The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1914-06-05
BONSH FRANKS MAKE
ALL KIND OF TROUBLE
What Happened Last Sunday Morning or
Much Ado About Nothing"

II is the general belief OF the reading
public that the life OF reporter is one
of the biggest snaps in the labor world.
His chief duties consist Of walking
about the streets, smoking good cigars
and after a few hours spent in oberva-
ton and interviewing public officials
and others whom he meets, of leisurely
vending his way back to his sanctorum
and pounding out on tywewriter
what he has learned. While we must
admit that from physical standpoint
the journalist isn't going to develop
any great amount of muscle, he has his
troubles just the same. It's great
deal worse than being the captain OF
baseball team, for the reason that the
public lays the trouble to the leaders
Judgment if his team is losing and the
minute he is supplanted by another,
the fans forget their grievance. But it
is not so with the reporter. Hardly a
week goes by that he does not make
an enemy. If he writes up a court
proceeding where some citizen has
broken a law of society and is hauled
up at the bar OF justice, that citizen
Immediately puts on his war paint and
starts looking for the newspaper man.
Occasionally, or it might be better to
say, quite frequently, the citizen in
trouble will make it point before hand
to warn the reporter, that He doesn't
want his name in print" Quite often
this same citizen will even go so far as
to threaten the newspaper man with
bodily harm. The first of the week
the writer was present at trial that
took place at the city hall, and in COM
ing out Of the court room after the close
of the case, one Of the defendants said
to the writer You'd better not put
MY NAME in your paper" 1t was a
pretty strong insinuation, but after
making a thorough diagnosis OF the re-
mark the reporter decided he would
take his chances. The report of the
case follows.
Last Monday evening two boys well
known in this city, Frank Pratt and
Leo Ahearns, were arraigned in court
before Judge Rice on the charge of
petit larceny. The boys had been ar
rested by Night Marshal Ryan on the
complaint of o. Namba, Jap, who
claimed that they had made way with
a bicycle and chair belonging to him.
The writer did not believe that the
Young men were guilty of any crime,
neither did anyone else in the court
room. It was merely boyish prank,
but Judge Rice thought otherwise and
imposed fine on each of IS and costs.
Col. Fox, attorney for the Ahearn boy,
was probably the most surprised man
in the court room and made the state
ment, as we believe, that the cases
would be thrown out of the superior
court before they got started. The
Colonnl wanted to appeal, but the de-
PENDANTS were not seeking any further
tribulations even if they could get vim
dication in the higher court, and the
fine money was paid over.
The trouble started last Sunday
morning during the fire. 1t seems
that the boys found a bicycle lying out
on the side Of bank that had been
carried out of one Of the burning build
ings, and decided to take ride. They
only used it a short time, but forgot to
leave the machine where they found it.
A short time later Marshal Ryan took
young Pratt into custody when ne
found him carrying chair up the rail-
road track. At the trial Pratt stated
that he was on his way home and over
took a couple of Jap boys who were
carrying a part Of their belongings up
TO section house and that he volun-
teered to carry the chair for them as
they already had their hands full. He
answered Prosecutor Sorenson's ques-
tions promptly and told very straight
forward story.
The writer does not believe that it
was his intention to steal the chair as
it was only worth two or three dollars
at the most, neither did the boys in
tend TO do any wrong when they used