The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-04-25
KAUFMAN CASE.
Trial of Case OF Brewers Wife,
Charged with
Murder.

Murder.
Sioux Falls Press, "a Unless some
thing has happens to change the stu
alton as to the disposition of the de-
fendant, the case of the State of South
Dakota VS. Emma Kaufman, accused
OF the murder of Agnes Polreis, her
| servant girl, will occur at the term of
the circuit court for this county, which
| convened in this city on Monday
The story of this tragedy is still fresh
in the minds of the people, not only of
this city and county and state, bnt of
the people of the northwest, and it
may be said that the eyes of many
thousands of people will be upon Sioux
Falls during that trial, if it occurs.
1t was about the last day of May,
| 1906, last year, that local ambulance
| owner OF rather one of his employees,
was called to the home of Moses Kauf
mann, in Sioux Falls, one of the veal
thy men of the state, to convey from
| that home to a local hospital Agnes
Polreis, young girl. whose home was
| in Hutchinson county and who had
| been employed as servant In the
| Kaufman home.
Early in June the death Of the girl
was announced and her body was
shipped to the address of her parents at
Parkston, Hutchinson county.
| 4 very few days before its arrival
! there. the parents of the girl had re-
| ceived a letter from her, stating that
she was well, and it was with surprise
and horror that they received the later
information that she was dead.
When the casket containing the body
reached Parkston and was about ready
| for a hurried burial, because word had
gone that it was in bad condition, it
was opened. aud the state of the body
suggested tnat the girl mad died from
violence
And then there broke such a storm of
demands for explanation that Sioux
Falls was well nigh transformed into a
city of mob law and disregard of hu-
man rights.
The people of Parkston came to
Sioux Falls in delegations and demand
ed an investigation.
They brought with them the blood
stained raiment which had been
shipped from Sioux Falls to the girl s
parents
And then came the arrest of the ac
cused, her preliminary examination at
which demonstration suggesting vio-
leLce occurred, and which was followed
ty the hurried removal of the accused
TO her home, which act caused de-
mand that she be placed in Jail, which
was subsequently done.
Then came the effort to secure the re-
lease of the accused Oh a bond, which
proceeding the supreme court ordered
executed.
All these incidents are fresh in the
public mind.
After her liberation the accused
| went away from the city.
| At the term of the circuit court in
| November of last year, the case was
| called for trial, and motion for con
| tinuance was made on the ground that
| the health of the defendant had been
seriously impaired by the denonstra-
llpl db inc p4 cILLoiiaIS ASdl LIS oht S4O
could not stand the ordeal of a trial at
that time. The presiding judge was
| G. q. Smith, of the first judicial cir
cult, who came up from Yankton, and
| he granted the continuance.
The defendant went away from the
city soon after that and will only have
| retarned in time for the calling of the
! case, which is the seventh in the Grim
inal calendar, as arranged for this term
| of court
Whether or not Judge Smith will be
| called to try the case is not announced,
but public opinion rather tends to that
view
The attorneys for Mrs. Kaufman
are Aikens & Judge, of Sioux Falls.
Upon the other side are State S Attor-
ney 4. f. Orr Joe Kirby, and if the
original plan holds, a criminal attorney
of note from Iowa.
1t is presumed that the case will not
be reached for at least two weeks, or
until the civil calendar is finished,