Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1912-12-09
State Capitol News

NlS,, anu DTOuSHt uuSh " 'oi6o
where he plead guilty and threw him.
ielf upon the mercy OF the court,
drawing from 10 to ~ years. UpOn
ewing such a heavy sentence
Young became peeved and has been
putting up a fight to get out ever
since. II seems, according to his
story, that he was not In the trouble
at all, but that he had simply become
he goat In hopes that he would draw
a short sentence and get half Of the
reward money. When the Northern
Pacific railway company's sleuths got
onto the game and refused TO pay the
$4,000 reward money Young got down
to business and told his story, which
seems to be PLAUSIBLE.
1t develops that Young was work
ing for E~x-Register OF Deeds Redmon,
near Mapleton, a station a shor dis.
lance west Of Fargo, at the time Of
e robbery. On the night of the
robbery Young had trouble On the
farm and quit. Mr.. Redmon paid him
off and he walked into Mapleton, ar
irving there about 10 o'clock p. IN.
He bought some tobacco and started
out on foot for Fargo at about 1890.
The train which was robbed left Val.
ley City about an hour later, going
east. 1t was necessary for the robber
to get on the train at Valley City as
1t did not stop between that place and
Fargo. Young floated over into Wis.
consin where at Nenah he was accost-
ed by Policeman Berg, according to
Young's story, and accused him Of
being in the robbery. Young claims
Berg then made him the proposition
to plead guilty, as he would receive
but a year or two, then he (Berg)
would receive the $500 reward and
cut it with Young. Now it happened
that Young was out Of Joliet prison on
parole and as he had violated his
rights the authorities were looking
for him. He figured that the absence
caused by Imprisonment here in the
Bismarck pen would have a tendency
to lose him to the Illinois authorities
and at the end of a year or two he
would receive 81 200 and would be
pretty well fixed. When he received
his long sentence he got busy with
what he says is the truth of the mat
ter and made application for the par
don. Mr.. Redmon, his former employ
er. was called before the board and
testified as to the whereabouts of
Young. producing his checks. to show
when Young left. In making deduc.
tons it is proven that it was a phys
ical impossibility for Young to have
been on the train which was robbed,
as he would have had to jump from
Mapleton to Valley City, a distance
of about As miles in about half an
hour. What Policeman Berg, of Ne
nah, has to say in the case is not
known.
X. Another feature of the case appear
ed when Just a year ago this month a
by the name of Frank Allen at
tempted to break into the peniten-
tiary, evidently for the reward, by
allowing himself to be picked up at
and making a written confess
sion of the robbery, wherein he claim
to have engineered the job. The
fatal error in his testimony was the
fact that he claimed to have mounted
the train at Fargo and that it was
going west. There were also other
holes in his story and he was not per.
mitted to 90 to the pen. In fact he
persistent and the police
could hardly get rid of him SO anxious
was he to be locked I'D
The whole case makes it quite evi.
dent that the real parties who held
up the train have not been apprehend.
ed. While it was quite evident to the
board that Young is not the man they
want. yet his case was continued
pending some further investigation.
It is a remarkable cas- and goes to
show how far some men will go if
there is a chance to pick off a little
money.