The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1919-11-21

not been for Mr.. Ferguson warnin,
him on the day gang was out witt
a rope he would have been 'out o
the road They said Meints wa
'stabbing the men in, the back" /.
Teeter testified these remarks wer
made in front. of his office.
did you ever hear anything witt
reference 10 what Meints said abou
the volunteering of men for the Lu
verne company" asked Mr.. Butler
"The report came to me-" ans
wered Teeter, that he called som,
of the, volunteer soldier boys name!
that II would not be fitting to re
peat here In court. II heard he said
What will | do for someone t.
thresh for me nowT" '}t"'
Leo Connell was next called to tn,
stand. Connell is the man whom
Meints claimed he Saw in the moon.
light take shells from his gun. after
the tar and feather episode is sup.
posed to have taken place. In court
yesterday conneH swore that he wa.
in the second car, with the part,
THAT escorted Meints lto the Soutl
Dakota line and that the only time
he got out Of the mach ne was wher
he was ordered TO 10 so by the
masked men.
Stopped at Beaver Creek.
At Beaver Greek, when a stop was
made, Connell testified he went VI
TO the car where Meints was seated
with Irwin Smith, asked Smith TO-
a match and lighted a cigarett.
there where he was in plain sight
of the plaintiff. The defendant de-
MED all connection with any reported
tar and feathers, episode. He was
not cross examined by the complain.
ant attorneys. .,.,.
Irwin .Turnhull. with whom Connell
rode to the South Dakota line war
next called to fhe stand. He also
testified that Connell rode the entire
trip in his car. 80 - l8
did he come out of a cornfiel6
with shotgun, as the plaintiff ties.
tifed?" Attorney Butler asked.
,fNo. sir" responded Turnhull
warmly, M,
Turnhull testified that when they
drove back to Luyerne theyEnet Ottc
lillian standing on the sidewalk in
front of, the restaurant there. Ihlar
is the third man whom Meints claim
ed was with the six masked nen whit
tarred and feathered him. This tes-
timony left the inference that Thar
could not have been at the scene
the supposed tar and feather episode
and been back at Luverne when the
men arrived, thus furnishing the ali.
bi for him.
Harry Kimerling, called to the
vas not with the party that went t.
the South Dakota line, as Meint
claimed. but that Leo Cornell was II
the party. He also Saw Otto lhlar
when they returned TO Luverne from
the South Dakota line. 90 a.2 tnH
49,. Huntington On Stand.
The. last. witness of the Afternoon
was, o. P. Huntington. Mr.. Hunting
ton related in detail the events which
occurred, at the Fred Meints farm
house on the night Of August 49, II,
declared when the men went up &c
the door of the house he happened
to step to window and heard John
Meints, Jr.,. talking over telephone.
& "He. said: They're here. If your,
going to do anything come now a
whole lot, OF them. ~ Huntington
testified. ".Then he started TO istall
German, Some one shouted: "Don,t
let hin, talk German and then some
one, don't know who, broke tho
phone" 80 '--4
= AS they came up to the door Hun
tington said he saw Fred Meint'
reach above the door for something
Later he said he Learned the shot
gun.~was hanging there. The wit
ness declared that young John Meints
expressed a willingness for his faith
er to go to Luverne and declare him
self but that Meints ST., was up
stairs, armed and the young man was
afraid to open the door. Finally he
called to his father, telling him who
it was and later went up the stairs
Young Mefnts brought the pistol
downstairs, Huntington testified.
Huntington also said Mrs. Meints
grabbed a chair, rushed across the
room and attempted to take one Of
the, guns off the wall. He said he
held them where they were hanging
md would not let the woman touc,I
them. He denied however that BIZ
used any violence or rough treat4
ment in hating the woman,
There was no suggestion of viol-
ence or duress or harm to him.
Huntington said, referring to Meints.
"He got into my caT voluntarily"
Resumption of Testimony.
o. p. Huntington resumed his tes'
.ir,env in coilrt this rro~ning and var
on the stand the major part of the
forenoon. His statements chiefly bore
on the trip to the Meints farm or
August 10, the scene in the CONNER
cial club rooms at Luverne and later
the trip to the Iowa line. Mr.. Hunt
jngton testified that he drove back to
Luverne at moderate rate of speed
When he arrived in the village he
declared he saw Rev Bedford ano
Otto lillian. Attorney Tom Davis, IT
cross examining the witness sought
to show that Bedford and lillian might
have gone back to Luverne another
road and arrived before Huntington.
Although quite sure, he had gone into
the city at moderate rate of speed
Mr.. Huntington was equally certain
that no once could have made the
trip and arrived in Luverne ahead of
him.
William e. McDermott, L.. d. Long
and George Michaelson also testified