The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1933-12-01
Intelligent Woman Is
Shanghaied tOAsyIum
(BY HANS RASMUSSEN

L ndQ QearQ OF MIS-. d6lOld Lar
SON, but / had never met her until
last Friday at the courtroom,
where she sat facing the insanity
commission and fighting for her
freedom and liberty.
DR.. Storkan was reported as
saying, Sure she. is crazy" And
what did | see? / saw a little
frail woman. 2S years old and
weighing about 80 pounds. She
was run down and nervous. She
looked starved. In her ewes was a
scared look, as if she expected
someone more powerful than she
doing her harm.
Her clothes were thin and worn
had been torn and mended-torn
by her little children at Wcstby
WHEN the sheriff pulled her awav
from them.
And here sat this little woman,
bravely fighting her own case.
They had offered her an attorney,
but She had refused. she didn't
not one. She did her own plead
ing; she examined the witnesses
and did it. intelligentlv ard well
as well as a lawyer could have
done. That woman was not crazy,
But the odds were against her
Judge Paul. DR.. Storkan ard DR.
Hall were on the insanity board
and each and everyone of them de-
clared her crazy and ordered hel
sent away. 1t wasn't Justice these
men were handing out. it wat
power.
Now let us look a little furthe,
irto this case and see what is be
hind it. Westby has for man,
years been regarded as a plac
where bootlegging and smuggling
has been going on unmolesteC
Nothing has ever been done abou
it. and that the town marshal an
the federal men stationed then
have been implicated in it is tn
opinion of many Westby people.
Mrs. Larson claims her husban
did not support her and the chi
dren, got drunk and was cruel
her. A number of Westby peopl
saw this is correct. With thre
little children she left him thre
years ago.
Booze was the cause of her mis-
cry. She started investigating tn
bootleggens and reporting, bJ
neither would the town marsha
nor the county officials listen
her nor act. She was getting
: be a trouble maker that the boo1
element, and the county officia
protecting them, wanted to get n
of.
When Judge Paul asked he
; "Why did you do this ?" she a.
swered. 81 thought you wants
| some cooperation" There is whe,
she showed she was crazy. B
didn't want that kind Of cooper
, ton. He wanted to be on Il
Z good side of the bootleggers. :
y him. and county attorney Bak
we'll at that time, she was also
trouble maker that they wanted
pet rid of.
: Then she got into more trouh
a when Kantner. the federal mi
i started to visit her. She thong
q he was going to marry her, b
z that was not what he was aft'
At the hearing he swore he hi
only visited her twice on busine:
but Westby people tell a differe
story. All over town he is noV
Z as woman chaser of the VOL
kind. The result of his visits W
that she had a miscarriage al
nearly died, so she says. VIII
2 she came out of it she weigh
- - 70 pounds. He sneaked away fir,
= her and left her.
Y Then she started investigate
smuggling cases, and she clai
> she had gathered up plenty
=, !, stuff to get this federal man fir
Now she was a trouble NAL
=, ~ right. Now she was bucking
= against a man in the U. S. u
II form. She was getting to
le dangerous. So, he had a war;;
sworn out against her and had
arrested. Judge Paul and the t
doctors completed the rest Of
dirty work.
= And the rest of US sit in t
Y great big lunatic asylum of o
J and fold our hands. while thin
= like this are going on, which o
goes to show that we are
crazy.
= / am not a doctor. and afte
IL, have seen how doctors act /
a. glad / don't belong to that 2
IF fession. but, l do know what N
ON Larson needs. She needs rest,
- needs a lot of good food and
: needs some warm clothes. TIL
II things could have been provi
for right here, without taking
g. away from her children. if we
ed the right kind of judges. doct'
% and relief committees. But t
IF. probably would not have stop
rs her investigations. and that haC
- be stopped.
~ On Saturday evening she '
III Tile udiCc at LIE 1SiHpASs
70 county had bought her new dl
re- and new shoes. At Dionne's vi
to she was staying they had trim
les her hair and curled it. Gre
m Blackwell danced with her and
inf asked her to forgive him for
: harm he had done her. He
her she was darn good looking,
. that was not all he said to
er either. After he had done his !
: and succeeded in getting her :
s away Che was in the ridges oh
e Der at the time the decision
=. made it was easy enough for
u to apologize and be nice to
be The doctors and the Judge
10 doubtedlv did the same before
n. left. as
r. While the people Of the Wes
country are in an uproar over
case and condemning the
se- the Judge and county attorney
ph+ in it. Mrs. Larson was taken
fv Warm Springs last Monday
!. Sheriff Madsen. ~
Over at WestDS three little
ION dren are left without mothel