St. Paul recorder., 1962-08-10
Resort Owner Who
Disseminated MGY
Escape Prosecution
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A AAhNbAAASS HNhSY
Escape Prosecution
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would be available for a party of
six for Saturday. The clerk re-
piled, Yes, we can take care Of
you all right I informed her that
there would be some Negroes in
our party, and she replied, oh.
Then we have no vacancy for
you"
Hively continued, II called again
to confirm the name Of the person
with whom I had talked. She told
me her name was Mrs. Cauble.
When I asked again about reser-
vations she replied, Is this the
party that has some Negroes In
the group?' I said it was, and she
responded, 'Well, I told you we
have no vacancy for you"
That evening, June LIST, on
WCCO's 8 pm. and 10 pm.
newscasts, the incident was dis
closed to the public.
Both Monson and Hively con-
tacted John F. Casey, Jr., assistant
attorney general Of Minnesota In
st. Paul, who suggested they each
send him a letter relating their
experiences.
Casey forwarded the letters to
Robert E. Wynne, Lake Of the
Woods county attorney, in whose
jurisdiction the Riverview Resort
lies, asking him to investigate the
matter.
In his letter to Wynne, dated
June 5, 1852, Casey quotes Min
nesota Statures 1861, Section
327.o9, which states that no one
shall be excluded from places cat
ering to the public because Of race,
color, national origin, or religion.
For the next two weeks Casey
and Wynne exchanged a number
of letters. While those written by
Wynne were not available, it
would seem from Casey's replies
that Wynne was a little reluctant
to prosecute the case. For example,
in a letter dated June 18, 1862,
Casey says,
a. In answer to your in
quiry I feel that it would
be more than proper that the
matter be handled through your
office. You, as County Attorney
for Lake of the Woods County,
being responsible for the prose-
cution of all criminal cases in
the area, would appear to be
the one to correspond with the
complaining witnesses. This is
consistent with your legal duties
and the long-standing procedural
relationship between this office
and that of county attorney"
Wynne's letter to Monson dated,
June 20, 1862, seems to be cal
culated to discourage the prosecu-
ton Of the Riverview Resort own
ers for their apparent violation Of
Minnesota's anti discrimination
law.
In the letter, Wynne discusses
the heavy work load Of his one
man office, "the extreme political
nature Of this case" the involved
legal procedures in bringing a case
like this to court and devotes over
a page to how well the Negroes
stationed at the Air Force Radar
Base near there obey the law and
generally carry on a normal life
with the white residents"
When contacted this week,
Wynne was asked to comment on
the discouraging tone Of his letter.
Wynne indicated that, in as much
as the case would be tried in his
, county, he doubted seriously If a
conviction could be gained, es-
pecially one based entirely upon a
: telephone conversation.
Wynne also indicated that, If the
Monson case was like the one at
Virginia, Mimi, there would be a
fair chance for a conviction.
J (Wynne was referring to the
suit filed by Mr.. and Mrs. Richard
Barrett, 400S Oakland AV s.,
Minneapolis, in which they charge
they were Disseminated against by
Robert Cluts and Lauretta Cluts,
owners of a resort at Lake Kab-
etogama near Ray, Mimi, on
August IL, 1861. At the prelim-
mary hearing, May 8, 1862, in
the st. Louis County Court, Mum
icipal Division, the case was
bound over to the District Court
for trial during the September
term of court.)
J, IT wrote both Mr.. Monson and
Mr.. Hively," Wynne said, that
they were welcome to come up
here and sign a complaint. AS of
yet, however, neither Of them has
done this and I don't prosecute