The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1918-11-14
JUDGE AMIDON SCORES
THE LOYAL LAW VIOLATORS

coiIesSed writer OF the famous Pat
terson "seditious" letters, Judge C. F.
Amidon of the Federal Court for
North Dakota took occasion to pay his
respects to the law violators who re-
sort to almost every crime on the cal
endar in the name of patriotism, in
the attempt to blacken the names of
those who disagree with them polite
ally.
In answering questions propounded
from the bench, McMasters said that
ne conceived the idea of forging the
letter not only to harm his oponent,
MIR. PATTERSON, but to damage Cover
nor Frazier and the other league can
didates.
$50 you hit upon this scheme, ex-
pectlng that the letter would come
back, get into the hands of someone
and be punished, and that before the
forgery was discovered you would be
elected and Mr.. Patterson defeated ?"
inquired Judge Amidon.
Yes" answered the prisoner.
And you thought that you were
Justified because you thought the
league and Patterson were dangerous
to the welfare Of the state and ma
tion ~
eyes"
"And you thought that you had a
right to resort to forgery and false
hood because of the good you would
accomplish ?"
Eyes"
"You are not the first man who has
looked at matters that way" Judge
Amidon continued. "Down in southern
Illinois citizens acting under the
guise of patriotism, took out an inno-
cent man (Robert Prayer, who had
bought Liberty Bonds of each issue
and tried to enlist) and hung him to
a post.
down in Cincinnati they took out
one Of the finest of Ohio's able men
(Herbert S. Bigelow, minister and
president of the Ohio constitutional
convention in 1922 and horsewhipped
him because he had views which diff
fered from theirs.
"There is a big group of people who
think they have the right to resirt
to any crime and any practice to de.
feat a man who differs with them
Many of this group I'm doing this in
the name Of patriotiS in the name
of a war that is beingssa lght to make
democracy safe ii EnY e.
"You stand before tsE; court simply
as a representative of This class. Yor
were thrown off your balance, I sup.
pose, to some extent; you thought
people to whom you were opposed
We're dangerous; you resorted to con.
,temptible lies and forgery to blast the
good name Of an innocent man.
That's how all crimes which dark.
en- the blackest pages of history were
committed; the perpetrators made 8
truce with their conscience with the
thought that they were acting in the
name of God and their country. They
carried their convictions to any length
hanging or burning at the stake.
ut seems strange that the begin
ming of the twentieth century wher
we are engaged in the most heroic wal
in history, that men will be forgetfu
of teachings of right and honesty; be-
cause you thought someone was doing
something dangerous, you resorted tt
this hideous act.
II cannot think of your crime as Z
slight one. 1t is as dastardly crime
as has been brought before this court
in many day. The letter was clever
ly written to accomplish the ends yor
desired; it could not have been the
work of an impulsive moment; forgery
is not a crime Of impulse.
"You are sentenced to serve three
years in the feder~l penitentiary a
Fort Leavenworth on each of th'
four counts to which you have PLEADED
guilty, the sentence to run concur
rently."