The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1924-11-06
CLAIM IS MADE THAT
GORMAN HACROOk
SEQUEL TO AUTO ACCIDENT
NEAR OSAKIS WEDNESDAY
EVENING OCT 80
A PHONEY DEATH REPORT
HE is SAID TO BE WANTED FOR
PASSING BAD CHECKS AND
STEALING AUTO

port of an auto accident which ap-
peared in last weeks issue, when a
Stutz roadster driven by Tom Cor
man accompanied by Misses Helen
Swanson and Edris Stauffer teach
ers in the Sank Centre Public schools
turned turtle while attempting to turn
a corner on a sharp curve between
Osakis and Alexandria last week at
which time Miss Stauffer suffered two
fractures of her right hip, Miss
Swanson quite badly bruised, Cor
man more or less injured, and the car
was wrecked.
The report reached Sank Centre
Friday evening that German had died
suddenly while being taken from Min
neapolis to the hospital at Rochester.
The death announcement was
phoney and story published in Mon
day evenings St. Cloud Times, would
clearly indicate that German was a
crook.
The Herald understands that Miss
Swanson and German were young
sters together but she had not seen
him for several years, until she met
him at a recent convention of teach
ers held in ST. Cloud. She knew
nothing of his past record and the
friendship of childhood days was re-
newed.
The following story from the Times
will be of interest to many Herald
readers:
"Tom German, who posed as an avi-
ator, with war record, and who ran
a sensational endurance test race in
st. Cloud, is being hunted by the po-
lice of the Twin Cities and ST. Cloud
for the theft of an automobile. In
his wake following his flight from ST.
Cloud in the stolen automobile which
he wrecked in a wild ride west OF
Osakis Wednesday evening and near
ly killed Sank Centre school teach
er whom he had duped, he left a
string of bogus checks amounting to
between $500 and $500 with which
he had fieeced unsuspecing people all
the way from the Radisson Hotel in
Minneapolis through st. Cloud to
Osakis.
"Sheriff Earl Brown of Minneapo-
lis, SAYS he is one of the cleverest
crooks in the northwest, with a long
police record in that city. He was
convicted of stealing an automobile
in that city last winter, but after
wards so successfully feigned insani-
ty that he was sent to the Rochester
insane asylum instead of the state
penitentiary. There he escaped, was
picked up and sent to the St. Peter
insane asylum and in few months
was released in some manner. He is
also wanted for hi-jacking in south
ern Minnesota and the theft of a car
at Hudson, Wis.
al cu1oonofhu
himself by posing as victim of the
war and wildly describes how he fell
out of flying machine 400 feet. This
story he varies occasionally by say
ing he received his injury in an auto
mobile race at the Minnesota State
Fair.
"Following his endurance race in
st. Cloud "Tom" German whose right
name is Harry German induced a To-
cal concern to employ him as sales
man. AS such he prevailed upon
Frederick c.. Schilplin who desired to
sell Stutz roadster to let him take
his car to Freeport, where he said he
had a prospect for the car. He left
st. Cloud at eleven o'clock Wednes-
day morning and raced the car to
Sank Centre where Chief of Police
Miller says he arrived about noon
and boosted to him that he had made
the trip from st. Cloud in SO min
utes.
"Having passed over $500 of bog
us checks in, the few proceeding days
he induced the landlord of the Palmer
hotel at Sank Centre, who remember
ed him as school mate in Minneap-
olist, to cash $50 check for him. He
called on Miss Helen Swanson, whom
he had met during the Central Min
nesota Educational convention in st.
Cloud and renewed school day ac-
quaintance, and it is alleged induced
her to endorse two checks one for
$25 and another for $50, which he al
so cashed at Sank Centre banks. He
also prevailed upon Miss Swanson and
her friend Miss. Edria Stauffer to ac-
company him on ride to Alexandra
for dinner.
'sThree miles west of Osakis driving
the car at terrific pace he failed to
see sharp bend in the road and the
big Stutz rooster hurdled the ditch,
crashed into the embankment and cat
apulted through wire fence into a
corn field. The heavy roadster turn
ed over end ways and spilled out the
occupants. Miss Swanson and Cor
man escaped miraculously. Miss
Stauffer was painfully injured, sus-
tanning fracture Of the hip and 9th
+