The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-07-30
CASE OF SILBERFELD
AN IRATB PARENT WHO DE-
CLARES THAT HE Is NOT
INSANE
COURT THINKS OTHERWISE

| Two Physicianse Say That tho Man
| Is Undoubtedly Crazy-Was Turn
| ed Over to Hta Wife, Who Agreed
to Take HIM on to New York
There Was, However, Some Hitch
I'm the Proceedings,
]. W. Lemley, area1 estate dealer Nv
| ing at S03 Jacksons street, has written
communication to the G b Q in which
he claims that a great wrong has been
done in permitting Marcus Silberfeldt'
peddler, who was arrested for insulting
! ladies' and afterwards adjudged insane,
to be released on a bond. Mr. Lemley
| says that Silberfeld was recognized In the
municipal court by his seven-year-old
son as man who had attempted to out
rage the lad a few days previous. The
child was placed on the stand and told
the circumstances of the assault to the
court and to the county attorney. says
| Mr.. Lemley:
ST called on the court on July "a ana
asked that they take some steps to have
| Silberfeld punished for his offense
against my boy. The judge said to me
that the man was still in Jail, but would
! go to the workhouse for ninety days. He
| said the man was insane, and when he
| had served the ninety days he would
send him back to New York, where he
came from said to the Judge: Il hope
you will not set this man at liberty
He replied: Don't be alarmed, l will
see that he will not get liberty now
st can't think this Silberfeld is any
more insane than those who have turned
him loose May I ask the public to lend
! hand and have this mean man brought
| to Justice and put where he can never
| commit such terrible crimes upon the
little innocent children. 7 read many
times in the newspapers, where the p6-
! lice are blamed for not keeping better
order on the outskirts of the city What
is the use to make an arrest. Those
law breakers plead insanity and are set
| at liberty We have law why not en-
force it?"
"The circumstances in the case are
these" said Probate Judge BaziIle yes
terday: Marcus silberfeld was pic
ture peddler and was arrested on
charge of insulting some ladies at whose
house he called. He was sentenced to
rirety days in the workhouse by Judge
! Orr in the municipal court. Previous
| to his arrest the peddler called at the
home of former County Attorney An
| derson whites Mr. Anderson was away
and at five other houses in the neighbour
hood At a11 of the places he called he
acted strangely. When Mr.. Anderson
came home his wife told him about the
| peddler and he agreed the man must be
! crazy He was in court at the time
| of Silberfeld's trial, and after the sem
! tence informed the court that the man
! was undoubtedly insane. He explained
the circumstances of what he had learned
and Mrs Silberfeld filed an information
of insanity against her husband, wn>
was brought up for examination In the
probate court last Saturday, July %.
He was examined by DR.. Burnside Eos
| ter and DIR. Eugene Hubbeu, who pro-
nOunced him undoubtedly insane.
! ct appeared at the examination that
| the man was thirty years old and resi-
| dent of New York He had been in
| Ramsey county with his wife for about
| three weeks and about six weeks in the
! state He was a native of Austria. The
testimony showed that the man had been
injured on the head about six months
ago and the examination records show
| that the physicians found traces Of the
| wound under conditions that would cause
a disordered brain 1t was shown that
he had three cousins insane. The ply
sicians found that Silberfeld's insanity
was manifested in a confusion of ideas,
! incapacity for connected thought ana
sexual perversity.
1.-The assistant county attorney was
| present at the examination as required
by law. 1t developed that Silberfeld was
! a resident of New York and we would
! have been put to the trouble and expense
of sending him back there Instead,
! Mrs. Silberfeld offered to take care of
her husband and to give bond. Joseph
| S. Horst and Adolph Naumann. repre-
senting some Jewish society of Mime
apolis, informed me that Mrs. Silberfeld
would start for New York that very
evening with her husband and that the
ticket had been already purchased. They
offered to go on the bond. Under these
conditions I accepted a bond in the sum
of 500 and turned the man over to his
wife
afterwards ]. w. Lemley, living at
I sos Jackson street. came to me and told
me that SiIberfald had attempted to
abuse his seven-year-old son. He was
aggrieved because I had allowed the
man to go on bond and told me that Sill
berfed had been seen on the streets in
| Minneapolis Immediately issued an at
tachment for Silberfeld, and a deputy
sheriff spent the afternoon in trying to
| find him without success. Had 7 known
of these other offenses then SilberftId
would not have been allowed to CO.