United States v. Stevens

• Decision Date: 05 November 1890
• Citation: 44 F. 132
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. STEVENS et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota

44 F. 132

UNITED STATES v. STEVENS et al.

United States District Court, D. Minnesota.

November 5, 1890

This indictment charges the defendants as follows:

'District of Minnesota-- ss.:

'The grand jury of the United States of America, within and for said district, on their oath present that heretofore to-wit, on the second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, at the city of Minneapolis, in this district, Edward A. Stevens Thaddeus S. Dickey, Louis E. Strum, and other persons to the grand jurors aforesaid unknown, meditated and devised a scheme to procure false, exaggerated, and fictitious schedules and returns of the population of said city on the first day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, to be made and forwarded to the supervisor of the second census district of Minnesota by the several enumerators employed, and to be employed, to take the eleventh census of the United States within said city. That on said second day of June one Edward J. Davenport was one of the supervisors of census, to-wit, the supervisor of census within and for the second supervisor's district of Minnesota, duly appointed, qualified, and acting as such, under and pursuant to the provisions of an act of congress of the United States, to-wit, an act entitled 'An act to provide for taking the eleventh and subsequent censuses,' approved March first, A.D. one thousand eight hundred and eighty-nine, and one Louis E. Strum was an enumerator duly employed, appointed, and qualified and acting as such, under and pursuant to the provisions of said act, within and for a certain subdivision of and within said census district, to-wit, subdivision number 367; he, the said Louis E. Strum, lately before then, to-wit, on said second day of June, having taken and subscribed the oath required by (section eight of) said act.

'That the said Louis E. Strum on said second day of June had in his custody and possession, as such enumerator, divers, to-wit, three hundred, blank schedules of the form approved by the secretary of the interior to be filled in the course of the enumeration to be by him made, according to the provisions of said act, and being the same blank schedules that had been issued, pursuant to the provisions of said act, from the census office, and to him, the said Louis E. Strum, before then, lately, to-wit, on said second day of June, transmitted and delivered by said supervisor of census.

'And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oath aforesaid, do further present that afterwards, to-wit, on the said second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, at the city of Minneapolis, in this district, the said Davenport still being and acting as the supervisor of census within and for said census district, and the said Louis E. Strum still being and acting as an enumerator within and for his said subdivision, and still having in his custody and possession as such enumerator the said blank original schedules, the same being of the kind and form known as 'Schedule No. 1,' and relating to and containing inquiries touching and concerning population and social statistics, Edward A. Stevens, Thaddeus S. Dickey, and the said Louis E. Strum, yeomen, late of said city, together with other evil-disposed persons whose names are as yet to the jurors aforesaid unknown, did unlawfully and maliciously conspire, combine, and confederate together and with each other, in and upon one of said schedules then and there unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly to put, place, insert, and write the following imaginary, false, and fictitious names of persons, that is to say: Gordon Douglas, Grace Douglas, David Douglas, Belke Douglas, Robert Douglas, Mary J. Douglas, Ann F. Douglas, William Douglas, Andrew Douglas,-- in the several blanks left and provided thereon for the names of persons respectively to be enumerated thereon, pursuant to the provisions of said act, and imaginary, false, pretended, and fictitious answers, items of information, particulars, facts, and statistics in the several blanks left and provided in said blank schedule for answers to the several inquiries respectively set forth and contained therein concerning the persons to be enumerated thereon, and required by said act to be answered in and upon said schedule, and the same schedule afterwards, to-wit, on said day, with said names and said imaginary, false, pretended, and fictitious answers, items of information, particulars, facts, and statistics, put, placed, inserted, and written therein in manner and form aforesaid, to willfully and knowingly duly certify, and have and procure to be duly certified, in form of law, by him, the said Louis E. Strum, as enumerator, as aforesaid, within and for said subdivision, and the same schedule filled and certified as aforesaid, afterwards, to-wit, at said city of Minneapolis on said day, to unlawfully, knowingly, and willfully forward, with other like schedules, to the said supervisor of his, the said Louis E. Strum's, returns under the provisions of said act, they, the said Edward A. Stevens, Thaddeus S. Dickey, and Louis E. Strum, then and there, to-wit, when they conspired, combined, and confederated together as aforesaid, well knowing that the said names, answers, items of information, particulars, facts, and statistics, and each and every one of them, were imaginary, pretended, false, and fictitious, and that none of said imaginary, pretended, and fictitious persons were, on the first day of June in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, or ever, residents or inhabitants of his, the said Louis E. Strum's, said subdivision; and he, the said Louis E. Strum, not having obtained said names, answers, items of information, particulars, facts, and statistics, or any or either of them, by any inquiry made by him, the said Louis E. Strum, of any one, nor by visit by him, the said Louis E. Strum, personally to any dwelling-house or family in his said subdivision, nor in the course of enumeration or canvass by him, the said Louis E. Strum, of his said subdivision, as they, the said Edward A. Stevens, Thaddeus S. Dickey, and Louis E. Strum, then and there well knew.

'That afterwards, to-wit, on the said second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, at the city of Minneapolis, in said district, pursuant to said conspiracy, and to promote and effect the object thereof, the said Louis E. Strum, he, the said Louis E. Strum, still being and acting then and there as enumerator, as aforesaid, within and for his said subdivision, and still having in his custody and possession, as such enumerator, the said schedules, and the said Davenport still being and acting then and there as supervisor of census within and for said second census district, in and upon one of said blank schedules, to-wit, the blank schedule last hereinbefore mentioned, did then and there unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly put, place, insert, and write the several imaginary, false, and fictitious names aforesaid, in the several blanks left and provided thereon for the names of persons respectively to be enumerated thereon, pursuant to the provisions of said act, and divers imaginary, false, pretended, and fictitious answers, items of information, particulars, facts, and statistics in the several blanks left and provided in said blank schedule for answers to the several inquiries respectively set forth and contained therein concerning the persons to be enumerated thereon, and required by said act to be answered in and upon said schedule.

'And so the grand jurors aforesaid, upon their oath aforesaid, do say that the said Edward A. Stevens, Thaddeus S. Dickey, and Louis E. Strum, then and there, to-wit, at the said city of Minneapolis, on the said second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, unlawfully and maliciously did conspire, combine, and confederate together and with each other to unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly make the fictitious returns aforesaid, in manner and form aforesaid, contrary to the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the United States.

'And the jurors aforesaid, upon their oath aforesaid, do further present that afterwards, to-wit, on the said second day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and ninety, at the city of Minneapolis, in this district, the said Davenport, still being and acting as the supervisor of census within and for said census district, and the said Louis E. Strum, still being and acting as an enumerator within and for his said subdivision, and still having in his custody and possession as such enumerator the said blank original schedules, the same being of the kind and form known as 'Schedule No. 1,' and relating to and containing inquiries touching and concerning population and social statistics, Edward A. Stevens, Thaddeus S. Dickey, and the said Louis E. Strum, yeomen, late of said city, together with other evil-disposed persons whose names are as yet to the jurors aforesaid unknown, did unlawfully and maliciously conspire, combine, and confederate together and with each other, in and upon one of said schedules then and there unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly to put, place, insert and write the following imaginary, false, and fictitious names of persons, that is to say: Ambrose W. Daynes, Mattie F. Daynes, John P. Daynes, William Daynes, Obedia Daynes, Lizzie Daynes,-- in the several blanks left and provided thereon for the names of persons respectively to be enumerated thereon, pursuant to the provisions of said act, and imaginary false, pretended, and fictitious answers, items of...