Bio: Krueger - Draft Evasion (17 Sep 1917)

Contact: Robert Lipprandt
Email: bob@wiclarkcountyhistory.org 

Surnames: Dietz, Holway, Jensen, Kidd, Krueger, Laino, Marks, Parker

----Source: The Sheboygan Press (Sheboygan, WI) 09/17/1917

Posse In Search For Evaders

Owen, Wis., Sept. 17 - Search for the three Krueger boys, Louis, Ernest and Leslie, alleged draft evaders, was resumed this morning by a posse which now numbers 200, among these being four companies of state guards. The posse has formed a cordon around the whole district near the Krueger farm and this will be entered today.

Belief that the fugitives might still be hid in the barn, the authorities set fire to it last yesterday afternoon but the Krueger boys failed to appear.

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Owen, Wis. - Confident that the three Krueger brothers, alleged draft evaders, have entrenched themselves near their farm, the scene of Saturday night’s battle, government agents have set off almost fifty square miles of territory under heavy guard with the farm as the center. Every road is being patrolled while scouting parties are scouring the woods.

Dense woods form a large part of the district and a thorough search will take a week. The fact that the government intends to leave nothing undone to apprehend the fugitives was indicated when W. N. Parker, Chicago, federal officer in charge, though Adjt. Gen. Holway called out two more companies of state guards, those in Colby and Wausau, making more than 200 uniformed soldiers on the scene in addition to many special deputies.

Armed citizens are searching on their own initiative in many parts of the district. Seldom has a community been aroused as is this one over the revolution against the law and order at this time. When Mr. Parker called for seven automobiles to aid in patrolling the roads a dozen volunteered in that many minutes.

The death of Harry Jensen in the battle, leaving his widow and three small children without means of support, has done more than anything else to stir up the citizenship, and if the fugitives are apprehended it is expected that considerable difficulty will be met in preventing mobs from injuring them. The huge barn on the Krueger farm, which was set ablaze after formaldehyde gas had been introduced in an effort to drive out the men if they had hidden in the loft, proved to be a veritable arsenal. Hundreds of cartridges popped during the blaze and in one corner a secret chamber was disclosed in which the brothers evidently intended to hide on the approach of officers with warrants for their arrest for failing to obey the draft law. An accident cause the firing of the barn, an explosion resulting when the air suddenly came into contact with the strong gas.

However, when the blaze broke out, many expected that the fugitives would be driven out, and 100 soldiers were placed around the burning structure with leveled guns. Destruction of the barn apparently dissolves the theory that the men had hidden on the premises, and the search will now be confined to surrounding territory. Several farmers living in the neighborhood were called in on Monday and questioned in an effort to find out if the Krueger’s had told any one of their plans it was rumored that an arrest had been made, but federal officers declared that no warrants had been issued for any one.

It is openly stated in Owen that there are persons in the county in sympathy with the cause of the
Krueger’s and it is known that close watch is being kept in some sections. It was said that ten or twelve persons have been closely questioned. The theory which now finds most acceptance is that the alleged draft evaders have long planned resistance and have equipped and fortified a stronghold somewhere in the woods, the search which is now being made has been so systematized that it will be impossible for such a place to long remain undisclosed. Some entertain the belief that others will join the Krueger’s, but this is held unlikely by the authorities. Just how many of the Krueger brothers took part in Saturday’s battle continues to remain a mystery. Frank, aged 36, now in jail in Chippewa Falls after having been wounded and Ennis 20, the youngest are the only ones who have been actually seen on the place recently. Members of the attacking posse state, however, that the huge number of shots fired by the defenders could not have come from only two guns and it is not believed that the mother in jail in Eau Claire took part in the battle. The other two brothers, Louis, aged 23, and Leslie, aged 26, vanished last spring after ignoring summons from the local draft board.

Some leaders of the posse still believe that when the ruins of the barn are searched when they are cooled on Tuesday, they will reveal the charred bones of the defenders.

The Kruger farm, which is only sixty miles from Cameron dam, where John Dietz (¹ see footnote) made his stand against the law has become the mecca for hundreds of sightseers. People from many miles around drove to the scene on Monday. The road is heavily patrolled by guardsmen and no one is permitted to loiter in the vicinity. Many spots where groups of farmers and soldiers fired Saturday night are strewn with cartridges which are much in demand as souvenirs. Almost everyone in the neighborhood is anxious to do something to help catch the fugitives and Mr. Parker and his aide, Cyril Marks, Madison, are being swamped with offers of assistance. The auto brigade was organized by E. W. Kidd, manager of the local box factory. In addition, several have volunteered their cars for messenger service between Owen, the headquarters of the government men, and the Krueger farm, three miles outside the town.

Local opinion is that the Krueger’s have not gone far out of the neighborhood and that when they are discovered, another battle is likely to occur. It is said the character of their resistance is such that they will fight until shot. Neighbors say that the men have indicated in many ways that they would not submit to the draft. With many weeks of preparation, it is considered likely that they have been able to equip and build a strong place of defense. Another possibility is that they have succeeded in reaching a train and making good their escape from the vicinity.

The family, who owned one of the most prosperous farms in the neighborhood, is known to have been wealthy, and lack of funds would not prove a handicap. The mother and son who are in custody are said to have a large amount of cash in their possession. The prosperity of the farm is indicated by the fact that the wood alone in the destroyed barn was valued at $500. In addition there was a large quantity of hay and many tools. The total loss from fire is probably near $5,000. The rest of the property is worth $25,000. It is probable that some one will be placed in charge of the place to operate it until the courts decide on its disposal.

The danger that a second death might be the result of the struggle was believed to be over on Monday, when it was reported from St. Joseph’s Hospital (Chippewa Falls), that Emil Laino, who was shot five times, would recover.

• (Also)

¹ John Dietz

Surnames: Dietz, Harp, Horel, McGin, Weisenback

----Source: The Stevens Point Journal (Stevens Point, WI) 05/20/1911

Dietz Case Summary

Showing the Road on Which Dietz Traveled on His Way to the Penitentiary

Feb. 1, 1904 - Dietz located at Cameron Dam. Refused to allow Chippewa Lumber Co. to move logs through the dam.

Feb. 28, 1905 - Company obtained injunction.

April 25, 1905 - Dietz keeps off sheriff.

May 9, 1905 - Posse fired on. Patrick McGin wounded.

May 29, 1905 - Valentine Weisenback arrested as accomplice of Dietz and sentenced to twelve years in prison.

Sept. 6, 1910 - John Dietz in altercation with Bert Horel at Winter. Horel wounded.

Oct. 1, 1910 - Leslie, Clarence and Myra Dietz ambushed by sheriff. Leslie escaped, Myra wounded and arrested and Clarence arrested.

Oct. 8, 1910 - Dietz family surrendered after siege. The tenth attempt to arrest was successful. Deputy Oscar Harp killed. John Dietz shot in hand.

Jan 7, 1911 - Dietz out on $62,500 bail.

May 2, 1911 - Trial at Hayward with Dietz conducting his own defense. Dietz loses bail. Dietz, wife and Leslie charged with murder of Deputy Oscar Harp.

May 12, 1911 - Jury out sixteen hours. Dietz found guilty of murder in first degree and sentenced to Waupun for life. Mrs. Dietz and Leslie freed.

After the verdict of the jury has been received Dietz made the usual motion for a new trial. This was denied and he was sentenced to the state prison for life. The 8th day of October of each year, the date on which Harp was killed, to be passed in solitary confinement.

In his address to the court, before sentence was pronounced, Dietz claimed that from the first he had been a victim of the “lumber trust,” explaining why he did not employ a lawyer he said,” My daughter was asked to perjure herself and if one lawyer would be so low I do not believe I could trust others.”

This last statement shows the bent of Dietz’s mind. He had grown suspicious of everybody - had evidently came to believe that no one was to be trusted.