The Sisseton weekly standard. (Sisseton, Roberts County, S.D.) 1892-1929, 1911-12-29
A STIFF SENTENCE
A Year and Three Months In
Penitentary and Fine of ST.
500 Imposed on Banker Hyde.
of Pierre.

Friday, Dec. %, was sentence
day in the United States court at
Sioux Falls, and number of de-
PENDANTS, who either had entered
pleas of guilty or had been con-
vlcted by juries, faced Judge FL
liott.
The greatest interest was IN
the case of Charles l.. Hyde, a
wealthy real estate, dealer Of
Pierre, who was convicted on
three counts Of an indictment
charging him with using the mail
to defraud in connection with his
real estate business. The sent
ence of one year and three
months Imprisonment and a fine
of $500 and costs on each of the
three counts, is one or the
heaviest imposed in the federal
court for some time. The I'M
prisonment periods are to run
concnrrently, meaning that if Mr..
Hyde is taken to the federal peni-
tentiary at Leavenworth, kan,
he will be required to serve one
he will be required to seerve one
year and three months, while
the aggregate fine amounts to
| 81 500 and costs.
When asked if he had anything
to say why sentence should not
be pronounced, Mr.. Hyde stated
that he had never in his life sold
a piece of real estate without
thinking that the purchasers had
made a good investment. He
had made a mistake in the
character of his advertising mat
ter. He also referred to his poor
physical condition, saying the
limit of endurance had about been
reached. His attorneys gave no.
tice of appeal from the sentence
of the court, and this will act az
a stay of judgment.
Ernest j. Warner, Elmer Il.
Weeks and w. IL. Butterfleld.
who entered pleas Of guilty to in
dictments charging them with
conspiracy to defraud the United
States of public lands, were each
sentenced to a term of one year
and one day in the federal peni-
tentiary at Leavenworth and fineo
$100 and costs, the sentences tn
commence at noon December %.
These are the cases arising on
the ceded portions of the Cheyen-
ne River and Standing Rock III
dian reservations, IN the north
central portion of the state. and
they have attracted wide atten-
ton because of the prominence of
the accused and the nature Of
the charges against them, some
of the features of some of the
eases being the covering up Of
numerous quarter sections of
public lands by the filing Of sol
diers' declaratory statements.
Charles Davis, of Moody coun-
ty, was sentenced to thirty days
imprisonment in the Moody coun-
ty Jail and fined 800 and costs.
for selling liquor without having
paid the required COVER nment
special tax In imposing sentence
extenuating circumstances in the
Judge Elliott stated there were
case
John S. McCue, who some days
ago entered a plea Of guilty to
an Indictment charging him with
sending an Objectionable letter
through the mails, was sentenced
to Imprisonment in the federal
penitentiary at Leavenworth for
a period of two years and to pay
fine of $10O and costs. McCue
when asked if he had anything to
say before sentence was pronounc-
ed, stated that he did not intend
to violate the law and made Other
excuses for the predicament in
which he found himself
In reply to this Judge Elliott
severely criticised the defendant,
stating among other things that
the letter in question was one Of
the vilest imaginable
This was the first time Judge
Elliott has presided over term
Of United States court in Sioux
Falls since his elevation to the
judgeship and the expectations If
his friends were fully realized by
the manner which he conducted
the affairs of his court and his
fairness in passing upon question,
coming before him. and the opin-