Many Summoned Before Special Grand Jury.
Type of event: Lynchings
Location: Duluth; St. Louis County; Minnesota; United States
Citation:
Duluth Herald, June 17, 1920, page 1, 20.
“Many Summoned Before Special Grand Jury”
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Many Summoned Before Special Grand Jury
Policemen, Sheriffs and Others to Testify Concerning
Lynching
Expect to Learn Identity of Ringleaders of Tuesday
Night’s Mob.
Judge Cant in Charging Jury Urges Bringing Lynchers to
Justice.
W. J. McCabe Appointed Foreman and Hearing of Witnesses
Begins.
Grand Jury Which Will Probe Lynching.
William J.
McCabe, 2125 Abbotsford avenue, foreman.
Joseph A. Baker, 211 North Fifth
avenue west.
Solomon Budlick, Eveleth.
John Dahlberg, 4207 Grand
avenue.
Joseph F. Eby, 305 Isanti street.
Oscar Erickson, 4211 West Fourth
street.
Bernard F. Fagin, 5712 Wadena street.
M. J. Hoff, 2235 Roslyn
avenue.
Otto Holm, 5919 Tacony street.
John P. Glasson, 2414 West Fourth
street.
Bert Jernberg, 326 South Seventeenth avenue east.
J. W. McCabe,
Virginia.
Henry F. Salyards, 3115 East Superior street.
A. W. Taussig,
Kitchi Gammi club.
H. C. Wahl, 2327 West Second street.
Henry P. Gardiner,
1120 West Second street.
Alexander G. Gow, 2327 East Second street.
Frank
P. Hallock, 4130 East Superior street.
Daniel Mahoney, 230 West Superior
street.
W. C. Sargent, 4541 London road.
E. B. Whiteside, 325 East Second
street.
Declaring the laws of God have been set at naught in this community, and
will from this time forth be held less sacred, Judge William A. Cant, himself a
witness of part of the depredations of the mob of Tuesday night, charged the
special grand jury, called to probe the appalling crime that has directed a
state-wide gaze of horror toward Duluth, to do its utmost to bring the
ringleaders of the mob and lynching to justice, that respect for the law may be
restored.
The special grand jury met this afternoon at 1:30. In the meantime
several vacancies caused by certain members having to be excused or not being
found were filled in. Judge Cant, grave in the midst of the rioting of Tuesday
night, he tried to stem the tide of mob law and restore order, addressed the
grand jurors in language which has perhaps, no parallel in the annals of St.
Louis county, for never before has a precedent been set in the matter which must
be dealt with.
McCabe is Foreman.
William J. McCabe, leading member of the Duluth Board of Trade and a leader
in the religious circles of the city, was appointed foreman of the jury and
immediately after the charge was given by the court, the jury retired to begin
its investigation of the lynching and of the crime which caused it.
In his
address to the jury, Judge Cant said:
“The awful scenes enacted in
this city within the past forty-eight hours have necessitated the convening of
your body in extraordinary session at this time. The most atrocious crime in all
our history has been committed in the open defiance of authority, in disregard
of law, and attended by horrors such as will ineffaceably scar the minds and
consciences of us all.
“That the victims may have committed another
crime, also heinous, is not the slightest excuse. Indeed, that is beside the
question. They were in the custody of officers and behind barred doors. They
were entitled to the protection of the law. There was not the
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(Continued from page 1.)
least danger that they would escape trial and punishment. The bars that kept
them in were equally designed to keep all others out.
“The fact that
the perpetrators of these awful crimes in the immediate vicinity of our police
headquarters and city hall committed them openly cannot be urged in palliation
of the enormity thereof. The crimes were openly committed, public property was
wantonly destroyed. The offenses in question, villainous enough under any
circumstances, were here characterized by acts of unusual and excessive
brutality. The fact that such acts were committed in public view and in the
presence of many people, some of morbid minds, served only to add infamy and to
the awful horrors of the night.
God’s Laws Set at Naught.
“The great wrong to the victims, wholly beyond our power of
estimation, can never be undone. The great wrong to our community can never be
wholly overcome or the foul blood washed out. The laws of God and man have been
defied, set at naught. In our midst from this time forth, the laws of God will
be held less sacred, life will be less safe, property be less secure and
humanity itself of every character will be held more cheap. Instead of pressing
constantly forward we have taken a long step backward.
“These are not
formal words only or empty phrases. The matters referred to go to the
foundations of human welfare and at those foundations, viewed locally, a
terrible blow has been struck and the work of undermining to a degree is now
going on.
“This which has occurred is not only a tragedy to the
victims. It was a calamity to the entire community. By such acts the usual sound
wholesomeness and righteous standards are violently disturbed and men are in
danger of losing their sense of proportion and of propriety and of right.
Must Be Safeguarded.
“Viewed either locally or nation wide, human progress is made possible
only in safeguarding those rules designed for the control of human conduct which
have been crystallized into law, those laws are often imperfect. In certain
respects they should be much improved. But at any particular period, for the
time being, human rights are preserved and protected and vindicated only through
a faithful and conscientious observance and strict enforcement of the law
whatever it may be. This is especially true and especially important with
respect to the rights of the weak or of those who cannot protect themselves.
They cry out for a fearless and faithful observance of these
rules.
“The violence of the mob spirit of perhaps a very few men and
the encouragement from others who should have been on the side of right rather
than of great wrong has brought about the condition with which you have to deal.
Do not proceed in a bitter and vindictive spirit. So far as possible we put away
such feelings here. But with a righteous indignation at what has lately occurred
proceed with a thorough investigation which, if possible, will reach all who had
to do with the deplorable incident which you all have in mind. Let everyone know
that notwithstanding those incidents we have here a citizenship which denounces
such outrages and which will do its utmost to discover and punish the
perpetrators thereof.”
Witnesses Summoned.
Every member of the Duluth police force who was on duty at police
headquarters Tuesday night, deputy sheriffs and others who are believed to know
the identity of the ring leaders who incited the riot will be called as
witnesses before the special grand jury which went into executive session at 2
o’clock this afternoon.
Just how many witnesses will be called, County
Attorney Warren E. Greene could not say.
“We intend to bring in as
witnesses every one whom we believe can aid the grand jury in determining where
the responsibility for Tuesday night’s rioting and lynching lies and in
getting at the bottom of the affair,” he said. “At the same time the
original crime which prompted the lynching, the assault of the negroes upon the
18-year-old West Duluth girl, will be investigated and the jury asked to return
indictments for rape against all who are believed to be guilty.”
Some Troops Sent Home.
Half of the men of the two companies of Minnesota state guards who arrived
here yesterday morning are still on duty in the city. Orders were given this
forenoon which will allow half of both companies to return to Camp Rosenwald,
Fort Snelling for the remainder of the Sixth infantry encampment. The men left
this afternoon and the others will stay on duty in the city until in the opinion
of Sheriff Magie all need of the men is past.
Maj. F. W. Beecher of this
city will have charge of the work outlined for the militiamen, the naval militia
and the tank corps. The latter two organizations were ordered to report for duty
last evening. With the exception of twenty-one men of the U. S. S. Essex, all of
the naval men have been released with orders to be ready to report on a few
minutes’ notice in case of an emergency.
Gen. Rhinow Leaves.
Company N of Faribault had fifty-five men and Company 1 of Long Prairie was
here with seventy-five men, making a total of 130 men. Sixty-five of these men
left this afternoon for St. Paul. Adj. Gen. Rhinow left for St. Paul last
night.
A heavily armed guard surround the block on which the county jail is
located. This guard will be continued until all danger of any further outbreak
is past. Besides the guards surrounding the building, a second detail of guards
is on duty within the jail and the remaining soldiers are ready for a call at
the Armory on a moment’s notice in case of an outbreak.