The Minneapolis journal., 1902-07-19
AL ]. SMITH
PULLS OUT
Tenders His Resignation To.
day as First Assistant
County Attorney.
He'll Become First Assistant
to U. S. District Attor-
s.. :@. r1ey Haupt.

T. AL J. Smith this morning rendered his
resignation as first assistant county att
torney to take effect Sept. 1. He has
accepted the position of first assistant
United States district. attorney under @.
G. .Haupt. Strong pressure has been
brought to bear Upon Mr.. Smith to In
duce him to become candidate for coun-
ty attorney. It is not known whether
or not the acceptance of this new posi-
tion definitely removes him from among
the possibilities. i =. >.N',-g -.
This was the important development of
to-day at the courthouse. Mr.. Smith has
been mentioned in connection with the
first assistant district attorneyship be-
fore but that was some weeks ago and the
causes which might have impelled a
change were supposed to have been re-
moved. That there were conditions which
might have prompted Mr.. Smiths resig-
nation was an open secret at the time
County Attorney Boardman took upon
himself the principal burden of prosecut-
ing the police corruption cases. AS to
relations in the county attorneys Office.
mouthed, but change in leadership in
police prosecutions at time when there
was an unbroken line Of convictions is
thought to have given Smith deep offense.
Since the bribery cases began, Mr..
Smith has been prominent figure When
the first break came in the ranks of the
corruptionists and the evidence of the
convicted t'big mitt" men became avail
able, 1t was he who was called upon to
draw the first Indictments against police
and city officials. These formal accusa-<
tions Withstood the determined legal as
saults of the various defense attorneys,
and when Gardner came to trial, Mr..
Smith proved his generalship by making
out a case which for sensational features
and clever handling of evidence was
equaled only by the Norbeck trial which
followed. It was in this trial of Detee-
tive Norbeck that Mr.. Smiths manage
ment repeatedly paralyzed the defense
detective 8 flight before his case was finl
ished. This case also made Mr.. Smith
the big man in the police developments
and, for the time, the most talked Of man
in Minneapolis.
When Detective Norm Kings trial
was taken up following the Norbeck case,
the county attorney sat at the fore on
the states side of the table and his unex-
pected assumption of the leadership at
this time caused some comment as to the
| relations between him and his first assist.
ant. However, the work of the case was
divided so that Mr.. Boardrnan opened and
closed the case, while Mr.. Smith put In
most of the evidence and cross examined
witnesses. Conviction followed.
While it is not generally known, 1t is q
fact that the county attorneys DISPOSE
tion to assume leadership in the police
cases was strenuously opposed at this
time by various men who believed that
there was eEough honor in the trials for
two and that the assistants success mer-
+ tied his continuance in charge of prose-
cutions which he had begun single hand
ed. The subsequent trials of Chief Of
Police Ames and Captain Fitchette, how
ever, revealed Mr.. Smith in a diminish
ing minor role and his resignation to-day
is believed to be the result.
Mr.. Smith has served as assistant In
the county attorneys Office under Messrs
Peterson and .Boardman and has con-
Quoted or been associated with some Of
the most important and Ihot1y contested
criminal. cases ever tried in Hennepin
county. He has won particular commen-
dation for drawing indictments and putt
ting in evidence. In his new position he
will have an opportunity to be identified
with some important litigation, as Mr.
Haupt and his force will be engaged In the
federal case against the Northern Securi-
ties railroad merger.
AS to ,his future political plans. Mr..
Smith is a. sphinx. ,~E'.s5- -. 80