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Name: Theodore C. Klippstein/Klippstine County of Conviction:
Richland |
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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.
Revised 4/8/06 |
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