On This Date in Minnesota History: May 31

May 31, 1912 – One of the most stubbornly fought criminal cases in the history of Minnesota was decided today by the Minnesota State Supreme Court. Dr. D. F. Dumas, former mayor of Cass Lake, Minn., who, it was charged, planned the blowing of the post office safe at Puposky, Minn., the night of June 16, 1911, and aided criminals in the act, was found guilty of attempted arson in the third degree and his conviction in the district of Beltrami County was warranted. The penalty is imprisonment not to exceed three and one-half years.

Dr. D. F. Dumas¹

Not one excusing feature in the movement of the Cass Lake mayor is contained in the opinion of the court, written by Chief Justice Start. On the other hand, the contention of the state in every particular is sustained, and the defendant is censured for the part he played.

Dr. Dumas made his defense on the ground that even if all the state’s contentions were true, he was not guilty of attempted arson, because the act of burning the Puposky store and robbing the safe was not completed.

According to the court, “The evidence tends to show that the defendant intended to commit the crime; that he hired agents to commit it, and further, that the attempt failed only because his agents were interrupted by the officers of the law. The fact that the entry was made also for the purpose of blowing the safe is not a controlling factor, for the overt act, including the entry, were done, as the evidence tends to show, as a part of one proposed proceeding—the burning of the building and the blowing of the safe. It follows from this conclusion that the indictment state facts sufficient to constitute a public offense.”

The case was remanded to the Beltrami Court for further proceedings, which, in fact, means that the court shall sentence Dumas. The conviction has already been obtained, but the case was certified to the Supreme Court on the request of the defendant for review.

Dumas was popular. People liked him. His individuality was marked. But numerous fires under peculiar circumstances began appearing in the northern part of the state. Burglars—notorious characters—were sometimes seen in his company.

In the fall of 1910, R. E. Smith, manager of a general merchandise store in which the post office was located at Puposky, was approached by Duma with a proposition that he insure his store and let him (Dumas) have it burned. Smith took him up on his offer. Arrangements were concluded and Smith reported the matter to the state fire marshal’s office. Detectives were employed and were on the scene the night the blaze was to be started.

Puposky, Minn.²

In the fight that followed, Martin Behan was captured and Mike Davis, a notorious burglar, escaped. Both had been employed by Dumas to “do the job.” Behan afterward turned state’s evidence and the charges against him were dismissed.

Behan told the state’s attorneys how Dumas had bought nitroglycerin, dynamite fuses, caps, flashlight, candle wick and matches, and after supplying him and Davis with these essential articles, hired a horse and buggy to transport them from Cass Lake to Puposky. Chiefly on this testimony Dr. Dumas was convicted. He will now be sentenced.

Alex Jones, assistant attorney general, who fought the case for the state, was pleased when he heard the decision this morning.

“I expected it,” he said. “In fact, I saw no way whereby it could be avoided.”

The Duluth Herald; “Dr. Dumas Must Go to Prison for the Puposky Arson Case. Supreme Court Upholds Conviction of Ex-Mayor of Cass Lake. Remands His Case to Beltrami County Court for Sentence. Means Imprisonment for Not Over Three and One Half Years.”; May 31, 1912; pp. 1 & 10.

¹The Bemidji Daily Pioneer; Oct. 10, 1911; p. 1.  (Dumas)

²http://traveltempters.com/minnesota/puposky/

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