The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1931-04-23
TODD co. FARMER
IS EXTORTIONIST
Oscar S. Peterson, of Round
Prairie. Arrested April Is
On Serious Charge
DEMAND OF $1,000
DR.. G. r. Christie, Physician,
Was to Be Victim-Guilt
Admitted
(Long Prairie Leader)

In the first extortion plot ever
recorded in the annals Of Todd
county, Oscar, S. Peterson, 43-year-
old Round Prairie farmer, was ar
rested by Deputy Sheriff K. H.
Balcom and a member Of the State
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Peterson Is charged with threaten
ing the life Of DR.. G. r. Christie, To-
cal physician, in hopes Of extorting
money from him. Peterson's ar
rest came with startling sudden
ness, after the sheriffs office had
almost despaired Of making an ar
rest in the case.
Wednesday afternoon of last
week DR.. Christie received a letter,
which had been mailed at Sank
Centre that morning, threatening
injury to the physician and that his
residence would be blown up if he
did not deposit $1,000 in a quart
fruit jar in a culvert at a crossing
on State Highway. No. about a
mile south of Round Prairie. The
letter was printed on cheap paper.
1t appeared that it had been print
ed through a sheet of carbon paper,
as the characteristics of the letters
could not easily be determined.
The letter received by the doctor
reads as follows:
We Mean Business
We are an organized gang
and am in the country to col
lect money for the boss and
our unemploid brothers. We
are desperate. We pick the
man with to much money in
the towns we work. Listen.
Shut your mouth and follow
these directions and your safe.
But make any wise move or
tell the police and your done,
= and SO is your family. We have
plenty Of bombs and will use .
them. Place 100000 in los
and 20s in quart glass jar. Put
on water tight cover Friday g
night at 10 o'clock, April 10th
drive south on No. till you
get to the First Public crossing
south of Round Prairie, about
I mile. There is a culvert across
side road close to main road
and on west side of road. Put
money in south end of culvert,
about 2 feet in, lay jar down
then get away. We also have
machine guns. If you fail to
obey orders we will blow your
big house to hell and make sure
! your in it. That's our business.
No. "a CHG ox2 gang
DR.. Christie Immediately notified
the sheriff's office and a package of
currency was made ready. A posse
was formed, then DR.. Christie was
instructed to deposit the glass jar
at the designated place at 1000
o'clock Friday evening. -.
"A strict watch was kept over the
place, with deputy sheriffs alternat-
ing in shifts, and the culvert kept
under surveillance until Monday
evening, when it became apparent
that no one would call for the
money. Watch was also kept over
the doctors house in this village to
guard against the threats made in
the letter being carried out.
Tuesday morning another letter,
like the first one, was
received by DR.. Christie. This let
ter had been mailed at the local
post office Tuesday morning about
1920 o'clock, but a thorough inves-
tigation failed to give any clue as
to who had sent the letter. This Z,
time the letter threatened the doc
tor or some member of his family
with death if money was not placed
at another culvert and the officers
instructed to stay away. The sec
ond letter, embellished with skull
and cross bones, was written on