Brookings weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1898-1903, 1900-12-13
TROUBLE
ALL AROUND
The Arrest and Trial Of Two
Young Men on Charge Of
Rape Stirs Up
A BAD MESS.
An Exciting Case and One in Which
Some Of Our Townspeople Do
Not Appear to the Best
Advantage.
A BAD MESS.

justice MatSon'S court has been on
the grind the past week, producing
sensations that have stirred the city
from center to circumference.
Our usually quiet and orderly city
was thrown into a state of excite
ment last week by the news that
Robert Daw, Western Union tele-
graph operator, and Geo. Hazen, night
operator at the Northwestern depot,
had been arrested on the charge Of
rape, the plaintiffs being Sandra Hal
vorson and Josie Johnson, both young
girls and under the age Of sixteen.
The first case, the State VS.. Robert
Daw, was tried on Friday and the de-
fendant discharged. The second case,
the State VS.. Geo. Hazen, was tried on
Saturday and the defendant dis
charged. Young Daw was then ar.
rested charged with rape upon the
person Of Hannah Egeberg. This
trial was held in Justice Matson's
court on Monday and the defendant
held to appear at the next term OF
circuit court, his bond being fixed at
5000. There was no evidence put in
by the defense in any of these cases.
These trials disclosed deplorabie
state of affairs as existing, and the
evidence brought out the fact that
there are half dozen or more young
girls, whose ages range from ten to
fourteen years, who have been In the
habit of running the streets nights
and capturing the boys Of their own
age and older and holding them up
for a good time.
Five of them, Sandra Halvorson,
Josie Johnson, Hannah Egeberg,
Christina Johnson and Letta johnson
have at last got into trouble. 1t
seems that three of the teachers in
our public schools became aware Of
the meetings OF these girls at the
North. Western depot and on several
occasions, we are told, found some of
them there and took them home.
Other means were tried to dissuade
the girls from pursuing the course
they were persistently following, but
they appeared night after night at
the depot, and the evidence showed
that they stayed usually until mid
night and sometimes all night. Here
it is alleged the young men met them
and committed the acts as charged in
the complaints.
Just why these two young men were
singled out as culprits to stand pun
ishment is not made plain. The
young man Hazen is the night oper-
ator at the depot and he is not
charged with having neglected his
duties or with having been intimate
with girls on the street. His COM
panion, Daw, is a gentlemanly little
fellow and frequently assists young
Hazen in his night work. Both have
borne the best of regulations and the
indiscretions alleged to have been
practiced by them is only what might
have happened to any youth under the
trying circumstances with which they
were surrounded.
The real trouble lies with the girls
and it is doubtful IL the persecution
of these young men will in any wise
have beneficial effect upon their
character or moral behavior. This
public exposure will be hard thing
20 overcome and Brookings society
will be different from any other we
ever knew IL these girls succeed In
stamping out their disgrace.
OF course this thing has got to stop
right where it is, even If all the girls
are placed 10 the reform school. II
looks as though that would have been
the wisest course to have pursued be-
fore the arrests were made and trials
begun.
LATER DEVELOPMENTS.
A still greater sensation was ere.
ated yesterday, in the development OF
the last named case, when the Ege.
berg girl confessed to having perjured
herssii on the witness stand and that