New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1920-02-11
WYE And CUTTING
FINED $500 EACH
PLEAD GUILTY OF THE CRIME
OF OPPRESSION; A MIS-
DEMEANOR.
STATE ACCEPTED CHANGE OF
INDICTMENT; DEFENDANTS
AT LIBERTY.

Guilty Of the crime of oppression was
the plea entered by Vidian B. WYE and
Ed. Cutting Tuesday morning before
Judge G. E. Qvale at the Court House
when the State moved the case of the
State of Minnesota against these de-
PENDANTS upon the indictment returned
against them May rs, 1919, charging
them with extorting the sum of $50 from
John Janni on the 22nd day of July
1918. The offense to which they plead
ed guilty and which plea the State was
willing to accept is only misdemeanor
and Judge Qvale sentenced each Of
them to pay fine of 500 or in default
thereof to be confined in the County
Jail until such fine is paid not exceeding
100 days.
Defendants at Liberty.
Within an hour after Court opened
it was all over, the defendants had
paid their fine and and were at liberty.
AS soon as the State had moved the Janni
indictment, Albert H. Hall, attorney
for the defendants addressed the Court
and stated that the defendants were
willing to withdraw their plea of not
guilty to the indictment charging them
with extortion and were willing to enter
plea Of guilty to the charge Of oppres
sion and admitting that the facts set
forth in the Indictment were sufficient
to constitute such an offense as set forth
in that section of the penal code per
tanning to oppression.
Would Teach Lesson.
Continuing, Mr.. Hall stated that the
facts were undisputed, that. there was
no disposition on the part of the defend
ants to try to vary or change them,
but to meet them honestly That with
this attitude in mind the State had been
approached for the purpose of arriving
at some arrangement which would
satisfy an outraged public and at the
same time teach the defendants lesson
which they would never forget and that
the State had expressed a willingness
to accept a plea of guilty to the crime
of oppression.
Col. Albert Pratt, Of the Attorney
Generals Office stated that the prose.
cution had after mature and conscien-
tious deliberation decided that the ends
Of justice would be met if such plea
were accepted and that the State was
willing to accept such plea. Both
defendants upon being questioned by
the Court stated that they were willing
to enter plea Of guilty to the charge
Of oppression.
Mentions War Hysteria.
After these preliminarie had been
disposed Of, Attorney Hall again address
sed himself to the Court, setting forth
reasons why substantial fine should be
imposed and no jail sentence melted out
to the defendants. In his arguments,
he called attention to the hysteria
prevailing on account Of the war and
that the defendants had done what they
did do, in an honest belief that they were
acting in an official capacity and in the,
performance of a public duty.
Mr.. Hall also referred to the war
record Of defendant WYE and that he was
accustomed to carrying out military
orders and that administrative work
was foreign to him, and that because OF
all these things they enormously trans
cended their powers and technically in
effect used oppressive measures. The
attorney also stated that the state food
administration had the wrong concep-
ton of the law and that because of this,
orders had been issued to the defendants
which should never have been issued
and that that was where the whole trouble
came from
/ He also stated that the defendants
were receiving only $500 per day and
their bare living expenses and therefore
saw the necessity Of imposing penalties
to pay for auto hire, and other expenses
and that it was not claimed by any one
that WYE and Cutting had profted
thereby to any extent and that the
acts of the defendants as viewed now
under present conditions seemed wholly
unwarranted.
Pratt. Statement.
Attorney Pratt on behalf Of the State
stated that the prosecution had been
attacked and their motives inquired
in starting these prosecutions, some
even going 50 far IS to say that the State
was actuated by motives Of revenge.
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