The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1896-05-29

"A uOSU SENSATIONAL incident occurred
in the district court just before ad-
jOurnment yesterday afternoon. The
trial of the $4,000 damage suit of
Joseph Sorg against Geo. w. Allyn,
for an alleged libel and SANDER, was
in progress, and the defense was try
ing to prove that the statements
made by Mr.. Allyn about Sorg being
a counterfeiter, ETC., were true.
Among the witnesses put on
during the afternoon were Geo.
Richie, of Missouri, who is
Sorg's wifes brother. Richie
testified that in 1894, while
searching in Sorg's house at Madison
Lake for some fish hooks he found
some counterfeitlng moulds. He had
asked SOrg what they were, and Sorg
had answered that they were ma
chine for making money. Sorg had
admitted that he had coined counter
felt money and passed it. Two count
erfeit silver dollars were also found at
the same time and place. Ollie
Drake testified that he and Ritchie
had at another time, during Sorg's ab-
sence, found the moulds and turned
them over to Mr.. Allyn, who had had
given them to Capt. w. z. Walsh, of
ST. Paul, of the United State Secret
Capt. Walsh was put on the stand
by the defense to prove that he had
received and still had in his posses
sion the mouldS. : On cross eXamin-
alton he was asked whether there had
ever been warrant issued for SOrg's
arrest on the charge of cOunterfeiting,
the attorneys expecting that he would
say that no such warrant had been
issued. The surprise of Sorg and his
attorneys, the jurors and spectators
may be imagined when Capt. Walsh
answered that after having heard Mr..
Ritchie's testimony during the after
noon he had telegraphed to St. Paul
for warrant for Sorg's arrest, and
that Sorg was at that moment his pris-
Il
witness stand, he would place his
prisoner in custody. Nobody having
any more questions to ask him, Capt
Walsh stepped from the witness
stand to where Sorg was sitting be-
side his attorneys, Hughes, Rice &
Hughes, and tapped him on the Shout
der and informed him that he was in
the custody of Uncle Sam. Sorg was
turned over to Sheriff Bowen for safe
keeping, and was lodged in jail last
night.
The charge on which Sorg was ar
rested was making and having in his
possession moulds for making counter
felt silver dollars, and making count.
erfeit silver dollars"
Capt. Walsh was seen by FREE
PRESS reporter at the Saulpaugh last
night, and said that he had not in
tended to arrest Sorg until after his
case had gone to the jury, so as not to
prejudice it, but as the information
regarding the warrant had been
drawn from him by Sorg's own attor-
neys, he could wait no longer for fear
that Sorg might skip out during the
night The evidence which he had
heretofore had against Sorg was mere
ly circumstantial, but Mr.. Ritchie's
testimony had supplied all that was
missing. Capt. Walsh did not care to
discuss the case to any extent. He
did not think that Sorg had passed
much counterfeit money, and thought
that two others were in the gang, o..
S. Grant, who escaped from the Jail at
Redwood Falls while under sentence
of seven years to Saltwater, and a
man described as 'Blinkey" in letters
written by Sorg and in Mr.. Allyn's
possession. This man lives near Red
wood Falls.