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 Physfcfanss Say That the Man
Is Undoubtedly Crazy-Was Turn
ed Over to HIS Wife, Who Agreed
to Take HInas on to New York
There Was, However, Some Hitch
I'm the Proceedings.
| J. w. Lemley, a8real estate dealer liv-
| ing at 800 Jackson street, has written q
communication tozthe G o b g in which
he claims that great wrong has been
| done in permitting Marcus Silberfeldt, a
peddIer, who wasS arrested for insulting
ladies' and afterwards adjudged insane,
to be released on bond. Mr.. Lem1ey
says that Silberfeld was recognized in the
municipal court by his seven-year-old
son as a 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 and
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: hope
you will not set this man at liberty
He replied: Don't be alarmed, I will
see that he will not get liberty now
at can't think this Silberfeld is any
more insane than those who have turned
him loose May I ask the public to lend
a hand and have this mean man brought
to Justice and put where ne can never
commit such terrible crimes upon the
little innocent children. I read many
times in the newspapers, where the po-
lice are blamed for not keeping better
order on thesoutslzirts 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 t?"
"The circumstances IN the case are
these" said Probate Judge Bazille yes
terday: Marcus silberfeld was pic
ture peddIer and was arrested on
charge of insulting some ladies at whose
! house he called. He was sentenced to
ninety 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 while Mr.. Anderson was away
and at five other. houses in the neighbour
hood At an 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 siIberfeld's trial. and after the SEN
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, who
was brought UP for examination in the
probate court last Saturday, July %
He was examined by DR.. Burnside Fos-
fer and-Dr. Eugene -HubbeI, who pro-
nounced him undoubtedly insane,
at appeared at the examination that
the man was thirty years old and a 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. It was shown that
he had three cousins insane. The ply
sicians found that SiIberfeld's insanity
was manifested in a confusion of ideas,
incapacity for connected thought and
sexual perversity.
1.-The assistant county attorney was
present at the examination as required
by law 1t developed that SilberfeId was
resident of New York and we would
have been put to the trouble and expense
of sending him back there. Instead,
Mrs. SiIberfeId 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 bond in the sum
Of 800 and turned the man over to his
wife.
Afterwards J.. w. Lemley. living at
sos Jackson street. came to me and told
/ me that Silberfald 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
berfeld had been seen on the streets in
Minneapolis. Immediately issued an at
tachment for SilberfeId, and a deputy
sheriff spent the afternoon in trying to
find him without success. Had 7 I1now1
of these other offenses then SiIberfcId
would not have been allowed to go"