Celebrating History: Problems for the Hill County attorney

By Emily Mayer

The Havre Plaindealer’s Nov. 8, 1919, edition is so jam-packed with interesting articles that it will be the focus of this column for at least this week and next week, possibly more.

For some inexplicable reason, the Plaindealer’s issues cease until March 6, 1920. Perhaps they didn’t publish those issues for economic reasons; perhaps they did and they’re lost to history. So, in the meantime, I will share information from the pages of the Hill County Democrat for the next few months. J. K. Bramble seems to have fairly strong opinions that often make for good print, even today.

The biggest news centers around Hill Count Attorney C. R. Stranahan and his inability to bring cases to trial, continue cases with no evidence with little chance of conviction. He was being accused of wasting taxpayer dollars by bringing in jurors and witnesses for trials that never took place, required paperwork not being filed or not filed in a timely manner, attempting to lay the blame on other people or offices, and all this culminating in a rebuke from District Judge W. B. Rhoades. Gee, does this sound familiar?

The cases center around bootlegging, other violations of Prohibition and illegal gambling. One main character in this merry-go-round was Tom DeWitt, who was to be tried for perjury in a case against Harry Morgan. DeWitt, a brakeman for the Great Northern Railroad, testified in another trial he had not purchased alcohol from the Home Café, owned by local great Alice Pleasant, a.k.a. Ma Plaz. The case rested solely on DeWitt’s testimony, which crashed and burned in court. However, because Stranahan did not have sufficient evidence to convict DeWitt, Stranahan was asking the court to dismiss the case.

According to the Plaindealer, a county detective, N. W. Greer, claimed to have witnessed DeWitt purchasing alcohol at the Home Café. However, there seems to be issues with these “detectives” arresting people for crimes of which there was no evidence of them committing. Greer himself was in Billings testifying in a trial on a charge of giving liquor to a 16-year-old bell hop in one of the hotels there. At least three different cases were cited in the article, as well as those seven cases against Henry Schmidt were dismissed due to lack of evidence.

In the meantime, the Ova Bower case was moving forward, but not in the manner it was supposed to. Trial had been set for Nov. 3, and witnesses made plans and arrived in Havre on the appointed date. However, the case had moved to Nov. 6 and Stranahan failed to notify those witnesses, who were gathered at the courthouse waiting to find out when they were to testify, of course at taxpayer expense. In an effort to cover his mistakes, Stranahan tried to get the judge to try the Bower case before the DeWitt case, to which Judge Rhoades scorched Stranahan on how he was running his office.

The Bower case moved forward, with the jurors being selected and seated. Readers will remember Bower was involved in the Border Saloon raid the year before. More on this case in subsequent weeks.

It just wasn’t going Stranahan’s way, as another case resulted in a hung jury. Readers may recall a case where some young men had stolen a buggy, harness and saddle from a local livery and made their way to Canada, where they were arrested and returned to Havre for trial. Clarence Armatage and James and Herbert Knappen were brought to trial, but after eight hours of deliberation, the jury could not reach a verdict. The case was dismissed and it was believed it would be retried, but in the newly formed Liberty County instead of Hill County.

The Knappen brothers were in hot water for aiding in the escape of a witness in their case. Readers may recall the escape of George Jarvis from the Hill County jail. The sheriff was away with his family at the theater in downtown Havre and, while gone, Jarvis cut his way out of his jail cell, aided by the Knappen boys. Jarvis was found in North Dakota and was returned to Havre earlier in the week.

Three other cases of illegal gambling were dismissed due to lack of evidence earlier that week as well, and another case, this one against A. B. Livermore, was continued. Again, witnesses were brought in from out of state and returned because Stranahan was not ready to go to trial, and again at the expense of Hill County taxpayers. Three witnesses were paid $83 each for their troubles, and on a case that had been filed in February. This case, too, had been continued.

The case against “Long George” Francis was also continued because witnesses were not available to testify. The case had to do with the theft of a horse owned by Phil Clack.

The one bright spot was the conviction of Harry Morgan on a bootlegging charge. He was sentenced to 10 days in jail and a $300 fine.

In civil court, John H. Jenkins was suing L. B. Dance for $50,000 actual damage and another $50,000 in exemplary damages for the “alienation of affections” of Jenkins’ wife. The Jenkins had a homestead in the Simpson area north of Havre and apparently Dance and Mrs. Jenkins struck up a relationship “violating the home of the plaintiff.” She was not named in the suit. Hopefully there will be something in the papers in coming weeks.

Havre and Hill County were anything but boring 100 years ago. A bungling county attorney, “detectives” running around arresting people for crimes they apparently didn’t commit then conveniently being out of town when the trials came, a ticked-off judge, the waste of taxpayer dollars, stealing stuff, a jail break, bootleggers, supposed illegal gamblers, and a marital scandal. Seems like the Roaring ’20s got their start well in advance in Havre and Hill County.