Forty men and one woman went to prison for sedition in Montana
See profiles below.
(Photos organized by county. Also see Spreadsheet)
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 |  | On April 15, 1918, at Peterson’s store in Moorhead, Burling said that if he had $10,000 he would not buy a Liberty Bond because the Liberty Bonds were nothing but a damn graft, and further that no matter what happened he would not eat corn bread. Sentence: 1-2 years |  |
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 | On March 15, 1918, Wyman said to divers persons…in speaking of the atrocities reported to be committed by the German soldiers, that our soldiers would act in the same way and commit the same atrocities…and that soldiers of the U.S. Army are no better than the German soldiers. Sentence: 6-12 years |  |  |
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 |  | On April 26, 1918, Diedtman said “This damn Country is not worth a damn and as soon as Germany gets over here me for the old Country. Then they can all go to hell. I always wonder why the Germans in this Country don’t wake up and use their brains… Sentence: 10-20 years |  |
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 | On April 19, 1918, Johnson said in Missoula that the United States Liberty Bonds were no good. That government would not back them up. That the man that bought them would never get his money back. That he would lose it. That the U.S. government was no good. Sentence: 2-5 years |  |  |
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 |  | In March 1918, a third-degree committee in Forsyth grilled Starr about Liberty Bonds and forced him to kiss the flag. “What is this thing anyway?” he asked. “Nothing but a piece of cotton with a little paint on it, and some other marks in the corner there. I will not kiss that thing. It might be covered with microbes.” Sentence: 10-20 years |  |
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 | On April 13, 1918, Bausch told a county committee, “I won’t do anything voluntarily to aid this war; I don’t care who wins this war; I would rather see Germany win than England or France; I am not prepared to say whether Germany is in the right; We should never have entered this war… Sentence: 4-8 years |  | On Registration Day at Lone Ridge School House near Poplar, Klippstine told the registrar: “It is a wonder that our goddamned Government didn’t send us some papers before we got in war so we could have had something to say about it and then we wouldn’t have had war.” Sentence: 4-10 years |
| Name: Harry Peter Wolf/Wolff Age/DoB: Sept. 10, 1880 County of conviction: Beaverhead Judicial District: 5th Case No.: 754 Date of Conviction: Nov. 15, 1918 Sentence: 5-10 years |  |
| Allegation: Information did not specify what Wolff allegedly said on Aug. 2, 1918 Personal Information: Worked as a carpenter and laborer. Date and place of death unknown. Case Details: Served 10 months and was released on Jan. 21, 1920 after state Supreme Court reversed in October 1919. Conviction reversed because information fails to specify what Wolff allegedly said. “The particular words the prosecutor ultimately selected to prove the offense are left entirely to our imagination; and, so far as the record shows, the defendant himself was left completely in the dark…No one shall be held to answer an information unless the crime be charged with precision and fullness, to the end that the defendant may have ample opportunity to make his defense… | |
| Name: Albert Brooks Age/DoB: Sept. 10, 1888 County of conviction: Beaverhead Judicial District: 5th Case No.: 735 Date of Conviction: May 24, 1918 Sentence: 7-15 years |  |
| Allegation: Distributed an I.W.W. pamphlet titled “War and the Workers,” by Walker C. Smith. Case Details: Served 24 months in prison and was released May 4, 1920. Defense counsel Harlow Pease from Dillon said articles in Butte Daily Post, Anaconda Standard and Butte Miner inflamed people in the county against the defendant as member of I.W.W. Judgment reversed by state Supreme Court on April 8, 1920 (Docket No. 4419): 1) Judge denied counsel for defendant right to read pamphlet to jury, thus denied right to make known to jury the details of charge against defendant; 2) judge denied def. counsel right to challenge biased juror, who “entertained a bitter prejudice against (I.W.W.).” Personal Information: Born in Illinois. Had been in Montana three years. Worked as a ranch hand with the Selway Sheep Co. 30 miles south of Dillon near the Idaho line. | |
| Name: John Ruck, aka Jake Ruck Age/DoB: 57 County of Conviction: Broadwater Judicial District: 14th Case No.: 165 Date of Conviction: Arraigned on April 15, 1918 Sentence: 3-6 years |  |
| Allegations: On March 28, 1918, said “that he hoped Germany would sink every dam ship the Americans started across the ocean, or words subst. the same.” Case details: Convicted at trial. Served 17 months. Released Nov. 16, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Germany. Resident of Montana 30 years. Lived in Townsend. Worked as a carpenter. | |
| Name: Albert Edward Maker Age/DoB: Jan. 13, 1881 County of Conviction: Broadwater Judicial District: 14th Case No.: 166 Date of Conviction: Information filed on April 22, 1918 Sentence: 4-8 years |  |
| Allegations: “that the President of the U.S. was a Pro-German and a Traitor, and that the form of govt. of the U.S. was a joke, and other language of like import, all of which calculated to bring the form of government of the U.S into contempt, scorn and ridicule…” Case Details: Convicted in jury trial. Entered Deer Lodge April 23, 1918. Personal Information: Born in and citizen of England. Father was an engine fitter in London. Had been in Montana 3 weeks. Worked as a laborer. Lived in Townsend. | |
| Name: Ben Kahn Age/DoB: Dec. 25, 1879 County of Conviction: Carbon Judicial District: 13th Case No.: 457 Date of Conviction: April 16, 1918 Sentence: 7.5 – 20 years |  |
| Allegations: That on March 6, 1918, while waiting for breakfast in the lobby of the Pollard Hotel in Red Lodge, said to proprietor Thomas F. Pollard, “This is a rich man’s war and we have no business in it; they talk about Hooverism–it’s a joke. Nobody pays any attention to it. It don’t amount to anything; The Lusitania was warned not to sail. They were carrying munitions and wheat over to the Allies. The poor man has no show in this war. The soldiers are fighting the battles of the rich.” Case Details: Pollard, chairman of Carbon County council of defense, swore out a warrant before lunchtime. Convicted after trial April 15-16, 1918. Judge instructed jury they could find only on third of 4 counts in information, of using “seditious language calculated to incite and inflame resistance to the administration of the federal food laws and regulations and Herbert Hoover, Federal Food Administrator.” Served 34 months in prison. Played in the prison band, including in Deer Lodge City Armistice Day Parades in 1919 and 1920, and the American Legion parade. Worked as outside trusty, handling all freight and shipping matters, powder and dynamite caps for the road crews, and issuing clothing Conviction appealed on constitutional grounds. State supreme court affirmed on 5/20/19, 56 Mont 108; 182 Pac. 107 (1918) #4267. Pardon petition endorsed by govs of Washington and Utah, businessmen in Washington, former employers who praised his patriotic generosity to the war effort, and by the Jewish community. Sentence commuted by Lt. Gov. W.W. McDowell to 5-20 years for immediate parole. Paroled Feb. 6, 1921. Personal Information: Born in New York City. Raised in St. Joseph, Mo. for 17 years. Worked in Seattle 3-4 years as a diamond salesman. Worked as a salesman for Standard Furniture Co. in Great Falls, Rosenblatt Bros. in San Francisco and for Sierra Campo Wine & Brandy Co., San Francisco at time of arrest. Based in Billings, territory Montana and Wyoming. Father Aaron in Jewish Home for the Aged of the Northwest in St. Paul was at least 89 in 1918. After prison, worked in Alaska, then married, had one son and settled in Ohio. Operated a general store. Died in Medina, Ohio, in mid-50s. Family in Ohio and Florida. | |
| Name: William R. McKee Age/DoB: July 5, 1870 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 855 Date of Conviction: June 5, 1918 Sentence: 1-2 years |  |
| Allegations: That on April 28, 1918, said that he hoped that every s__ of a b____ that crossed the water would never come back; that he had money enough to buy flour sacks to make a white flag for every American soldier that went over there and came in contact with the Germans. Case Details: Arrested after a drunken brawl in Miles City. Numerous witnesses testified as to his good character and patriotism. Six men in Stratford gave depositions, 24 others signed a petition. More depositions from citizens of Harvard, Iowa. Defendant’s version of events differed markedly from that of prosecution witnesses. After two-day trial, found guilty. Served 6 ½ months. Released Jan. 1, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Galesburg, Ill. Worked in Harvard, Iowa as a farmer and merchant, then as a hotelkeeper in Stratford, S. D., before coming to Montana about April 1, 1917, to farm. Worked at Ft. Keogh with eldest son before son left to join U.S. Army cavalry stationed on Mexican border. Worked briefly at Milwaukee shops in Miles City as a blacksmith helper before his arrest. Married with 6 children. After release from prison, lived and worked in Deer Lodge City as a railroad machinist. Died age 72 in Deer Lodge on Feb. 18, 1943. Buried at Hill Crest Cemetery. Relatives in Montana. | |
| Name: Ellsworth Burling Age/DoB: Feb. 16, 1871 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 867 Date of Conviction: Information filed June 3, 1918 Sentence: 1-2 years |  |
| Allegations: On April 15, 1918, at Peterson’s store in Moorhead, Burling allegedly said that “if he had $10,000 he would not buy a Liberty Bond because the Liberty Bonds were nothing but a damn graft, and further that no matter what happened he would not eat corn bread.” The witness also testified Burling said “it was a rich man’s war and let the rich men buy bonds. Not a paying proposition; they wouldn’t pay over 40 cents on the dollar for them. Said he wouldn’t drink coffee without 2-3 spoonfuls of sugar–I was telling him about being only allowed one spoonful.” Case Details: Burling served 9 months in prison and was released on July 13, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Bula, Ill., along with his twin sister, Ella. Arrived in Woodward County, Okla., in 1901 in a covered wagon with his family. Served on the school board 1903-1904. After wife Carrie died in childbirth in 1909, Burling moved to Lamar, Colo., then to Sayle, Mont., where he was a homesteader in Custer County at the time of his arrest. He died on Washington on May 23, 1926, and is buried in Woodward County, Okla., next to Carrie. Relatives in Oklahoma. | |
| Name: Louis Marius Christensen Age/DoB: Aug. 9, 1885 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 877 Date of Conviction: Oct. 17, 1918 Sentence: 2-5 years |  |
| Allegations: That while working on the Smith ranch on May 15, 1918, “said that the Government of the United States is the worst Government on earth; that the soldiers had no right to be in France and that there ought not to be any Red Cross organization; that the war was to protect the money loaned to the Allied governments by the rich; that the Liberty loan was a graft and the soldiers did not get any benefit from it; (2nd Count) that the defendant would not be drafted and would not serve in the Army and that he would go to the penitentiary first; that the soldiers had no right to be in France; that if the soldiers were fools enough to go across and get shot they should be left to suffer; that he would not buy liberty bonds.” Case Details: Three prosecution witnesses unable to testify because they were in the hospital with influenza, leaving one prosecution witness. Jury out about one hour. Sentence set by jury. Served 13 months. Released Nov. 16, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Denmark, in the Parish of Esbonderup, Holbo, Fredriksborg amt (county). Emigrated to Omaha, Nebr., on May 4, 1906. Closest relative in Copenhagen. Single. Employed as a cabinetmaker and carpenter. Lived in Sayle, near the Wyoming line. Boarded with Janet and William K. Smith, also convicted of sedition. Took up a claim near their land and declared intention to become U.S. citizen. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Martin Wehinger Age/DoB: 58 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 854 Date of Conviction: June 10, 1918 Sentence: 3-6 years | .jpg) |
| Allegations: That at his ranch in Pine Hills on April 3, 1918, said to several freighters passing through that “There was nothing to the war and we would get licked; we had no business sticking our nose in there and we should get licked for doing so. In the first place we don’t have any soldiers to amount to anything and those that did amount to something didn’t have any guns and those behind them would have to wait until the first ones dropped so the other fellows could pick up the guns and fire; that one German soldier could kill 5 or 6 American soldiers without any trouble, because we didn’t have any experience and were not trained and didn’t know anything about war and we ought to get licked; that when the Tuscania was sunk it was just good enough for us because we didn’t have any business carrying soldiers and guns at the same time; that if people here could read the German papers they would get the right news and that U.S. papers were not getting the facts; that U.S. is shipping a lot of good men over there and starving them to death. Case Details: Found guilty after jury trial June 8-10, 1918. Served 18 months. Released Dec. 14, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Dorbein, Austria in 1860. Followed his older brother Michael to Miles City. First employed as a freighter in Miles City area in late 1880s. Photographer L.A. Huffman took a studio photo of him and retold Wehinger’s story of using an axe to kill a bear marauding his wagon. When railroads began cutting into the freighter business, he became a rancher in Pine Hills near his brother. After leaving prison, sought medical care for severe arthritis but broke a hip and died shortly thereafter on April 12, 1920. Great-grandniece in California. | |
| Name: Janet Smith Age/DOB: Aug 29, 1876 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 861, 875 Date of Conviction: Oct. 20, 1918 Sentence: 5-10 years |  |
| Allegations: That “she wished the people would revolt and that she would shoulder a gun and get the president the first one,” that she “advocated turning the stock into the crops to prevent helping the government and killing off all the cripples, insane, and convicts in order to save food instead of making all the food restrictions,” that the Red Cross was a “fake” and “while she didn’t mind helping the Belgians with the relief work, the trouble was the damn soldiers would get it.” Allegedly sent back War Savings Stamps. Case Details: Convicted after the jury deliberated for 50 minutes. She served 26 months in prison (one of only two women in Deer Lodge at the time of the 1920 census and the only female sedition prisoner). Conviction reversed by State Supreme Court on Dec. 1, 1920 (58 Mont. 567; 194 P. 131) because charging language in the information was not specific enough.She was released on Dec. 14, 1920. Case files transferred to Broadus after Powder River split off from Custer County. Powder River County attempted to try Janet and William on the same sedition charges again, but gave up in 1923. Personal Information: Born in Iowa. A brother, Hugh Mathian, lived in Alberton, and a sister, Bernice Kemper, in Los Angeles. Another sister, Bertha Rice, and a nephew, Mark Mathias, lived with her for some time in the Sayle, Mont., area. She lived in Deadwood, S.D. for a year and also in Lead City, S.D. before coming to Montana in about 1906 and to the Powder River country in about 1910. Was postmistress at Sayle, a name that was assigned by the Post Office. Became William Smith’s second wife. According to Powder River County history, Echoing Footsteps, “Many of the cowboys made [the Smith ranch] their stopping point as they rode between Tongue River and Powder River. On occasions there would be as many as 24 people there for a meal.” William also testified that Janet was the owner of a “desert claim.” Remarried a man named Thomas in Davis, Iowa. Died Oct. 27, 1966, in Hawthorne, Calif. | |
17 Jul 2007 – 17 Apr 2021
| Name: William K. Smith; aka W. K. Smith Age/DOB: abt. 1869 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 861 & 874 Date of Conviction: Oct. 10, 1918 Sentence: 10-20 years plus a $20,000 fine |  |
| Allegations: That on April 15, 1918, at Sayle, said: “This (meaning the United States) is the worst damn country on earth; that defendants were German sympathizers and if it wasn’t for being sunk they would go to Germany and help them, but they didn’t want to be fish bait; that the war was for the benefit of the rich people; that the Liberty Bonds of the United States were By God all a damn graft and that one could borrow only $140 on a $1000; that they would not buy a Liberty Bond under any consideration and that the Government ought to strike greenbacks instead of taking money from the people; that Wilson got us into the war and now let him get us out; that the war was none of their affairs and none of their war; that they would let their stuff rot in the ground before they would let clerks from town help harvest it; and that as soon as the war was over they would go to Germany and take up a farm because Germany would be the best place to live; that they would not plant their wheat because they would have to sell it and haul it to the railroad and they would feed it to the hogs instead; that Germany is going to win the war; that the US ought to get licked in this war because we had no business in the war.” Case Details: Defense atty. Sharpless Walker presented no defense case except for putting William on the stand. Found guilty by a jury after 23 minutes. Smith sold 80 acres to help pay his fine. Smith served 24 months in prison, working as a weaver. Conviction reversed by Montana Supreme Court (57 Mont. 349; 188 P. 644) on March 8, 1920, because improper evidence was introduced. Released on Oct. 10, 1920. Personal Information: Born in Ohio. Came to Montana about 1911. Known as “Glass Arm Smith” after a fight in which he rammed his arm through a window. Also known as a very kind man who helped area homesteaders and fed passing cowboys. Had three sons, including son William “on the road to France.” “Well-known” sheepman and rancher in the Moorhead area with at least 640 acres, 320 through homesteading. Second wife Janet ran the Sayle post office. He owned 300 cattle, 35 horses and a full set of machinery and implements and ran around 2,000 head of sheep with R.R. Selway. Relieved of the postmaster’s job after charges were filed. Was in Sheridan, Wyo. in 1921. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Herman Rohde Age/DoB: 74 County of Conviction: Custer Judicial District: 16th Case No.: 847 Date of Conviction: June 8, 1918 Sentence: 4-8 years |  |
| Allegations: That “between March 1 and April 9, 1918, in presence of certain persons understanding German, did say in Max Frederick’s saloon in Miles City (while playing crib with his son Bill and Martin Wehinger) and at Mike Wehinger’s ranch in Pine Hills: That German army was then within 2 miles of Paris; they (Germany) ought to sink the boats carrying U.S. soldiers across; no more than right that Tuscania was sunk because enemy had warned America to keep off; certain Americans of German descent ought to stay with Germany and be in sympathy against U.S.; if Germans had come through Mexico invading the U.S., D would have helped the Germans–all with the felonious and seditious intent to spread German propaganda; to work sympathy and moral support in favor of Germany and against the U.S.” Case Details: First to be tried for sedition in Custer County. Trial held June 5-8, 1918. Served 34 months. Released April 17, 1921, about 76 years old. Personal Information: Born in Pomerania, Germany in 1845. May have served in German army in Franco-Prussian War. Came to U.S. in 1893. In Montana 25 years. Filed intention to become U.S. citizen in Custer Co. in Sept. 1894. Built three-room house on homestead claim of at least 160 acres in 1894. Became citizen Oct. 25, 1898. Farmer in Pine Hills area of Custer Co. Testified to Land Office that he was “a poor man with a large family of small children.” Had six children, four living in Miles City and two with wife Anna in Portland, Ore. Died Marion County, Ore., on July 26, 1923. Wife Anna died in Portland on March 17, 1925. | |
| Name: Richard Leslie Wyman Age/DoB: Sep. 27, 1868 County of Conviction: Dawson Judicial District: 7th Case No.: 3483 Date of Conviction: Oct. 8, 1918 Sentence: 6-12 years |  |
| Allegations: That on 3/15/18 said “to divers persons…in speaking of the atrocities reported to be committed by the German soldiers, that our soldiers would act in the same way and commit the same atrocities…and that soldiers of the U.S. Army are no better than the German soldiers and that his nephew, Owen, then a soldier in active service in the army, like a great many other soldiers in this country, would never have gone into the service if they had not been compelled to go; and that D would just as soon live under the Kaiser’s government as under the gov’t of the U.S.” Case details: Wyman was convicted after a jury trial. He worked as a clerk in the prison office. His sentence was affirmed by state supreme court, 56 Mont. 600, 186 Pac. 1 (1919) #4379. Despite several appeals, including by the sentencing judge, and ample evidence of political payback, Gov. Stewart refused to commute Wyman’s sentence, saying he would never commute a sedition sentence. However, Gov. Dixon did commute Wyman’s sentence to 5-12 years (making Wyman eligible for parole) on May 21, 1921. Wyman served 32 months, and was released on July 5, 1921. Wyman had presented ample evidence of a frame-up by his political enemies, particularly two members of the board of county commissioners, whom he had accused of stealing from the county (and who were ordered by a court to pay back more than $9,000). Wyman presented evidence that his enemies used a clerk in his office to gather evidence against him. As a member of the Exemption Board, Wyman had refused to exempt the woman’s brother from the draft, rejecting false evidence that he was farming, thus angering the clerk. Personal Information: Born in Levant, Maine. Lost his left hand and forearm in a gun accident; had a wooden hand. Came to Montana about 1895, working as a sheep shearer and schoolteacher. Was a Sidney delegate to 1896 Republican county convention. Married Cecilia Obergfell and had two children. Served 18 years as elected county clerk and recorder in Dawson County and also owned the Lyric Theater in Glendive. After his release from prison, he and his family moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, where he pumped gas and sold shoes door-to-door for a living. Died April 5, 1928, in Coeur d’Alene and is buried there. Living relatives in Idaho and Montana. | |
| Name: Fred Vogel Age/DoB: abt. 1865-1870 County of conviction: Fergus Judicial District: 10th Case No.: 1107, 1119 Date of Conviction: Information filed June 12, 1918 Sentence: 1-12 years |  |
| Allegation: That on March 6, 1918, allegedly said “You American sonofabitch, I was born under as good a flag [Switzerland] as you were and can whip any American SOB who says that about the Kaiser” or words substantially the same in response to a patriotic and loyal remark concerning the flag of the U.S.” Case Details: Found guilty in jury trial. He served 11 months and was released May 11, 1919. Personal Information: Immigrated from Switzerland in 1871. One of the first trustees for School Dist. 71 near Forest Grove, formed in 1909. In 1910 census, listed as a sheepman in Forest Grove with wife Anna and four children. In 1916, was listed as a farmer near the ice plant near Lewistown. Working as a butcher at the time of his arrest. In 1920 census, listed as a laborer in a gravel pit, and in 1930 census as a teamster at a gravel pit. He died on Nov. 5, 1948. | |
| Name: John Harrington Age/DoB: abt. 1860 County of conviction: Fergus Judicial District: 10th Case No.: 1106 Date of Conviction: April 9, 1918 Sentence: 2-4 years |  |
| Allegation: That on March 15, 1918, uttered disloyal, profane language…(statutory pleading). According to a newspaper account, pleaded guilty in the district court this afternoon to making seditious statements to the effect that he hoped the Kaiser would defeat the American troops and that our transports ought to be sunk. He said he did not recall making the remarks, but realized that the witnesses who testified to having heard him make them could not have been mistaken. Case Details: Pled guilty. Judge H.L. DeKalb sentenced the man to from two to four years in the penitentiary, “and the defendant thanked the court for his leniency.” Served 12 months, and was released on April 13, 1919. Lack of specificity in information would have been grounds for successful appeal (see Wolff case in Beaverhead Co.) Personal Information: Immigrated from Ireland. Worked as a miner in Fergus Co. “No fixed habitation.” Described in newspaper as “densely ignorant.” Illiterate. | |
| Name: Frank Oscar Waara Age/DoB: Aug. 21, 1880 County of Conviction: Gallatin Judicial District: 9th Case No.: 6164-A Date of Conviction: June 3, 1918 Sentence: 1.5 – 3 years |  |
| Allegations: When found by conductor and brakeman in empty boxcar on Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul train between Three Forks and Harlowton on 4/21/18, said “Americans are no good, and I hope that Germany will win.” Case Details: Convicted in jury trial. Jury out 20 minutes. Counsel H.S. Farris. Served 11 months in Deer Lodge. Released May 11, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Sweden near Finnish border. Arrived in Ellis Island June 24, 1904, with $12 aboard S.S. Lucania from Liverpool. Preceded by three older half-siblings who lived in Michigan. Lived with uncle, cousins and brother in Astoria, Ore. before coming to Montana. Worked as a laborer. Date and location of death unknown. Living relative in Oakland, Calif. | |
| Name: Frank McVey Age/DoB: Jan. 30, 1882 County of Conviction: Gallatin Judicial District: 9th Case No.: 6157-A Date of Conviction: June 3, 1918 Sentence: 2-4 years |  |
| Allegations: At Carl Hopping’s restaurant in Logan on April 11, 1918, said “I do not see why we should be fighting the Kaiser, and I don’t see why people should go crazy over patriotism. The Kaiser and his government is better than the U.S.A. I would go over to Germany if I could.” Case Details: Arrested after incident in which he allegedly became angry over shortage of sugar in his coffee due to wartime food regulations. According to Bozeman Chronicle, “The floater wanted four or five big spoonsful. “You won’t get it,” stated Hopping. “I will,” yelled McVey. He pulled a paper sack full of sugar from his pocket and poured a liberal stream of sweetening into his cup. He did not drink the coffee, however, because Hopping and [patron C.W.] Clary objected strenuously. After the seditionist was gone Mr. and Mrs. Hopping and Clary interviewed the county atty, who instigated McVey’s arrest.” Convicted in jury trial. Jury returned verdict in 10 minutes. Counsel H.S. Farris. Served 26 months in Deer Lodge. Released Aug. 6, 1920. Personal Information: Born in Illinois. Had recently arrived in Montana. Worked as a laborer. Described by Powell Co. Post as “Another IWW who loves Germany and Kultur.” | |
| Name: Charles Horhmann/Horhman Age/DOB: 55 County of Conviction: Granite Judicial District: 3rd Case No: 244 Date of Conviction: Sentenced June 24, 1918 Sentence: 1-2 years |  |
| Allegations: According to testimony before the Justice if the Peace, Horhmannallegedly said “officers who graduated from American military schools were no better than dogs; that the government had cut the supply of sugar and cut off supply of booze to the army and said they would send the boys candy and they let a million tons of it rot in storage in New York and that treaties were nothing but scraps of paper and worthless; that we couldn’t believe what we read in the paper, that the press of the U.S. is owned and controlled by Great Britian, that we would have to wait until after the war and get the news from both sides before we could decide which side was wrong; that stories of the barbaric practices in Belgium and France published in the paper were lies. Over in Germany they have the best county in the world. You get 3 marks a day–like $3. How cheap butter, eggs, and stuff was.” The remarks were made at the Speckle Trout Mine. Case Details: Charles was found guilty following a jury trial. He served 10 months inprison, entering on June 27, 1918, and leaving on April 13, 1919. The Powell County Post had this to say about his conviction: “Charles Hohrman, 55, Germany, Philipsburg, resident for 17 years but couldn’t refrain from boosting Huns.” Personal Information: Charles was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States in 1886. At the time of his conviction, Charles was working at the Speckle Trout Mine in Philipsburg. He also worked as a butcher. He was in the 3rd Cavalry of the 1st Priv. Volunteer Regiment from Wyoming, and served in the Philippines War. Charles is buried in Custer National Cemetery. | |
| Name: George Adam Steck Age/DoB: Dec. 20, 1865 County of Conviction: Lewis & Clark Judicial District: 1st Case No.: 1454 Date of Conviction: Information filed May 31, 1918 Sentence: 1-3 years. |  |
| Allegations: On May 6, 1918, allegedly said “I wish they would come after me some night to take me out to kiss the dirty rag (meaning the flag of the United States) what they call the American flag. I know I would die for our Kaiser (meaning the Emperor of the Germans) and Fatherland (meaning the Imperial Government of Germany) the same as the boys in the trenches. This damned country (meaning the govt. of the U.S.) is bankrupt already and do they (meaning the soldiers and sailors of the U.S.) expect to lick Germany? No, they never did and they never will.” Case Details: Trial postponed because of Spanish influenza epidemic. Pled guilty. Served 7 months. Released Sept, 4, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Germany. In Montana 27 years. Married to Christina Steinbrenner. Had three sons and six daughters. Bartender and weaver. Was the night bartender at Trocadero Saloon in Helena at time of his arrest. Died Oct. 7, 1933 in Helena. Living relatives in Montana and California. | |
| Name: August Lambrecht (AKA August Lembrecht) Age/DoB: 56/ Born 1865 County of Conviction: Lewis & Clark Judicial District: 1st Case No.: 1458 Date of Conviction: Information filed May 31, 1918Sentence: 1-3 years |  |
| Allegations: On 5/1 1918 said “I know this damn government is getting nutty but it won’t last long. They are getting a good licking in France all the time now from the Germans…All they can do is to monkey around with the Germans in this country but it won’t last long. I am awful sorry the Germans in Helena don’t stick together and do something. I whistle and sing German and they don’t bother me so far and they better don’t as I don’t stand no monkey business. Somebody is liable to get hurt.” Case Details: Prosecution witness Von Waldru said he approached Lembrecht after receiving a list of suspected pro-Germans furnished by the county council of defense and that he drew him into conversation using broken English. Witnesses testified to discussions with AL about the war across the division fence. One witness reportedly quoted him as saying, “Ha, ha! You proud Americans will be glad to eat herring and cold potato before you are through with this war.” Judge Poorman, after sentencing him to 1-3 years, told him he could apply after 5 months for a pardon from state board of prison commissioners. Entered Deer Lodge 2/19/19. Served 7 months in prison. Lost trusty position in jail following discovery of Leo Reno’s escape plot. Released 9/14/19. Personal Information: Born in Pomerania. Testified was a former German army officer. Immigrated 1888. Had been in LaCrosse, Wis. and was married in 1900 August Lambrecht owned and worked in a blacksmith shop on upper Main St. in Helena. He lost his business after he got out of jail. In 1920, lived on a farm in Harmony, Lewis & Clark Co. with his wife Augusta. They moved to Oregon. He only had one daughter. She was already married with children when he was convicted with sedition. She stayed behind with her family in Helena when August and his wife moved to Oregon. He died in Portland on June 1, 1957 at age 92. He has living relatives in Helena. | |
| Name: Tony Diedtman, real name George Antone Dittman Age/DoB: Dec. 9, 1875 County of Conviction: Lewis & Clark Judicial District: 1st Case No.: 1460 Date of Conviction: July 31, 1918 Sentence: 10-20 years |  |
| Allegations: “This damn Country is not worth a damn and as soon as Germany gets over here me for the old Country. Then they can all go to hell. I always wonder why the Germans in this Country don’t wake up and use their brains. It is getting worse all the time, but the time will come pretty damn quick. How can this damn country expect the Germans to buy any Liberty Bonds if they take their property away? 1st trial ended in hung jury. 2nd jury “recommended him to the mercy of the court.” Case Details: Defended by retired Supreme Court Justice Henry C. Smith.Soleprosecution witness was convicted felon who had worked as spy for Anaconda Copper Mining Co. First trial ended in hung jury. Ample evidence of jury tampering by Helena Independent editor Will Campbell. 2nd jury convicted but “recommended him to the mercy of the court.” But Judge Lee Word sentenced him to the maximum term. S. Ct. reversed on 5/8/20 58 Mont. 13 190 Pac. 117 (1920), holding that Judge Word had been biased in favor of the prosecution, improperly allowing character evidence and restricting cross-examination of the state’s witness. See “Darkest Before Dawn,” Chap. 13. Personal Information: Born in Bavaria. Served in German army from 1895 to 1897 as a private and came to US in 1903. A baker by trade. Came directly to Helena to visit his uncle, George Dittman, who working on the section gang at Austin north of McDonald Pass and was later a musician in the Helena band. Twice returned to Germany to see his parents, last time in 1908. Had brothers in Germany. Citizen of US since 1911. Cousin Hubert died in 1959. Before he was arrested for sedition he worked as a swamper at the Central Beer Hall on South Main St. Also identified as bartender. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Leo Reno AKA Leopold Rheno Age/DoB: Abt. 1881 County of Conviction: Lewis & Clark Judicial District: 1st Case No.: 1459 Date of Conviction: Information filed on May 31, 1918 Sentence: 10-20 years |  |
| Allegations: That said on May 2, 1918: “These damn fools still think they can lick Germany, but all they get is a good licking in France every day and I feel sorry for the poor boys, that they have to go over there to be killed like sheep for they will never come back except as cripples and that will do them good for they haven’t any business going over there and I would like for every damn one of them to be a cripple before they go over. I be damned if I would kiss this rotten flag. I would take it to the shithouse, that is where it belongs anyway. To hell with them, country, flag and President. I would fuck them all. I am an Austrian and they can all kiss my ass. Just wait until the Germans bring the black, white and red over here, then we will get even with them and then some. Then good night with the Stars and Stripes, Army, Navy and Mr. damned Wilson.” Case Details: He confessed to trying to escape from Lewis and Clark Jail after he had been jailed for 6 ½ months. On Dec. 28, 1918, he did escape but was found the next morning with injuries from jumping from a 14-foot stone wall. At trial, sole prosecution witness Eberhard von Waldru, a convicted felon who had worked as spy for Anaconda Copper Mining Co., said Reno had been inflamed by a photo in the Helena Independent on April 28, 1918, of the naked body of a French maiden in the Aisne sector, found by French forces, who had reportedly been spiked to the wall of a closet by a German bayonet. Entered Deer Lodge January 16, 1919. Served 27 months and died after being transferred to Warm Springs Hospital. Personal Information: At trial, said he had been born in Vienna, served 2 years in the 75th Austrian infantry and one year in the medical corps. Came to the US in 1901 and had lived in Helena most of the time since 1903, but had never applied for citizenship papers. Worked as a lunch counter cook at Black Eagle Saloon. He died from chronic nephritis on April 23, 1921 in Warm Springs. No known living relatives. | |
| Name: Joseph Reilly Age/DoB: 38 County of Conviction: Mineral Judicial District: 4th Case No.: 44 Date of Conviction: May, 1918 Sentence: 2-5 years. |  |
| Allegations: At Saltese on April 24, 1918, Reilly was alleged to havesaid, “I am an American in a pig’s ass hole. I am an I.W.W. and an agitator. Fuck the flag (meaning the U.S. flag hanging before him); fuck the United States. I love the Germans.” Case Details: He served 12 months in prison for his remarks, from May 11, 1918 to May 11, 1919. Personal Information: Joseph was a newly arrived Irish immigrant who worked as a miner. He was said to be a member of Sinn Fein. | |
| Name: Peter Ervik (Also spelled Arvek or Arvik) Age/DoB: abt 1877 County of Conviction: Mineral Judicial District: 4thCase No.: 41Date of Conviction: April 6(?), 1918Sentence: 2-4 years |  |
| Allegations: That on April 3, 1918, allegedly said, “I would sooner fight for the Kaiser than I would for the United States; fuck the United States and fuck the flag. I mean it.” Case Details: Pleaded not guilty. Found guilty by jury. Personal Information: Born in Norway. Arrived as Peder Bertelsen Ervik at Ellis Island April 6, 1905, going to his brother-in-law in Shelly, Minn. In 1910 he was living in Beaver Creek Township, Steele Co. North Dakota. Listed as married, but no wife named. Died in Missoula County on January 2, 1930. | |
| Name: Herbert Mansolf Age/DoB: February 7, 1889 County of Conviction: Missoula Judicial District: 4th Case No.: 1122 Date of Conviction: May 24, 1918 Sentence: 2-4 years at hard labor |  |
| Allegations: “Well, there will be damn German flag flying over the United States inside of a year. The Americans never did amount to nothing and they will amount to a whole lot less when the war is over.” Case Details: Mansolf’s remarks were made at Dwyer’s Saloon in Huson on March 23, 1918 when he allegedly advised W.H. Wagar, a draft registrant, on his way to Missoula for a physical exam for the draft, not to go.. Testimony by Wagar and the bartender shows that Mansolf had been drinking. Mansolf entered Montana State Prison on May 25, 1918 and left on June 8, 1919. He served a total of 13 months. During this incarceration he was committed to Warm Springs from August 25, 1918 until March 12, 1919. Personal Information: Mansolf was born and raised in Missoula. His father, born in Austria, ran a small restaurant in town. Mansolf lived with his mother in Spokane from 1933 to 1936. In 1936 he was committed to Medical Lake mental hospital. Date and place of death unknown. He has a first cousin living in Minneapolis. | |
| Name: Thomas Burans/Burns Age/DoB: b. 1858 County of Conviction: Missoula Judicial District: 4th Case No.: 1130 Date of Conviction: May 25, 1918 Sentence: 1-2 years. |  |
| Allegations: In front of the Montana pool hall in Ronan on March 24, 1918, told a 21-year-old draft registrant: “Get out of the country and the jurisdiction of the draft board. Don’t enlist. They are only tin soldiers anyway, and they are persecuting the IWW.” Case Details: Found guilty by a jury that included Rev. John Maclean, the father of author Norman Maclean, and memorialized in “A River Runs Through It.” Denied a witness’ claim that he had said he was a Wobbly. Served 13 months May 25, 1918 to June 8, 1919. Returned for parole violation Nov. 15, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Michigan about 1858. Parents born in Ireland. Lived in Ronan. Worked as a laborer, but also identified as a farmer on the (Flathead) reservation and later as a lumberjack. Possibly illiterate. Claimed at the time of his arrest to have been honorably discharged from the British Navy. Died in Montana State Hospital in Warm Springs on Feb. 20, 1926. | |
| Name: Matt Johnson Age/DoB: Sept. 14, 1885 County of Conviction: Missoula Judicial District: 4th Case No.: 1132 Date of Conviction: May 1918 Sentence: 2.5-5 years. |  |
| Allegations: On April 19, 1918, said in a saloon in Milltown that the U.S. Liberty Bonds were no good. That the government would not back them up. That the man that bought them would never get his money back. That he would lose it. That the U.S. government is no good. Case Details: Pled guilty upon advice of appointed counsel. Served 13 months from May 25, 1918, to June 18,1918, or 13 months in prison, working as a laundryman. Personal Information: Born in Finland. Got U.S. citizenship in 1907; Lumberjack. In Montana 7 years. Resident of Bonner. He and wife Minna, age 53, were both inmates at the Montana State Hospital at Warm Springs in Deer Lodge County in 1930. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Tom Cason Age/DoB: b. 1882 County of Conviction: Missoula Judicial District: 4th Case No.: 1134 Date of Conviction: June 15, 1918 Sentence: 1.5 – 3 years. |  |
| Allegations: On April 21, 1918, he said at the Montana Hotel: “To hell with the United States government; shit on them; I don’t give a damn for them, I’m a Wobbly.” Case Details: According to the April 22, 1918, Daily Missoulian, “Five minutes later he was inside the county jail, looking out, while a charge of sedition has been entered against him in the jail register.” Convicted in jury trial. Served 28 months, from June 15, 1918 to Oct. 3, 1920. Personal Information: Worked as a teamster. Identified as an I.W.W. | |
| Name: Josef HocevarAge/DOB: 52 County of Conviction: Musselshell Judicial District: Case No.: 282 Date of Conviction: Sentence: 6-12 years | PARDONED IN 1921 |
| Allegations: That on Oct. 4, 1918, at the Roadside Saloon, said “Patton is working this Liberty Loan business too strong (referring to a member of the Liberty Loan committee). I am an Austrian. This government is no good. I have been a citizen of this country since 1888. I am not a pro-German, I am an Austrian. President Wilson had no business getting into this war. President Wilson is heap shit. Fuck the Americans. Fuck them (referring to soldiers and sailors engaged in the military and naval service of the United States) too.” Case Details: Entered Deer Lodge Feb. 22, 1919. Released Aug. 18, 1921, after serving 30 months. Pardoned by Gov. Dixon with evidence that he had been the victim of a frame-up by two men in a saloon who, “being crazy drunk got the idea of having him arrested for sedition [and] after they sobered up they had to stay with their charge or they might go to jail.” Personal Information: Born in Krain (now Krajina, near Ljubljana, Slovenia). Came to U.S. on July 25, 1886. Took out citizenship papers in Butte in 1888. Voted for Wilson and for Cleveland when Montana a territory. Worked at No. 3 mine near Roundup for 17 months, “outside in the ashes, in the boiler room” for $4.95 a day. Worked as a laundryman in prison. In 1930, was working as a road laborer in Aldridge, Park County. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Martin Ferkovich Age/DoB: 39 County of Conviction: Musselshell Judicial District: 15th Case No.: 278 Date of Conviction: Sentenced 2/21/19 Sentence: 10-20 years |  |
| Allegations: That on Friday, September 13, 1918 (day after registration day) said in Waddy Russell (Kumor & Russell) saloon in Carpenter Creek, “This Government cannot take me (meaning that the United States Government could not select him under the national selective service regulations). I would kill the first man who tried to take me. Austria is my country and I won’t fight against her. I wouldn’t shoot my own brother. I would shoot someone else first. The Government didn’t do right; they didn’t give me my citizenship papers. The Kaiser is all right; he didn’t bother me. The Kaiser didn’t bother this country.” Case Details: Found guilty by jury. Sentencing judge George V. Jones later said he “had a very poor impression” of Ferkovich as “defiant and peculiarly un-American” because “he aped the airs of the Kaiser in the way he wore his mustache” (which he evidently grew back after it was shaved off by the citizens of Musselshell). Ferkovich served 33 months, working as an outside trusty on construction projects, including the new prison theater, the brick yard and the milk ranch. He was the last sedition prisoner. Recommended for clemency by Warden Conley, former employers and even by the sentencing judge. Sentence commuted by Gov. Dixon to 3-10 years for immediate parole and approved by state board of pardons (Wellington Rankin, chair) on Oct. 21, 1921. Personal information: Native of Croatia. Poor understanding of English and may have been illiterate. Had worked in Montana coal mines and as a stone mason for 12-14 years. Lived in Fergus Co. from 1906 to 1917 and worked at the Kendall gold mine, the Three Forks Portland cement mine at Hanover and at Lewistown before moving to Roundup to work at the Star Coal Mine near Musselshell. Wife and three children in Roundup. | |
| Name: August Adam Miller Age/DoB: May 5, 1882 County of Conviction: Powell Judicial District: 3rdCase No.: 320Date of Conviction: April 17, 1918 Sentence: 2-4 years |  |
| Allegations: That on 3/23/18 allegedly said, “Good. We will fuck the British and the French and we will fuck the United States before we get through.” Case Details: Found guilty by a jury. Personal Information: Born in Austria. Worked at different ranches in Powell County. In Montana four years and a resident of Deer Lodge for four years. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: William N. Arnoldy Age/DoB: 1863 County of Conviction: Rosebud Judicial District: 15th Case No.: 299 Date of Conviction: 10/4/18 Sentence: 8-16 years |  |
| Allegations: That on July 20, 1918, said, “These free taxi rides given to the soldiers at Miles City were just for the purpose of getting them into private houses, so that they may have intercourse with women (meaning the wives, sisters and daughters of the citizens of Miles City) and get war babies.’ Meaning and intending thereby that the soldiers of the USA were having illicit carnal intercourse with the wives…” Case Details: Defense counsel Young & Young. Convicted by jury. Served 7 months; released April 23, 1919. Personal Information: Born in St. Paul, Minn. One of 16 children of immigrants from Germany and Luxemburg. Married and first worked in St. Paul. Had nine children. Arrived by himself in Montana about 1911, first worked in Miles City, later went into farming and real estate sales. After release from prison, worked as a laborer in Yellowstone County before returning to Miles City. Died Jan. 31, 1936 of heart disease in Miles City and buried in Custer County Cemetery. Distant relative in Miles City. | |
| Name: Fay P. Rumsey Age/DoB: April 12, 1868 County of Conviction: Rosebud Judicial District: 15th Case No.: 291 Date of Conviction: Sept. 27, 1918 Sentence: 2-4 years |  |
| Allegations: That on April 1, 1918, said “that he wished the Germans would come in and clean up the U.S. and especially Sarpy Creek; that President Wilson was in cahoots with the money power of this country, and that if he was drafted he would not fight for the U.S. but would fight for the Kaiser.” Case Details: Conviction based in part on testimony given in September 1917, before passage of the state sedition law (see Starr transcript). Three oldest daughters testified on his behalf. Found guilty by jury. Served 12 months; released Oct. 12, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Sherwood, Mich. Married Sarah in Michigan in 1901. Operated a dray business in Forsyth, Mont., before homesteading in Sarpy Creek area south of Hysham, where Fay built a small house and the couple raised 12 children. Two of them died on the same day in 1908. Their land was a target for rustlers, who would cut the fences and run cattle to destroy the crops and grass lands. It had a stream running through it, making it more valuable. But after Fay’s conviction, Sarah could not hold on to the homestead and it was foreclosed on for a few hundred dollars. Most of the children went to orphanages or were “let out” to other people and did not find each other until decades later. After his release from prison, Fay went back to Michigan and died on May 11, 1922, of heart disease in Cheshire, Mich. Daughters living in Oregon and Wyoming. Other relatives in Wyoming, Montana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Oregon and California. | |
| Name: Frederick H. Rodewald Age/DoB: Dec. 6, 1875 County of Conviction: Rosebud Judicial District: 15th Case No.: 290 Date of Conviction: Sept. 24, 1918 Sentence: 2-5 years |  |
| Allegations: That on April 23, 1918, allegedly said “in substance as follows: that we (meaning the people and citizens of the United States) would have hard times unless the Kaiser didn’t get over here and rule this country.” Case details: Made alleged remarks at a lumberyard after he was told that all lumber was being diverted to the war effort. Defense counsel Young & Young. Wife and daughter testified on his behalf. Found guilty by jury in a one-day trial. Served 19 months. Worked as a carpenter in prison. Released April 19, 1920. Personal Information: Born in Hanover, Germany and worked there as a carpenter. Immigrated about 1895 and joined relatives in Charter Oak, Iowa. Married Pearl and raised a “first family” of six children before moving to Montana to homestead near Sumatra. Pearl was pregnant with a ninth child when Fred was sent to prison. The family moved to Minnesota, where a tenth child was born. Fred and Pearl farmed near Litchfield, Minn. Pearl died in 1955. Fred died Oct, 9, 1960. Many family members in Minnesota and Montana. | |
| Name: Ernest/Earnest V. Starr Age/DoB: May 24, 1870 County of Conviction: Rosebud Judicial District: 15th Case No.: 292 Date of Conviction: Sept. 27, 1918 Sentence: 10-20 years, plus a $500 fine |  |
| Allegations: On the evening of March 24, 1918, was confronted by about 15 men in a local committee while reading a letter at the general store in Big Horn township, and asked about his failure to make Liberty Bond contributions. Forced to kiss the flag, he said, “What is this thing anyway? Nothing but a piece of cotton with a little paint on it, and some other marks in the corner there. I will not kiss that thing. It might be covered with microbes.”Case details: Information filed Aug. 1, 1918. Attorney was John C. Lyndes. Convicted in a jury trial. Habeas corpus petitions denied in state and federal courts. In opinion in Ex parte Starr 263 Fed 145 (D. Mont. 1920), U.S. Judge George Bourquin noted that defendant was “more sinned against than sinning,” and added that “Patriotism, like religion, is a virtue so exalted that its excesses pass with little censure. But when as here it descends to fanaticism, it is of the reprehensible quality of the religion that incited the massacre of St. Bartholomew, the fires of Smithfield, the tortures of the Inquisition and is equally cruel and murderous.”Served 35 months. Sentence commuted by Gov. Dixon on June 4, 1921, to 5-20 years making him immediately eligible for parole. Evidence that a woman’s malicious gossip about Starr, based on comments she said she heard him make in 1917, precipitated the confrontation with his accusers (but her testimony was not allowed for that reason). Released Sept. 18, 1921. Starr’s name lives on in several books and articles on the flag. Personal Information: Born in Wooster, Wayne Co., Ohio. Attended schools in Kalamazoo County, Mich. Had one sister, a missionary in S. America. Testified that he worked in North Dakota as early as 1886, worked for the Great Northern Railroad in 1887 and later homesteaded in North Dakota and Canada. In 1910 was single and living in Hillsdale, N.D. Left Canada in 1916 to come to Montana. Lived and homesteaded at the head of Tullock Creek near Hardin, 25 miles south of Big Horn township in what was then Rosebud County. Filed for homestead in 1916 on ceded portion of Crow Reservation. Also worked as engineer and boilermaker. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Edward S. Horn Age/DoB: May 22, 1884 County of Conviction: Sanders Judicial District: 4th Case No.: 200 Date of Conviction: June 15, 1918 Sentence: 1-2 years. |  |
| Allegations: On March 9, 1918, allegedly said in Jocko “That the heads of the government at the White House ought to be killed and that then the war would stop.” Case Details: Demurrer to 5/8 info charging him w/ criminal syndicalism sustained. Amended information charged him w/ sedition. Found guilty after trial June 14-15, 1918. Served 17 months. Released Nov. 16, 1919. Personal Information: Born in Michigan. Married Viola Elwell Apr. 2, 1901 in Monroe, Mich. Lived in Plains. Had been in Montana 7 months. Teamster at a mill. Father William lived in Seattle. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Samuel Ray Helvey Age/DoB: Sep. 16, 1876 County of Conviction: Silver Bow Judicial District: 2nd Case No.: 5066 Date of Conviction: Information May 18, 1918. Sentence: 3-6 years |  |
| Allegations: No details in record. Words spoken May 10, 1918. Case Details: Convicted in trial in Jan. 1919. Sentenced Jan. 18, 1919. Served 19 months. Released Aug. 15, 1920. Personal Information: Born in Nebraska. Was a farmer. On 1918 draft registration card, listed nearest relative in Omaha. Date and place of death not known. | |
| Name: Henry F. “Harry” Lucas Age/DoB: Feb. 12, 1884 County of Conviction: Silver Bow Judicial District: 2nd Case No.: 5053 Date of Conviction: Dec. 30, 1918 Sentence: 5-15 years |  |
| Allegations: In Crowley’s saloon at 39 E. Broadway on morning of April 2, 1918, three city firemen who had just ended their shift were at a table. One remarked that Germany would not have such an easy mark since this country got into the war. Defendant, who had come into Butte that morning after overnight trip from Boston & Montana camp in Wise River allegedly said “Fuck the bloody country. Fuck the war. I am an IWW and proud of it. Fuck the flag.” Case Details: According to the Anaconda Standard, “Witnesses seized him and ran him out of the place and to the city hall.” Convicted after a one-day trial. Defendant said he remembered nothing; that he had been drinking heavily. Denied that he had ever been a Wobbly. Sentenced on Jan. 11, 1919 and immediately transported to Deer Lodge. Served 30 months. Released July 24, 1921. Personal Information: Born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Family lived in Kentucky. Was a private with the 49th (Col’d) U.S. Volunteer Infantry in the Philippine Insurrection and later was in government service. Married Goldie Little in Lewiston, Idaho in 1902. Had two daughters. Gertrude born 1903. Worked as a cook for Boston & Montana lumber company in Wise River. Died Caldwell, Idaho July 9, 1924. | |
| Name: Theodore C. Klippstein/Klippstine Age/DoB: Dec. 31, 1878 County of Conviction: Richland Judicial District: 7th Case No.: 119 Date of Conviction: Jan. 9, 1919 Sentence: 4-10 years |  |
| Allegations: While registering for the draft at Lone Ridge School House on Sept. 12, 1918, allegedly said “It is a wonder that our God Damned Government didn’t send us some papers before we got in war so we could have had something to say about it and then we wouldn’t have had war; we had no business to be in war as the people didn’t want it; it was only the damned officials we sent to Washington that got us in war; only the big moneyed men wanted war, the rest of the people didn’t want it and our damned government didn’t give the people a chance to say whether they wanted war; the germans were the best soldiers anyhow.” Case Details: Convicted after one-day trial. County attorney asked him if green paint on window trim of his house meant he was a German spy. Served 25 months in prison, Released Feb. 25, 1921. Personal Information: Born in Pomerania, Germany. Immigrated to U.S. in 1892, among 286 passengers on the German steamer Polynesia from Stettin, arriving in Ellis Island on June 15, 1892, with parents and five siblings. Family listed as having one piece of luggage. Married in1900. Naturalized in 1906. Had nine children. Homesteaded 12 miles south of Poplar, south of Missouri River (Now border of Richland and Roosevelt Counties.) Father Wilhelm farmed nearby. After release from prison, moved to Portland, Ore. and worked as laborer for the electric company. Died in Portland, Ore., March 21, 1966, age 87. Living relatives in Portland, Ore., area, including a son, and in Montana. | |
| Name: J.A. “Jack” Griffith Age/DoB: About 1871 County of Conviction: Yellowstone Judicial District: 13th Case No.: 1458 Date of Conviction: Dec. 7, 1918 Sentence: 8-16 years |  |
| Allegations: That on 7/8/18 in the Blue Front Saloon in Billings (and later in a nearby lodging house) said (referring to the IWW trial in Chicago) “We are going to give this cock-sucking government a good fucking.” Defended by IWW attorney Geo. Vanderveer. Case details: Bartender who talked to Griffith asked a man to take an old IWW card and make friends with Griffith and his companion. The three went to the Star boarding rooms a block away with a few beers. Griffith showed the man his IWW credentials and literature and made the same prediction about the outcome of the mass IWW trial in Chicago. A policeman came in and arrested Griffith and confiscated his suitcase. Found guilty in jury trial. Served eight months. Released Oct. 1, 1919. State supreme court reversed, saying jury was influenced by his strong language, but that the statement did not fall within the ambit of the sedition law because it was not a statement regarding the form of government of the United States, etc. 56 Mont. 241, 184 Pac. 219 (1919) #4340. Personal Information: Griffith testified he had been a member of the IWW for about two years and worked as a job delegate, empowered to collect dues and pass out literature. Said he had been in Seattle and was on his way to work the harvest in North Dakota. Date and place of death unknown. | |
| Name: Herman Bausch Age/DoB: Dec. 11, 1881 County of Conviction: Yellowstone Judicial District: 13th Case No.: 1441 Date of Conviction: May 14. 1918 Sentence: 4-8 years |  |
| Allegations: That on April 13, 1918, (while being grilled by a local committee about why he hadn’t purchased Liberty Bonds) allegedly said “I do not care anything about the Red, White and Blue; I won’t do anything voluntarily to aid this war; I don’t care who wins this war; I would rather see Germany win than England or France; I am not prepared to say whether or not Germany is in the right; We should never have entered this war and this war should be stopped immediately and peace declared; We should stop sending ships with supplies and ammunition to our soldiers; As far as I am concerned, I do not care if the Third Liberty Loan is a success or a failure.” Case details: A man who read philosophy and politics, Herman despised all war and refused to contribute to its financing. Finally a local “third degree committee” came to his farm west of town. His wife watched while holding their infant in her arms as the men strung a rope over the limb of an apple tree. When Herman continued to refuse to buy Liberty Bonds, the committee ran him into town and grilled him until early morning in the hall of a local fraternal organization. A local lawyer sat on the arm of his chair and threatened to punch him in the face unless he agreed to buy bonds. What Herman said in defense of his actions was used to prosecute him for sedition, The Billings Gazette editorialized that “he should be prosecuted to the extreme limit of the law.” He was convicted in a 1 ½-day jury trial and served 28 months. He was released Sep. 12, 1920. Personal Information: Born in Germany. Immigrated to U.S. in 1899. Took out citizenship papers in Butte County, S.D., where he lived seven years before moving to Billings, where he farmed. Married Helen Louise and had four children. Both sons died, one of infant dysentery while he was in prison, the other killed when hit by an automobile in 1934. Returned to farming in Billings after his release from prison. Separated from wife, Helen Louise, who died in Carbondale, Ill. in 1998 at age 99. Herman died March 24, 1958, in Long Beach, Calif., of complications from Parkinson’s disease. His youngest daughter lives in California. Other relatives in Oregon and Montana. Herman’s extensive written memoirs are the only personal record known to the Montana Sedition Project. | |
Montana Sedition Project 