The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1916-01-13
ALBERT SCKSTAD
NOT GUILTY
o. the Charge That He while 4
Rural Malt Carrier at Wal.
oott Stole Check Of
SEVEN DOLLARS PR0M IAIL
And oashsd Il at vvyndmers. Pos.
ittveiy Identified by Cashier
llo0ann

Ano 0ashod u at v9yndmero. Pos.
ittveIy Identified by Cashier
After sitting stolidly through a
long and tedious trial; after lis
tening to man positively identi-
fy him as the guilty party and
after waiting through the trying
time while the jury was out, AL
bert Rockstad of Walcott failed
to show the strain under which
he was laboring until the jury
said mot guilty" In the federal
court at Fargo at shortly before
4 o'clock Friday afternoon.
Sitting beside his father in the
spectators section of the court
room Rockstad chatted with the
friends around him during the
long 10 minutes that the jury
was out. He never moved when a
deputy marshal entered and whis-
pered to the court and then re-
tired, to shortly re-enter with the
jury trailing behind him. He
showed nothing of the strain un-
der which he was laboring while
the jury lined up in double rank
and the foreman handed District
Clerk Montgomery the written
verdict who in turn handed it to
Judge C. F. Amidon on the bench.
But when the court read, I'VE
find the defendant not guilty" +"
Rockstad buried his face in his
hands and sobbed in the way a
strong man sobs when touched to
the quick.
Rising slowly from beside his
son the elder Rockstad touched
his boy gently on the shoulder
and picking up his overcoat said,
"Come on son, let's go home,'
And it was home for the young
man-home instead of that dread
place, hemmed in by massive
stone walls at Leavenworth, Kan,
the shadow of which has been
resting on the young man for a
long time.
Albert Rockstad, who is now
only % years of age. was indicted
on the charge Of having removed
a check for 81 from a letter ad-
dressed to Willie Rath of Rich
mond county and cashing it at a
bank at Wyndmere sometime
during the holidays of l9l2-l3
There We're originally five counts
in the indictment, but when it
came to charging the jury Judge
Amidon informed that hody Of
men that it would be impossible
for them to consider any of the
counts but the first one. which al
legged that Rockstad. as an en-
ployee of the postal service, had
secreted. embeZZled or destroyed
a letter put in his custody.
When the case was first starLe:
and the government was making
its showing things appeared ra-
thcr black for the young man
James McGann, of Mcintosh, S;
d.. cashier of the Wyndmere bank
at the time Rockstad was sup
posed to have cashed the cheek
al that institution, positively
identified the young man as the
one who had presented the check
to him. McGann was very positive
in fact it seemed as though he
was a trifle too positive inasmuch
as he had never seen Rockstad
other than when he was brought
before him for identification by q
postoffice inspector after his ar
rest on the charge, and as he
claimed when he appeared to cash
the check. 1t was proven that the
check was sent to young Rath and
the latter was on the stand and
swore that he had not received.
However, when the defense be-
gan presenting its evidence there
were few if any Of the spectators
who believed that Rockstad could
possibly have been the guilty par
ty. The defense proved that the
letter was addressed to Barney
and not to Walcott, and it was
further shown that Rockstad
would have had to make a drive
OF over Sixty miles from 3 or $50
O'Clock in the morning to $3.50
O'Clock or thereabouts in the af-
ternoon in order to get to Wynd-
mere and hack to Walcott. The
records Of the postoffice showed
that the young man worked every
working day. that he registered
in and out at the usual times
when starting and returning from
his rural route out of Walcott,
and the former postmaster Of the
Walcott office. A. T.. Anderson,
now of Rhame. testified that
Rockstad made his usual time.
This testimony showed that in
addition to covering his regular
rural route he would have had to
drive fourteen miles further III