The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1901-11-21
CASES all DISMISSED
Chief Fire Warden Andrews Fails
to Make Any OF His Cases for
: ~ = w. r.. i. 3 -S.--'-'e =,
Setting Fires Stick.
Two rlilaca Cases Were Dismissed
AS Was Also The Case Against
~ ~.
~ Otto Lindberg.

P"1 o10o III Willie Laos county fOr setting
or causing to be set forest fires, or by
any carelessness causing the spread of
any fires. Last week he caused the
arrest of Otto Lindberg, the section
foreman at this place, for having caused
fires in the town OF Princeton and b.
gus Brook and the case was set for
trial Saturday, but was postponed until
wednesday afternoon. In the mean
time Mr.. Andrews went up to Milaca
and got his fire smeller at work in the
country north of there and around For
eston, with the result that he had
Christian Waxmuth, living three miles
southwest of Foreston, and H. T. Win
ter, who occupies the old Mike Drew
farm four miles north of Milaca,
brought before Justice Norcross of
Milaca on Tuesday for having caused
forest fires. C. A. Dickey went up to
defend both parties and at the hearing
both cases were dismissed on motion
OF defendants attorney because of lack
OF sufficient evidence to establish a
case against and convict the parties.
The parties were charged with having
committed the offence against the State
OF Minnesota on the 22d and 23d of
October 1t was an easy matter for
the chief fire warden to get few
aggrieved neighbors to appear as wit
nesses against the parties whom they
thought were to blame for the fires
which did some damage, but the testi-
mony failed to show that either Wax
mouth or Winter had caused the fires.
In the case Of Winter the testimony
showed that hewent to a neighbor and
asked him if he would help him burn a
fire. break at some of Winters hay
STAG ks. The neighbor could not go,
but short time afterwards fires we're
found burning around the stacks, and
Winter asked the neigh boris wife who
was driving home some COWS if she
thought there would 2zbe- any danger
from che fires he had SET The testi-
mony showed that fire spread from
near these stacks, but this was not suf-
ficient evidence to convict Winter, so
the court thought.
On the train yesterday morning came
the chief fire warden looking little
downcast and Attorney Dickey with
the great law book under his arm and
fee in his pocket, while on his face he
wore the smile of victor. A walk up
town and he was Justice Dickey to hear
the evidence in the Lindberg case
which was set for 9 A. M. Attorney
Sutton was present for the Great
Northern road. County Attorney Ross
was not present at the opening of the
court and General Andrews proceeded
to conduct the case for the State. He
called Frank Lindberg, a seventeen
year-old lad who works for Lindberg
who is his uncle. The boy told about
starting the fires on the right of way
on the Oath of last month.
1t was shown that fires that covered
a stretch of land three-q uarters of a
mile had been set, and that the section
foreman, his nephew and barrel of
water constituted the fire brigade.
He was followed by John Wolf who
owns forty adjoining the railroad at
the place where the fires we're set, and
Wolf stated that twenty-five acres of
his land had been burned and that
much of the burned tract was along
and adjoining the right of way. He
was followed by Alexander Hartz who
has farm adjoining that of Wolf, and
he claimed that from the fire which
was on the latter's land that much
damage was done to property on his
own land, burning up lot of green
timber, poles and posts. Mr.. Ellen
baum, chairman of the town board of
Princeton, was called and stated how
he had gone over the fire district and
had seen fires burning in the vicinity
of the Hartz place and elsewhere. -,
There was no question about the
fires, but did they start from the right
of way fires? At the conclusion of the
testimony the State rested its case,
and Attorney Sutton moved to dismiss
the case because of the fact that no
evidence had been introduced to show
that Otto Lindberg had started any
fires that had caused fires on the Wolf
land or any land, adjoining. Justice
Dickey thereupon took occasion to ex-
plain the position of the court on the
matter and thought that it was not the
intention OF the legislature to enact
laws that would be the means of ining
or imprisoning people for taking Gus
tomary precautions to protect their
own and other peoples property.