The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1917-09-19
OFFICIALS WILL
RENEW POLICY OF
SEARCHING; HOPE
TO STOP CRIMES
Three Fatal Gun Affairs In
Two Weeks Bring
Crisis in Situation
READY TO MAKE
DRIVE ON GUNAGEN
Absolutely Necessary TO
Resort to Disarmament
Policy, Officers Say

This mornings murder of George
Shefield, night operator Of the Great
Northern in Moorhead, is the third
fatal shooting tragedy in Fargo and
Moorhead within two weeks.
The killing by two special Northern
Pacific officers of the /. w. w. gum
man who attempted to hold them up,
and the murder Of Hjalmar Holm on
bridge across the Red river, pre-
ceded this mornings tragedy.
The wave of crime, Fargo and
Moorhead officials indicated today,
likely will result in the adoption Of
drastic steps to dtsarm every sus-
pected individual.
Previous to this year, peace Of
ficials in North Dakota have had a
free hand in dealing with the gun
man element, and by so doing, have
been able to head off more than one
tragedy, similar to that of this morn
ing.
"Only by the adoption Of a system
Of searching every suspected ina
dividual will the people be able to
stop the present crime wave" assert
ed one Fargo official this morning.
Protected Men From Search.
The governor OF North Dakota, in
his famous proclamation which the
United Commercial Travellers of
Minot, n. D., and the Brotherhood OF
Locomotive Engineers of Grand
Forks, have asked the governor to
withdraw, told peace officials that
they must not search the perscx Of
any man unless they were armed
with search warrants.
1t was while Arthur LeSueur, at
torney for the Industrial Workers of
the World, was pleading unsuccess-
fully with Governor Norbeck, of
South Dakota, for the issuance OF a
similar proclamation in that state,
that Mr.. Leueur Is quoted as havk
ing declared that he wrote a. portion
OF the proclamation that Governor
Frazier signed.
Used Proclamation as Protection.
In several police courts of the state,
arrested parties have pleaded them
selves exempt from search for weap-
ons under a proclamation issued by
Governor Lynn ]. Frazier Of North
Dakota. In each instances, the l.
w. w. making such pleas were over
ruled, and guns were taken from
them in every instance possible.
In a Langdon, n. d., court, men
arrested by officials Ewere found to
have letters sent out from the /. w.
w. headquarters in Fargo, quoting
the governors proclamation as
defense, and guarantee against
That the northwest has a bigger
supply Of gunner this year than ever
before, is indicated by the general
that are being received.
Fargo and Moorhead's crime wave
is but reflection of a condition that
Seems general, but which, up to this
time, has been inflicted more large
ly upon the working men-the har-
vest hands-against whom an ele-
ment of the /. w. w. have proclaimed
war.
According to the confession made
by an !. w. w. gunman involved in
the recent Glencoe, Mimi, robbery
and shooting, in which two men
were killed, men with /. w. w. cards |
were held exempt from robbery and |
violence.
Officials Hampered.
Police officials generally admit |
that they have been hampered in the |
prosecution of a successful campaign |
against just such men as perpetrat-
ed this mornings tragedy.
The recent closing OF the /. w. w.
headquarters in Fargo, declared by
Chief of Police Dahlgren to be the |
of crooks and gunner,
was expected to have some influence
in cleaning up the local situation.