The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-09-17
Trial Of the Former Police Captain
Promises to Bristle With
Sensations.
Col. Fred Ames May Be Induced to
Go on Stand Against
Hill.
Uneasy Feeling Among Gamblers
and Confidence Men-Bearing
Upon Sodini Case.

With the arrest and expected return to
this city for trial Of Former Police Cap
tain Charles R. HILL puttic interest Is
reawakened in the graft operations Of
| the Ames regime. Captain Hills trial bids
fair to bristle with sensations, and unless
present indications are deceptive, better
and more comprehensive story than any
yet told Of the graft system" applied
1 in directions not yet aired, will be made
Ipublic-that among gamblers.
| Colonel Frederick w. Ames, former SUI
lperintendent Of police, who is now serving
q six and-a-half-year sentence at Stillwa-
ter for receiving a bride, is said to be in
! a frame of mind which may result in in
teresting revelations. DR.. Ames brother
has no friendly feeling left for the former
mayor and his lieutenants Of the noto-
rious regime He has had "the worst OF
it, according to his belief, and it is proph-
esied by those on the inside that Brother
Fred" will need little urging to induce him
to come to Minneapolis and, on the wit
ness stand tell the whole story of the
"shame Of Minneapolis.
4 There is no doubt that Colonel Ames.
| in the position he occupied, was CONVEX
SAINT with the whole inner workings of tho
|nefarious system. If he can be induced
to reveal the facts, a new chapter will
be added to the municipal scandal his
1 tory. Several persons heretofore secure
have begun to tremble.
"Never Harmed Any One"
! 1T is all very well to say that Captain
Hill never harmed any one and that he
/ cannot be convicted Of any crime,'' said
a well-known citizen who has been ac-
| lively interested in the Minneapolis
house cleaning process 1T is matter
Of common knowledge among the men who
were on the inside during the Ames re-
/ gime, that the former police captain, now
under arrest, had his finger in many a fat
pie. In fact, he Is said to have stood
closer than any one else to the then
mayor and to have been the Napoleon Of
the graft
Not only is it charged that Captain Hill
was prominent in levying tribute from
women of the town, and that from one OF
them he collected monthly the sum Of
$3.50, but he is understood to have been
hand in glove" with the gambling ring.
from the members of which he received
. regular and heavy tribute. It is stated
on good authority that one well-known
s first Of every month during the reign of
4 graft the neat little sum Of 81, 900. 1t is
q added that very small percentage of
! this got beyond the pocket of the provi-
: dent captain
: Gamblers Are Anxious.
l How much Of this knowledge will come
: out in Captain Hills trial remains to be
seen, but it is certain that a number of
the confidence men and gamblers about
town were decidedly depressed last even
ing when the news of Hills capture was
read in h e our n a L.. The develops
4 ments in his case may lead to new indict-
ments.
SodIni Is Nervous.
J. C. Sodini, under Indictment for CIV
ing a bride of $1,000 to Mayor Ames, is
$ said to be one of the anxious ones. The
q case against the owner Of the Columbia
L theater has been considered weak one,
n with Coffee John" Fitchette and Cap
= tain Hill out of the way. If. however, Hill
: can be induced to tell what he knows
l. there may be something doing.
; One Of the Witnesses.
- Gertrude Torrance, who will be one of
- the star witnesses In the Hill case, was
:. supposed to have left town about two
- weeks ago in company with window
trimmer who departed rather suddenly.
, At the time of her reported disappearance
:, she sold her place on lower Hennepin ave-
= nue., but as late as Saturday afternoon
her successor was sure that the Torrance
woman was still in the city, because she
: had called at her old place to settle some
y accounts
= It is said that Hill coached the Torrance
woman to bleed married men who came
Z to her place, as they would be the easiest
q and safest prey
Case Believed to eB Strong.
The feeling in the county attorney 8
| office is that the case against Captain Hill
is one of the strongest Of any among the
municipal indictments. A number Of wit
nesses have already been subpoenaed and
LIT is freely asserted among the officials
u that the outlook is dark for the former
! captain Of police.
y On the other hand. friends of the captain
. say he will be able to put in the strongest
kind of evidence to the effect that he
- protested again and again against the
~ graft system.
Who'll Be HIPS Bondsmen7
l. Who will be Captain Hills bondsnen
at That is one of the interesting questions
that is being asked. There is no way o
:. answering the question, but if the captain
is as well fixed as reports would seem t
indicate, he is not likely to have mucl
difficulty in securing men who will b
surety for his appearance when his cas-
comes to trial.
n, THE CHASE FOR HILL
rsauAIs of Indicted Cantajn Traced b