The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-07-10
FORMER CHIEF OF POLICE
AM[S MUST GO TO PRISON
Continued From First Page.

posed upon MIN Tor accepting q Pditi
bribe of SIS from a woman of the
town while acting in an official ca
pacity during the administration of his
sentence of six and half years inn
brother, DR.. A. A. Ames, the former
mayor, who has been sentenced to
serve a six-year term in prison on
similar charge.
The supreme court has upheld the
lower court which convicted the for
mer chief of police.
The decision was to have been hand
ed down today, but premature pub
lication of the decision of the court
made it necessary for the officials to
issue commitment at once, and short
ly before 6 o'clock last night Sheriff
Dreger and Deputy Sheriff 10th took
Col. Ames into custody. He had few
matters which he desired to attend to
and was granted this privilege. This
done, he was taken to the county Jail.
Col. Ames evidently expected an adj
verse decision, and some time ago he
informed the attaches of the sheriffs
office that he would be ready when
summoned.
Early last night, when apprised by
TIL e Clio b e that he was likely to
spend some years in the penitentiary,
the former superintendent asserted
that he was prepared to serve his
sentence like man. He had no COM
plant to make.
Mrs. Ames Talks.
Mrs. Ames, on the other hand, was
not ayerse to talking. She declared
the newspapers were responsible for
what she called the persecution of her
his conviction on the charge of ac-
cepting bride.
DR.. Ames, the former mayor, whose
case cannot be heard by the supreme
court before October, had little to say
regarding the conviction of his broth
err. He thought the decision of the
court unjust.
The Imprisonment of Col Ames is
almost the climax of the era of corrup
ton which prevailed in the police de-
partment during the administration of
DIR. A. "A. Ames. When the former may
or, who, like his brother, has been con-
victed of accepting bride, was elected
mayor on the Republican ticket-in 1900,
he appointed his brother chief of po-
lice.
Col. Ames returned from the Philip
pines, where he commanded the Thir-
teenth Minnesota for a portion of the
time the regiment was in the islands,
that he was lacking in personal cour-
age, as well as in executive ability.
The colonel took charge of the police
department as nominal commander.
The actual heads were Capt. Charles
r. HILL whose present whereabouts are
not known at the present time,
and Detective N. w. King, who is now
serving a term in the penitentiary for
protecting diamond thief.
"Graft" Started at Once.
No sooner had the Ames administra-
ton taken charge of police affairs than
the game of graft was started. Fa-
vorite officers seemed to be privileged
to plumber right and left and they took
advantage of their opportunities to the
great scandal of the community.
Complaints were made to the chief
Of police and he gently referred them
to some other officer, and the result of
a protest on the part of some victim who
had been separated from his money was
that he was ushered out of town in
short order or told that there was no
opportunity for him to recover the
money he had lost.
The charge upon which the former
chief of police was convicted was that
of accepting SIS from the proprietor of
a diSreputable house in consideration
that she would not be molested by the
police. This was only one of numerous
similar charges that were made against
the police chief
Col Ames had two trials. At the first
the jury returned verdict of not gull
ty, but on the second, after a trial
which lasted several days and after the
jurors had deliberated twenty -four
hours, verdict of guilty was returned,
and shortly after sentence of six and
half years was imposed.
An application was made for new
trial. This was denied, and an appeal
made to the supreme court. This was
heard last month, and today the court
will hand down decision affirming the
conviction.
Frederick w. Ames was born in Min
neapolis July 5, 1858, and is the young
est son of DR.. Alfred Elisha Ames, one
of the pioneers of ST. Anthony He was
graduated from the Minneapolis high
school in 1873, and from Williamson
seminary at Easthampton, Mass, in
1879.
He was married in 1884 to Miss Lille
F. Gallaher, and the family consists of
three. boys, aged seventeen, fifteen and
seven, and little daughter.
Ames Has Little to Say.
Nothing to say about it," said Fred
Ames last night when confronted with
the probability that the supreme court
had upheld the decision of the lower
court, and that he would have to go
to the penitentiary for six and a half
years.
Il have talked enough-too much"
he continued. There has been too
much talk in the entire procedure from
beginning to end. am more than ever
convinced that talk is futile. 1t will
not protect an innocent man though it
may clear a guilty one. For my part
there is nothing further to be said. If
the supreme court has found against
to go to the penitentiary serve my
time and profit by the experience"
When Ames was met by The
G o b e man on Fourth avenue south
below Seventeenth, block from his
residence, he was smoking cigar and
apparently self-composed. He walked
with the representative of T h Clio b e
as far as his own gate. all the way re-
iterating his determination to say no
more for publication. His campaign
hat was pulled down over his eyes,
he pulled spasmodfcally at the black
cigar and walked with a carefully
measured military stride.
you realize that there is no fur
Their appeal in your caSe?' was asked
Yes" responded the x-superinten-
dent of police If what you say is off,
cial, am booked for term behind the
bars. 1t is my intention to serve the
term and say nothing"
rs it to be understood that you are
shielding anyone out of consideration
for family matters-that you might have
made better case for yourself had you
chosen to be quite frank on the witness
stand 2"