The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-05-06
INNOCENT NAN SET FREE
Ut WAS PROVEN HE HAD BEEN
CONVICTED BY AN
ERROR
FOUGHT FOR THREE YEARS
George II. BOggs, Oklahoma Post
master, Held for Crime Com
mitted Internationally by
Another Man.

annals of Jurisprudence in the West is
that of George II. Boggs, who has just
peen set free at Shawnee, Okla, after
hghting an embezZlement charge for three
years, during which he carried the casa
through the Federal circuit court of APP
peals and to the United States supreme
court
Z The case naturally has attracted con-
siderable attention throughout the North
west for the reason that prior to going
TO Oklahoma Boggs was resident Of this
part of the country and enjoyed an ex-
tenslYe acquaintance. His friends in the
northwest, after he had exhausted every
Fresource and spent every dollar he had,
interested themselves in his behalf and
provided the means to continue the Eight
FIhey also appealed to the president, who,
however, after careful investigation, re-
FUSED to extend clemency. Boggs was
liberated because the real culprit con-
fessed the crime for which he had been
convicted, and has now gone to prison
In his stead The history of the case
reads like a romance. In 1896 John w
FBoggs was a resident Of Blair, where he
had lived for many years. His brother
was well-known capitalist of Omaha
"A short time previous to 1886 a citizen of
Blair went 70 Oklahoma and was instrjl-
mental in establishing the town of Shaw
nee. He succeeded in bringing into the
new territory number Of persons from
w.
Boggs.
After the election Of 1896 there was
struggle TO secure the position of post
master at Shawnee. George H. Boggs, a
nephew and namesake Of the Omaha cap
italist, was one of the candidates He was
stranger in the country, but the record
OF the family in the Northwest stood
him in good stead. Through the efforts
OF John M. Thurston, ]. G. Gown and
other prominent Nebraska Republicans
Boggs was given the place, entering upon
his duties in the spring of 1897
BoGGS ARRESTED AND SENTENCED.
Everything went well with the new
postmaster until November of the same
year. On the night of Nov 4 a registered
letter was mailed at the town of Tecum-
sch, the county seat of the county, d.
rected to Guthrie, o. T. This letter con-
tanned $3.50, represented by nine $40 bills.
By reason of the peculiar system of run
ming trains 1t was necessary that the
sack containing the registered mail for
points east Of Shawnee be opened at that
place and that the mail be transferred
to other pouches.
The last trace Of the registered letter
was at Shawnee A tracer was sent out
and postof1ice inspector put to work on
the case A day or two afterward the
nine $40 bills We're found in an unoccuped
building wrapped in a note addressed to
George H. Boggs the postmaster The
unoccupied building had been used as the
postoffIce until a short time before the
registered letter was stolen, and the note
stated that the person who had opened
the letter had learned that the numbers
of the bills had been recorded and there
fore no one could pass them; that there
fore the thief had taken this opportunity
Of returning the funds to the government
The inspector who worked on the case
was John Beebe He investigated the
case and applied for a warrant for the
arrest Of George H. Boggs on the charge
of rifing the registered mail. Boggs was
arrested the case was tried in 1899, and
Boggs was convicted on four counts, being
sentenced to the penitentary at Leaven-
worth Kan, for a year and day on
each count.
An appeal was taken to the supreme
Gourt of the territory, where the judg-
9nent was affirmed Pending the hearing
on the appeal the attorneys for the de-
Tense received anonymous letters, stat
ing that Boggs was innocent of the crime
md that for the sum of $500 evidence to
prove his innocence would be producer.
This evidence was not forthcoming and
the trial proceeded. Before the case was
taken to the supreme court of the terri
tory Z. A. Jones, of Tecumseh, Okla,
went before a United States comm ssion-
err for the district and testified that
Thomas Lovelady, a clerk in the Tecum-
sch postofice, had confessed to him that
NE had stolen the money at the Tecumseh
office
On this evidence the commissioner is
sued a warrant for the arrest of Love-
lady, but the United States district at
torney for the territory refused to rec
ognize it and wrote letter to the com
missioner scoring him for issuing the
warrant.
CLERK LOVELADY'S CONFESSION.
When the news of the conviction of
Boggs reached Tecumseh, Thomas Love-
lady went before the United States com
missioner and surrendered himself. In
his confession he stated he was clerk
in the postoffice at Tecumseh, Okla, in
November, 1897 On the night of Nov.
ae made up a registered package of nine
go bills for transmission from the Te-
cumseh office to Guthrie, which was the
office of deposit for all of the postofiices
in the territory On the night OF Nov. 5
he found that the packages sent by him
10 Shawnee the night before had been
by mistake sent west in the Tecumseh
pouch instead of in the Guthrie pouch.
He intended to put 1t in the safe until
the next morning and again send it to
Shawnee, but his attention was called to
the stamp window. Upon returning TO
the distributing table he picked up what
ne supposed to be another package ad-
dressed to Tecumsch and cut it open. AS
soon as 1t was opened he saw that he
had tempered with the package address,
ed to Guthrie and became alarmed at the
consequence, as the description had gone
in by mail of the money in the package,
and he feared that he would be made to
suffer for his carelessness.
Then he resolved to destroy all trace
of the mutilated package, and with that
intention put all of the envelopes and
cash into the stove. Before setting fire
TO 1t he removed the money, which he
buried in the rear of the Office, after
ward burning the envelope and letter OF
advice. He then became alarmed and de-
cided to replace the money, but where
TO replace it he did not know. After de-
batting the matter in his mind for some
little time he went to a livery stable and
hired q rig, with which he drove five
miles to Shawnee, where he wrote the
note and put the money in the postofflce
building.
He confesses that he then resolved that
Boggs should not be sent to the peni-
Tertiary, out so long as he kept clear Of
prison he would not confess to the crime.
The conviction of Boggs caused him to
make public the confession
Letters were written to the inspector
70 make further investigation, and to
them he is alleged to have replied that
90 do that would be a confession of err
ror on his part in the first instance. The
defense offered to pay the expenses of
the investigation, but the representatives,
of the government refused to authorize
1t. In the meantime a change had been
made in the Office of the United States