The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-12-14
Charge Preferred Was Utter
ing Seditious Remarks
TRIED IN SHORT ORDER
Had Made Nasty Reference to
Liberty Bonds Also; His
OemeanOr
From Thursdays Daily.

from thursdays Daily.
Only a few minutes were needed
yesterday afternoon by the jury in
the Cook case to decide that he was
guilty of uttering seditious remaks,
with the view of discouraging loyalty
to the United States at the present
time.
Hugh j. Cook, a travelling salesman
OF Minneapolis was arrested on a war
rant issued by John Fitzloff, proprietor
OF the hotel at st. Clair, who claimed
that Cook had stated. eff the boys
would only stick together they would
not have to go across the water to
fight. They could do their shooting
here"
Mrs. H. j. Cook came from Min
neapolis to be present and, consider
able local interest was shown in the
trial. c. o. Daley appeared for
Cook, while County Attorney Schmitt
appeared for the state. In his testi-
mony, Fitzlof stated that Cook had
done more than utter the remark in
the indictment. He had made a highly
indecent remark about the liberty bond
which would in itself justify prosecu-
ton, and had claimed that the last
person he would sell his horse to
would be Uncle Sam. The fact was
brought out that he and the defen-
dant had had an argument, which re-
suited in blows, and the argument
arising over the question of the bill
presented by the hotel keeper. Daley
intended to show that this argument
led to the heated words, and that. on
a test his client would prove more
patriotic han the plaintiff in the
case.
FitzIoff Admitted He Slapped Cook.
FitZloff admitted he had slapped
Cook, but only after the latter picked
up a coal scuttle. The defense in
tended to show that a fight hat taken
place, and that to gain revenge this
charge was trumped up against the
defendant.
In his plea to the jury, the county
attorney, advised the jury that if
one were permitted to utter seditious
remarks, others would follow his ex-
ample, and such cases should be
/ taken care OF at once. He explained
that the making Of such statements,
as charged in the indictment, could
have but one meaning, and that the
trouble prior to the statement had no
! Z llS o- III I 49,
explained that, though the uttering of
the statement about the Liberty bond,
was no part Of the Indictment, still
it went a long way to show the n
tention of the defendant.
In his plea, c. o. Daley impressed
upon the jury the fact that the hotel
keeper and Cook were alone at the
time the statement was supposed to
have been made, and that 10 other
evidence was submitted. He did not
show that he had refuted the states
evidence. He also stated that the
evidence of a hotel keeper who would
engage in a fight with his patrons,
should be taken at a discount.
The judge charged the jury not to
| consider the evidence in regard to
the liberty bond and the horse utter
ance as evidence in the case, to prove
the Indictment, but rather as facts to
throw light on the intention of the de-
PENDANT in making the statement that
the boys could do tehir shooting here.
Within a very few minutes after
the testimony and pleas had been
presented, the jury filed back with
their virdict of guilty"
Judge Comstock will have Cook
, appear before him Saturday afternoon,
when sentence will be pronounced.
Mrs. S. F. Neff, who was in the city
to visit her grandson, Laurence Neff
before he returned to New York to
report for re-inlistment in the navy,
returned this morning to her home In
Lamoure, n. Oak. Laurence Neff left
for New York Sunday.