The Dickinson press., 1909-02-06
NOT SETTLED YET

Gleason Typewriter Case in Just
ice Court This Week, a Long
Drawn Out Affair-Hearing
Continued Till Saturday am.
A case that has been attracting a
great deal of interest this week, 'invol-
wing as it does many local people and
the fine points of the law. is that of the
state vs. M. j. Gleason. who is charged
with grand larceny of a typewriter and
fixtures from Ex-sheriff T. N. Hartung.
The hearing was before Justice A. P.
Folsom. with States Attorney M. L.
Mcbride prosecuting and H. c. Berry
and J. E. Messersmith, counsel for the
defense.
The case opened Thursday morning
after several postponements. The testi-
mony was not finished but the hearing
continued until Saturday morning 20 it
is not possible to Give any decision.
The state established its case largely
by the testimony of Ex-sherif T. N.
Hartung, the complainant in the charge
against Nj. Gleason. Mr.. Hartung told
Of how he came to get possession of the
property under dispute. The whole
matter grew out of the civil case of
w. D. Kirkman vs. Joseph Mueller.
Kirkman claimed that Mueller owed him
the sum of $10s for money and property
furnished. He secured an attachment
from Justice A. P. Folsom on a type
writer, desk and chair, the property of
Mueller. directing Sheriff Hartung to
seize the articles for judgment and sell
them at sheriff s sale. When the sheriff
went to get the property, it was in the
office of M. j. Gleason, the cigar maker.
He took the articles and advertized them
for sheriff's sale at the court house iipn
December 81. at 2 o'clock. i,
Mr.. Hartung went on to state that the
property was sold at that hour in the
presence of Fred Wilson, ALT White, J..
=. Sexton, John Leask and T. F. Murtha.
There were three bidders, the bids start
ing at $50 and the property going to
John Leask at $72.s. MI. .Hartung: then
purchased the machine and fixtures from
MI. Leask for $74. At first they were
kept in the Office of Clerk of Court j. G.;
Saunders and later, at the request of
Sheriff j. A. Wiech, who succeeded MI.
Hartung, the latter took the machine:
to the sheriff's office and allowed MI.
Wiect the use of it.
On cross examination by Attorney
Berry it was brought out that after Mr..
Hartune, acting in his official capacity
as sheriff, took possession Of the
property in the Office of. Mr.. Gleason,
to satisfy the execution of the search
warrant, proceedings were commenced
by Mr.. Gleason against the sheriff on
a charge of unlawfully taking property.
and asking for damages of SIS for use
of the machine and $500 impunity
damages and this action is now pend
ing in the district court.
1t also developed that Mr.. Gleason
got out replevin papers for 1.-THE return
of the property and served them on the
sheriff through the coroner. When the
replevin was served, it was neglected to
take away the property, 70 when the
hour of sale came, as the articles were
still in the sheriff hands. it was his
duty to sell them. which he did. The
second witness was Max Schmidt.
one of the prisoners at the Jail, who
had used the machine in the work of
the sheriff's Office. He testified that
he saw the defendant, Gleason, in the
sheriff's Office on the afternoon of Janu-
airy ~ or whereabouts and that Mr..
Gleason and Mr.. Messersmith came in
and took away q typewriter, desk and
chair, (Which he later identified as
State Exhibit AZ Mr.. Schmidt stated
that several others were in the Office and
that before taking the property. Mr..
Gleason asked if there was any OBJ
~jections. Neither the sheriff or his
deputy were present.
The state rested its case al this point.
MI. Berry then asked that the case be
dismissed and made a very spirited
plea. He explained the laws and deci-
sions in similar cases and maintained
that there was no larceny of any kind,
in that the state had failed to prove any
felonious motive. The defendant went
to the Office of the sheriff, a public
official. in a public building and took
what he had already made claim to own
by the regular processes of the law.
MI. Berry also argued that Mr.. Hartune
number of cases tried, all for violation
l oe o:A,. n~l:~o-oon IN, %oA>1 N->n al