Omaha daily bee., 1919-11-02
UNION men TO
PROBE filming Of
BOY AS vACRANT
Will Investigate Treatment
Youth Received at Hands of
Police and the Action Of
Judge Foster.

jail iHui sudy HiSHt OH charge ri
vagrancy, by Patrolman o. P: Peter.
son, despite the fact the boy hac
$3.50 in his pocket. together with let.
tiers from his mother in Detroi,
and = paid up union card, is to re.
main in Omaha while members oil
the Machinists' union here make ar
investiga ton of the treatment the
boy received at the hands of the
police.
Young Miller's union friends here
also will investigate the action oil
Police Judge Foster, who sentence
the boy, a stranger in the city en-
route to visit relatives in California
to IS days in the county jail
Miller was given no opportunity
in police court to defend himself
against the charge. He was com
mitted to Jail after having been in
the city less than an hour. y
In Jail All Night.
Attorney R. H. Bremers got the
boy out of Jail. He was charged
500, The prisoner was kept in the
city jail all night and not permitted
an opportunity to use the telephone
to call for assistance from the mem
bers Of his union
In police court Officer Peterson
appeared against the boy, made his
statement and, without giving the
defenseless prisoner an opportunity
to explain, Judge Foster sent him
to the county Jail for IS days.
When Miller first arrived he went
directly to the M. c. A. and asked
for a room. There was no vacant
room in the building and the boy
was directed to hotel at Nine
tenth and Harvey streets. He ar
rived in front of the hotel in time to
meet Patrolman Peterson, who inn
mediately stopped him and began ito
question him, according to 1Miiler's
story.
Firemen Are Indignant.
The officer is said to have sworn
at and threatened the boy. He then
took him into the fire station and
called the patrol wagon. A hall
dozen firemen were engaged in a
card game, and when Miller started
over to look out the window, Pet
erson is said to have seized the boy
and struck him in the face, knock
ing him against the walls.
This was witnessed by Captain
Graves and Firemen Harry Green,
George Bero and Guy Meddaugh
IF ] had not been on duty, or if ]
had been anywhere else" said Fire
man Green, IT do not believe
could have kept my hands off the
policeman, 1t was the most un-
called for attack ever saw"
1.-THE boy did not say word or
DO 4 thing to provoke the attack,
said Fireman Meddaugh. He would
have been justified in knocking the
policeman's head off. The officer
called Miller all of the vile names
he could think OF"
Discharged from Force.
Peterson is. the policeman twho
was discharged from the force sew
eral yeyrs ago by Al Kugeb whe
was police commissioner at the
time, on a charge of accepting
bride money from prostitutes. He
is said to have been reappointed
bv Commissioner Ringer when
friends represented that the officer
had been prosecuted by Ringers
political enemies.
Il have got real vag here" Pet
erson advised Judge Foster in po-
lice court. The boy was sent tc
Jail without being given an oppor'
tunity~t to explain.
Arson H. Bigelow has been EN-
ployed by the union, and the matter
will be taken to district court. I'VE
4 are going TO the very bottom O.
this affair" declared George Lamb
business agent for the union. "Thi:
boy has been done foul injustice
and the guilty ones will be made
to pay the penalty if there is any
possible way to bring them to jus
tice."
Young Miller is a clean cut ant
intelligent youth. mo person was
ever arrested in Omaha who wa,
better able to give an account o
himself to the entire satisfaction o
any reasonable person" Mr.. Lamt
declared.
Only Thirty Dollars Returned.
Attorney Bremers asserted yester.
day he first learned of the boys case
after he had been sentenced. HI
told Miller he would obtain his re
lease and took his $3.50. OF thi:
amount only $50 was returned. Tit
records show that William A
Hughes, a hardware merchant O.
Gretna, Neb., signed a real estate
appeal and bond in the amount O.
500. For this it was declared
Hughes was paid SIS. The court
costs amounted to $3.50, and the
balance of the $500 was kept BY
Mr.. Bremers as attorney fees and
to protect. the bondsman, according
ito the attorneys statement.
According to the custom in ali
other police courts, and according
to the provision made by the law
prisoners charged with vagrancy
are allowed an opportunity to pay
their fines. II Judge Foster hat
complied with the ordinary rules o.
every day. police court and adhered
to the law, young Miller would have
been given an opportunity to pay
his fine.
Had Miller been allowed to pay {
fine equivalent to the l5-day sen
tence, the amount would have beer
$50, and with the court costs o
$3.50 added the amount would have
been $3.50 instead of $500 the boy
was forced to pay.
The youth arrested with Mile
had no money and is serving a Is
day sentence on a charge of vag
rancy. @
Asked what he had to say Oh TIL,
subject Commissioner Ringer de
clared he was making an investiga
fion. Chief Eberstein refused II