The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1910-03-25
NINE MORE GUILTY
FORMER PITTSBURG COUNCIL
MEN ADMIT BRIDES.
Receive Immunity Bath; Ali of Them
Before Judge Fraser and Given
Suspended Sentences; Bank Off
Gals Alleged to BE AMONG Those
VINO Bribed the Men Who Have
Confessed

Pittaburg. March 23.-Nine more
former members Of the councils ar.
peared before the district attorney and
confessed to their guilt of accepting
money for their votes while members
Of the municipal bodies. and were
chen rushed before Judge r S. Fraser.
where they received their immunity
bath in the way OF suspended sen.
tence
When the grand jury adjourned for
the day they had returned no indict.
ments, although they had listened for
hours to- developments in the bribery
scandal even more sensational than
developed Monday. Men admitted
selling their honor for from so up.
wards. JOnn f. Klein was before the
grand jury the greater part Of the lay
and continued his narrative of council
graft
All of tne nile men who confessed
to the district attorney will appear be-
fore The grand jury to tell their
stories. District Attorney Blakeley
will. as soon as the council bribetak-
ers have been rounded up, go after
the bribegivers. These are said to be
bank officials, of institutions whose
names have never heretofore been
breathed in connection with the graft
probe of the past two years The
Tip" has been passed to these banl;
men that they may come in under the
immunity extended by the district
attorney, but as they have thus far
failed to avail themselves of the OPP.
pOrtunity it is reported that some
will be dropped into the
social structure of Pittsburg when
county detectives turn the money
changers out of their own temples
and bring them before the bar of JUS
tice. With all that has thus far been
disclosed in this gigantic municipal
graft conspiracy there is 4 feeling that
what has been thus far accomplished
is but a scratching If the surface.
Many Will Be implicated.
Twenty have thus far confessed
have been indicted but
have not confessed and sixteen have
been implicated but have not been in
dicted. 1t is said at the district at
torney's Office that before the grand
Jury is dismissed fully 100 persons
will be implicated These will include
not only the present and former mem
bers Of the council body, but the men
who supplied the money to do the
bribing.
Some of the stories told by the con
Tossing councilmen were interesting.
The crowd could not suppress a laugh
when William Frederick of the North
Side testified that he had carried 500
around in his hip pocket a week be-
fore he knew it was there. He said
it had been placed in his pocket dur
ing the councilmanic ball game at
Neville Island in July, 1908.
Another unique feature occurred in
the testimony of former Common
Fred Herring of the old
Twelfth ward. North Side. He told
how Klein met him with former
named Morrison coming
out Of the Duquesle hotel after coun-
Gil meeting in July, 1908. He said
that Klein handed Mr.. Morrison ali
envelope containing slip. of names
and $500.
This is something for the boys,
you give it out. Morrison, Klein is
alleged to have said.
Morrison, according to Herring.
pleaded that he was too lame and was
unable to deliver the
goods Herring then admitted that he
engineered the distribution. Each
man got 500.