Dewey County advocate. [volume] (Timber Lake, S.D.) 1910-1913, 1911-07-21
CHICAGO JURYS VERDICT AFTER
ONE BALLOT IN EVELYN
ARTHUR SEE CASE.
HE ABDUCTED MILDRED BRIDGES
He Is Also Convicted Of Contributing
to Juvenile DeIinquency.-De-
endant's Counsel Appeals
For RetriaI.

Chicago, July Is. - Evelyn Arthur
See, founder of the Absolute life cult.
the chief tenet of which was said to
be the establishment of a perfect race.
was found guilty of abduction of Mil
bred Bridges, his 17-year-old disciple.
The jury was out only forty-five min
utes and took but one ballot. The
statute fixes the penalty at from one
to ten years in the penitentiary. The
jury also returned verdict of guilty
of contributing to juvenile delinquency.
which had been incorporated in the
abduction charge.
They were instructed to retire and
return with a single verdict. Counsel
for See offered the claim that the re.
turn of two verdicts necessitated a
new trial and made an immediate APP
peal for retrial.
Sees fiat, the home of Absolute
Life, named in the cult publications
as THE House of the Lord" was
raided in January. See was arrested
and two girls, Mona Rees, aged Fl,
and Mildred Bridges, aged II, who had
been living in the apartment. were
taken into custody. Mrs. Felicia Rees
and Mrs. Lucille Bridges, the mothers
of the girls and followers of See, also
were closely questioned.
The police Investigation resulted in
charges of abduction being brought
against See. Stephen Bridges, a
wealthy jeweler, father of Mildred,
whose wife admitted she had contrib
uted $1,000, $500 and many smaller
monthly sums to Sees support, aided
the police in gaining evidence. He
also began action for divorce from
Mrs. Bridges and suit for alienation
of affections against See.
See, in apparent fear of public SEN
timent, did not seek bail and remained
in Jail until his trial began more than
two weeks ago.
Continues Writing in Cell.
While in Jail he continued writing
and preaching his doctrine of per-
feet race to be established through the
new belief
While See was in Jail, Mrs. See, who
had separated from her husband sew
eral years before, with the aid of
professional safe opener, visited Sees
flat, raided his safe and obtained many
letters from her husband to Mona and
Mildred, as we'll as others from the
cult leader to the two mothers. These
were taken in charge by the United
States government with view to pos
sible prosecution under the white
slave act. They were loaned to the
state for use during the trial.
See refused to take the stand in his
own defense, the chief witnesses be-
Ing the four women whose names had
been most frequently mentioned since
his arrest The women repudiated an
alleged confession said to have been
made to the police that the fiat had
been used for immoral purposes and
took refuge in the language of Abso-
lue Life, which to most of those in
the courtroom proved unintelligible.
Mr.. Bridges was an important wit
ness for the state, testifying that his
daughter had refused to return home
after being quarantined with scarlet
FEVER in Sees fiat. He also testified
tnat on returning suddenly from out
OF the city he had found Mrs. Bridges
at the Absolute Life home. He adj
mltted he had permitted his wife to
make large and regular contributions
to Sees support.
None of the women were in the
room when the verdict was returned.
An appeal for new trial may also be
based on the fact that Juror G. F. Dup
per was found to be asleep at one
time during the taking of testimony.