. The jurors had
m L'depafted for luncheon, when the
mother of the dead girl, clearly un-
,hl ha ul the tragedy. approached
the bar with upraised hands and pray-
ed for the punishment of those who
had caused her daughter's death. In
he prayer appeared no resentment
Mgrc d ^rf" Kaufmann, and it is said
folre!® bears n°ne. but punish-
ment for the unknown guiltv alone
was asked.
'"Lord, on high," cried Mrs. Polreis
in German, "1 pray that thou wilt visit
thy wrath upon the person or persons
who sJew my darling child, my favor-
ite daughter. I ask for neither retri-
bution nor revenge, but simply peti-
tion thee that thou wilt visit punish-
ment upon the guilty in thy own way."
Brutal and Revolting Crime.
nia==8 5tl"rde/,of the girl falls in the
class of brutal and revolting crimes.
Agnes Polreis was compelled to earn
a living and in seeking employment
encountered Mrs. Kaufmann. It is
charged that soon after she took the
position Mrs. Kaufmann Desan a
series of abuses that eventually
brought on death.
Peter Erickson, formerly a hired
man with the Kaufmann family, suft-
Wted the general theory of the alleg-
ed horribly brutal treatment of Miss
Polreis by Mrs. Kaufman. He said
that one day he saw Mrs. Kaufmann
pouring boiling water on the girl after
she had fallen to the floor from sheer
exhaustion.
Poured Boiling Water on Her
Erickson started to go to Miss Pol-
reis1 aid, but was waved back, he said
by the woman, who said that she was
throwing hot water on Agnes "in or-
der to get her up."
Witnesses, including phvsicii.^
and nurses, testified that Miss' Polreis
had sustained several wounds on the
head, three at the base of the skull,
and many cuts and bruises, sufficient
to have caused her death. Two
IGHT
gangrenous, according to the trained
nurse who attended Agnes. It also
was shown that Mrs. Kaufmann jab-
bed a broomstick into the maid's ribs
| and caused her to bathe her feet in
ashes soaked with water, forming lye.
which proved painful.
A NOTED INDIAN DEAD
Eufaula, I. T., June 21.—The Joe
Cannon of the Creek National Council
is dead. His name was John Francis,
and he was a member of tihe Council
from the time of its reorganization
mmediately after the Civil War un-
11 his death, which took place this
week.
He wa9 a full-blooded Indian and
his followers among the Creeks were
as loyal wihen they gathered around
his grave as they had ever been when
they gathered at the old Creek capi-
tal to assist In passing through the
Council any measure ihe dictated. He
could not read Engjlish, but could
speak that language with some hcsl
tation.
Francis was selected a member of
the Creek Council when h ewas a
young man. He developed unusual
powers as an organizer and held his
Place until his deabh. It is said that
he could block any measure that came
before the Council, if he desired, and
that no measure that he advocated
failed to pass.
Hie was a Union soldier and fought
during the four years of tihe Civil
Waf He drew a pension after the
war, for wounds received, and when
he died he was, .upon his own re-
quest, buried in the uniform that he
wore as a Union soldier.
Oration in Creek.
The funeral was attended by tihe
greatest number of Indians that ever
assembled at a funeral in this section.
The fueral oration was said by Wil
liani McCombs, the official interpre-
ter for the nation, and was delivered
in Creek. A remarkable incident oc-
curred while he was in the midst of
his oration. Wihen he touched upon
the excellent traits of the deceased,
he was interrupted time and again by
applause from the audience. Such a
thing was never before heard of
here. The reason for tihis, as stated
by an Indian, was the fact that Fran-
cis had lived for seventy-two years.
It was time for his death, and the
dissolution was natural and not pre-
mature. Nature was performing its
regular functions and there was no
reason for unusual regret. Hence the
applause wihen the fullness of life of
the deceased was dwelt upon.
McCombs fought upon one side dur
ing the war and Francis upon the
other, and in his oration McCombs
said:
"My friend was a brave man. . I
never feared his heart, but I did his
uniform. There is not a hilltop in the
Creek Nation that John Francis did
not stand upon during the Civil War.
There were twelve pallbearers. Ac-
cording to Indian custom, six of these
carried the coffin half way to the
grave and rested, while the other six
carried it the remainder of the way.
Reaching the grave, they marched
around it in a circle, going east first
and then came back to the side from
wihich they first approached and de-
posited the coffin. This is an old
Indian custom and is typical of the
fact that an Indian alwys turns
around before he lies down to sleep.
It is a peculiar characteristic of
fullblooded Indians that when one of
their family passes tihe three score
and ten mark there is little' demon-
stration of sorrow or regret when he
dies. This is not because an old per-
son is a burden, but from the fact
that the Indians more than any other
people consider that when the scrip-
tural span of an allotted lifetime has
passed, it is all that could be expec-
ted and no person is entitled r.o more.
passed were in the shape of little book-
lets, the outside covers decorated with
pen and ink sketctes after the manner
of magazines. The answersare all the
names of current magazines.
1 One hulndred years old.—Cen-
tury.
2 Santa Claus.—St. Nicholas.
3 An eminent minstrel.—Harper
4.Public place in Rome.—The Arena
5. Veracity.—Truth.
6 One who sketches.—Delineator.
7 A noted fairy—Puck.
8 Sailors hoodoo.—Black Cat.
9 Dispenser of Justice.—Judge
10 A prospect.—Outlook.
11 WHat we cling to.—Lire.
12 A citizen of the world.—Cosmo-
politan.
13 A boys jacknife. —Youth's Com.
panion.
14 Hash.—Review of Reviews.
15 A needle book.—Woman's Home i
Companion.
16 Prosperity.—Success.
17 Money the trusts want.—Every- i
body's. I
18 Residents of New York.—Metro-
politan.
19 The suburbs.—Country Life in
America
20 What we are proud to be—Am- I
erican.
21 We should take every year.—Out- i
ing.
22 What song we all should know— i
National.
23 Our coming men.—American 1
Boy.
24
25
ent.
What dudes try to set.—Style
What a rich man is.—Independ-
IT WAS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE.
New York, June 24.—The report of
a secret meeting of high railroad of-
ficials in Chicago, in which it was de-
cided to reduce all passenger rates
throughout the United States to two
cents, induced Charles F. Daly, vice
president of the fourteen lines of the
New York Central system to give
a detailed statement of the road's
position at the present time in re-
gard to the two cent fare agitation.
Mr. Daly is in charge of all the pas
senger business handled by the Van
derbilt roads. He said the railroads
throughout the country were opposed
unalterably to a flat two cent fare.
They were fighting all legislation
of the Illinois university he voices re-
spect for true democracy and points
out evils, which we as sticklers for
suoh form of government, seem to
have either overlooked or been care-
less to eradicate.
He becomes eloquent in urging the
whole people to participate in active
politics, to select their best and ablest
men to guide the ship of state, but
the whole people must continue to
watch everything they do and never
surrender Its judgment, or Its votes
into their hands."
The learned diplomat was particu-
larly earnest in his warning against
the fake reformer and the unscrupu-
lous leader and waxed more than elo-
quent in this characterization of the
; ways of such creatures to obtain place
and power, both of which they use for
; purely selfish ends and personal
i aggrandizement. Here is the conclud-
: ing paragraph of tihe ambassador's ad-
' dress:
It was said by them of old that eter-
nal vigilance is the price of freedom
: It. is the price of other things also. It
is the price of pure government and ef-
i ficient government. No citizen in a
, fiee country can escape or decline ihis
i responsibility for the conduct of lils
i government. He ought to respect the
! lodgement of those he knows to be
| wiser than himself. He must avoid
; error of those "cranks," as you
> call them, who set the particular ques-
tion in which they are most interested
! above 'the general line of a sound na-
j tional policy. But the (history of
free government shows that when
things go wrong, it is not so often
; from errors of judgment, on the part
j of the people, as it is from an excess
| of party spirit which has led them to
follow blindly an unscrupulous leader,
or from an indifference and negli-
gence which has enabled unscrupulous
and selfiish men to pursue their own
advantage at the expense of the pub-
lic good.—Kansas CMty Post.
DO YOU WANT TO MARRY?
DRIFT THIS WAY, PLEASE!
Milwaukee Pastor Opens Shop and
Advertises.
A Magazine Game
. . - • ~~ «"» icgiaiauoii
which had such a traffic regulation
in view, and would continue the fight
to the highest court.
The adoption of a two cent fare
by the railroads, as stated in thP Chi-
cago dispatch," said Mr. Daly, "is an
absurdity. The railroads could not do
It and continue to do business.
"Two cent fare laws have been
passed in six states, which to the best
of my knowledge are Ohio, Indiana,
Pennsylvania, Missouri and Nebraska
In ali these states the railroads are
lighting these statutes on the ground
that they are unconstitutional. The
fight has been carried into the fed-
eral courts, and the railroads intend
to keep up the fight till the highest
tribunal is reached.
in A «at two cent ra,e for a state :
like New York is unfair, for the rea-
son that some parts are far more I
densely settled than others. Con- I
trast for example the Adirondack re-
g on with the densely populated belt
along the Erie canal. For some branch I
lines in the thirty populated region ,
such as the former, a three cent fare
does not even permit of a profit, ;
whereas in the latter a two cent is
remunerative."
President Underwood of the Erie
railroad, after reading the Chicago
dispatch, said:
I know nothing of such an agree-
ment. The Erie railroad certainly
will not surrender to the two cent
fare fight."
! , Milwaukee, Wis., June 21.—Miiwau-
i kee is to have an official matrimonial
: office, a place where couples may be
I tied at a moment's notice, providing
i the legal preliminaries, such us lieen-
I ses and other details, have been satis-
factorily arranged.
The minister who is to introduce
the innovation, and who Is making a
bid for the patronage of couples mat-
rimonially inclined through the ad-
vertising columns of newspapers, is
the Rev. Samuel Moldenhauer, a staid
Lutheran clergyman, whose record of
thirty-three years and one month in
one pulpit would seem to clear the
promoter of the new venture from anv
suspicion of fllghtiness.
It is a serious business proposition
with the Rev. Mr. Moldenhauer, and
he Is entering into it with all sin
cerity, and the idea of making it an
j income-yielding venture, lie will de-
i iV0,<Lhiu entire tinie to i(- h's filing
j health having made It imperative for
i him to retire from pastorial duties. He
may be found at his office, in his
house, 2G07 Cherry street, morning,
afternoon and evening.
wk a,m ',repared to marry people.
: either in German or English, and 1 can
niake the service fifteen, ten or five
I minutes long, or even briefer, pccord-
ing to the desires of the principals
i and the time at their disposal," said
the Rev. Mr. Moldenhauer, and he is
j advertising to that effect
I wfHean"A/narry applicants either
with all the ceremonial frills or with
out them, with the legal "wilt thou"
./ Pronounce this couple man and
j wife, just as his customers decide.
A Great Commoner.
A hostess at the social meeting
«* uave causea ner death. Two of a literary club planned this unioue
wounds on the shoulder blade were entertainment. The p rogrammes
, Chicago, 111., June 22.—The Inter-
! ?»'r.°, Say/ fhat I)assen£er rates on
Mr. Gladstone was perhaps Eng- be rednc^f !' \ Tlnited Statos wM1
land's greatest commoner, but that 1 when the th^° " aftP'' J"ly
country, in .her present ambassador to compel; ItouXd ti?*® .Wl" he
the United States, Hon James Bryce, was reacL in Ph decision
s. zrzz :bi i s
tow u tha^commencBment^eiercUe. i Western aortran3ionmetntal°road"
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The Searchlight (Guthrie, Okla.), No. 479, Ed. 1 Friday, June 28, 1907, newspaper, June 28, 1907; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc285594/m1/3/: accessed April 23, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.