The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1903-01-16
|CHURcH MEE1INGs|WAHLEN DETAINED
He is Examined and Held to
the Grand Jury.
The Story of How He Came to Have
a Package OF Letters in
His Possession.

John Wahlen, the Albert Lea man
charge of opening letters, and who
was brought to this city Thursday af-
ternoon by Deputy United States Mar
shall VIM. Grimshaw Jr, was arraign-
ed before United States Court Com
missioner Eberhart last evening, and
his examination was completed today.
Senator Eberhart WAS SIM moned
from his legislative duties at st.
Paul to hear the case
The witnesses examined were
Robt NJ. Leight, who transfers the
mail at Chenille, Alex. Lee. deputy
postmaster there, and Everett Amerahs
the village marshal
1t appears from the testimony of the
witnesses that passenger train passed
through the village on Wednesday
morning without stopping, and that a
mail pouch was thrown out, In the
storm it struck something and burst
open, scattering the mail over the
snow. AS much of it as could be
found was picked up. but one package
containing over twenty letters, mostly
addressed to Chenille people, was not
found
Wahlen, who was walking in to
town from Albert Lea. found this
package sticking out of the snow and
says that he supposed that it was
bunch of old mail that had been
thrown away. He had some time be-
fore read an advertisement of a Chicago
firm that offered to buy unused postage
stamps at three cents hundred
discount. He misunderstood the
meaning of the advertisement and
thought that the firm offered to give
three cents hundred for cancelled
postage stamps. He had collected 300
of these old stamps, and saw an op-
portunity TO add twenty more to his
number. ..s ... g..
Wahlen took the package, of letters
to the depot waiting room and tore
off the stamps from two of the letters.
Then someone came in, and he
threw these letters into the stove and
tried to conceal the others under his
coat. The man who entered was
Leighty, and he saw that Wahlen had
more letters than he ought to have.
On pretense of starting fire he got
the letters out of the stove and then
demanded Wahlen to give up the
Others which the latter did without
objection. also turning the two stamps
over. He was subsequently, arrested
and turned over to the United States
authorities.
Commissioner Eberhart found that
the law had been violated, but
whether knowingly or Intentionally on
the part of the defendant was
uncertain. He concluded to hold
Wahlen to the United States grand
jury that meets in this city in April,
and fixed his bond at the lowest sum
allowed, $780,
M. G. Fosnes of st. Paul, United
States inspector, arrived in the city
tois afternoon with the letters which
Wahlen found. Three had been open
ed, two at the end and one at the end
and bottom. Wahlen denies that he
opened the letters, saying that they
were wet from the snow and came
open of their own accord. This part
of his story is not believed, as the
other letters show no signs of having
been wet or of coming open.
The charge upon which the prisoner
is held is ''taking letters with the
intent to obstruct correspondence and
| pry into the secrets of other persons.
Wahlen has been a peddler for six
years and goes about without an over
coat, never having owned one. He
claims to have been born in 1894, but
does not look it by ten years. It is not
thought that he acted with criminal
intent. although it has developed that
he is able to read English.