New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1904-11-23
Over One Thousand People in Mass Meeting
Determine to Take Matters Into Their
Own Hands.
Committee Of Five Is Given Charge of an In
dependent Investigation Of Crime
of Three Weeks Ago.
Have Begun Work With Vigor and Have
Fund on Hand Of Over $1,1OO
and More Is Wanted.

Unable to force County Attorney
Einar Hoidale to step down out of
office as county attorney, and dis.
satisfied that the work of running
down the murderer of DR.. Gebhardt
should remain under his direction,
more than a thousand citizens of New
Ulm in mass meeting assembled
Saturday evening practically took the
work which belongs to the county into
their own hands and appointed a COM
mittee to direct the work.
This committee, consisting Of Mayor
Charles Silverson, Frank Retzlatfy
Ferdinand Crone, Albert Pfaender
and Wd. Eibner,g<is to carry on a
secret search for the criminal by itself,
hire its own detectives and council and.
spend all money in its possession as
it sees fit without being accounta BILE to
any person. This committee is not to.
interfere in any way with the work of
the county, which will still carry on
it's Investigations, but because of the.
uselessness of two investig ating COM
mittees it is the general opinion that
one or the other will quietly discon-
tinue work.
ALL REFLECTIONS AVOIDED
The speakers at the mass meeting.
FIJI fa ocf
Elections on the county attorney, and
said that the action was taken only
because of the extreme delicacy in
which the present situation placed
him. The delicate situation is this.
I Those who called the meeting and
many of those present have strong
suspicious pointing in the direction of
DR.. g.. r. Koch. They think the
county attorney is not forcing the
investigation along this line of
suspicion and hence the dissatisfactio
The meeting was called to order by
Mayor Charles Silverson who stated
its purpose. He said:
| MAYOR sILvERsoN's SPEECH.
| This meeting was called for the pur-
pose of devising ways and means to
detect and convict the murderer of DIR.
Louis Gebhardt. Up to this time the
county has furnished all the money to
pay detectives to ferret out this MUIR
derer, but so far we have not been
successful. Therefore, I thought it
best to call this meeting to see how we
can raise funds.
/ We do not want any mudslinging
or censuring of the past; we want to
see if the citizens of New Ulm are go
ing to permit the cruel murder to pass
by without making a supreme effort to
apprehend and convict the murderer of
DR.. Gebhardt.
i My plan would be, unless you can
propose something better, to appoint
a committee of three or five men in
whom you have the utmost confidence
and give them the power and privilege
to engage Whomever they see fit with
out consulting anyone until they are
4 ready to have an arrest made, SO that
! all their actions could be kept secret.
Then, we want the people to come to
4 the front. There are a great many
people here in New Ulm who know
more about this murder than they care
4 to tell. Some are scared, others do
not want to be pulled into trouble.
Now, I ask you in all sincerity, is this
fair to yourselves and is it fair to the
city of New Ulm? I have heard il
said today that a prominent business
man knows of a person who would do
such deed outside of the person who
i has been suspected up to this time.
Now, if this is so, why cannot this man
come forward, and for heavens sake
Iclear the suspicion against this man
whom a great many suspect. If this
4 man is innocent, we want him proven
4 Innocent, and I will be the first man tC
(: come up to him and congratulate him
If there is any person who is sus.
), pected, why not come forward and in.
{ form the committee of what they know
A great many of you have the mistaken
) idea that you can be sued for Islander
{ If you make any remarks about any
!, one that you should suspect to be The
murderer. but this is preposterous, for
s if any one reported a certain thing
about any person they suppose nigh
5 have been the murderer, and they re
{ ported it in all sincerity, and after
! wards it turns out to be false, the per
) son who would be so charged would
6 not have any cause for a suit for Sian
: der unless he could prove that tn,
s party who made these statements, mad,
them with malicious intention of de
tanning his character, but, if th,
there would be no cause for a suit, AM
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