USA > South Dakota > Who's who in South Dakota, Vol. III > Part 4
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On his person he carried $7,000 in cash with which to close a real estate deal for his father, and a Smith and Wesson revolver with which to protect it. At that time, the weekly bank failures throughout the nation were so large that it was wholly unsafe to deposit money in an institution and then go ahead to close up a deal a few days later, because the bank in which the money was deposited stood better than an even chance of becoming insolvent before the check or draft given in exchange in a commercial transac- tion, could find its way back to it. On large amounts people refused to take chances ; and
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during this trying period in our national life, dozens of murders were committed to secure large amounts of cash that were secreted in private homes.
When the young attorney reached his des- tination, at South Greenfield, Missouri, it was amid the blackness of night. The train stop- ped at the old dilapidated depot; A. K. step- ped off - into total darkness and weeds. Only one light was visible in the town, and it glimmered dimly through the trees on a dis- tant hill. He started toward it, feeling his way through the brush along a stony, crooked path.
As he reached the crest of the first hum- mock, with the lone light apparently as far away as ever, and paused to take breath, he heard a noise, as if some one were following him. Stepping aside into the brush, with his hand on his big gun, he listened intently. Truly, some one was following him. Who could it be ? He had seen no one, except him- self, alight from the train. The sound of foot-steps was coming nearer. He could hear them distinctly now. His heart thumped; his breath came hard.
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In a few moments, silhouetted against the moonless sky, he saw the form of a man. Without waiting for the attack, and hoping to' keep the initiative in whatever was to come, young Gardner called out in firm tones : "Who comes there?"
The form in the dark halted and replied : "A friend looking for the hotel."
"Then, we are both on the same errand," said Gardner, as he quietly concealed his gun.
A rambling conversation between them re- vealed the fact that the hunchbacked stran- ger with one short leg and an iron foot, who had just come up, was a street fakir going from town to town operating slot machines.
The two finally reached the building con- taining the one lone light. It proved to be the hotel. It was nearly three o'clock in the morning. They knocked. An old man, with shaggy eyebrows, disheveled hair, and a thunderous voice, came into the office from a side room and asked what they wanted.
"I want a room for the remainder of the night," said A. K. The hunchback spoke likewise.
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"Well," replied the old man, "I only have one room left. If you fellers will room to- gether, you may have it."
Agreed !
He showed them upstairs to a dirty little room with a small stand, a "buggy" bed and an odor that was odious. A. K. entered first; the hunchback followed. Then Gard- ner deliberately removed his big revolver and laid it on the stand. Almost simulta- neously, the pedler drew from a secreted hol- ster a large Colts revolver, still bigger than the one Gardner carried, and laid it alongside the latter's Smith and Wesson.
The two "stacked arms" and bivouacked for the night. Gardner took the front of the bed and put the street fakir in behind. That $7,000 which Gardner carried was sewed inside the lining of his vest. He hung his vest over the bed-post, unconcernedly, and fell asleep (with one eye open).
In a few hours morning dawned. They both got up, buckled on their light artillery and went down to breakfast.
It was just such deliberate calmness as this, all through the life of A. K. Gardner,
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that has made him one of the leading attor- neys of the state. He never gets excited dur- ing the trial of a case. With him one big established fact, well reasoned out, proven and sunk deep into the minds of the jury, is far better and more effective than im- passioned oratory.
After breakfast, young Gardner went about town and located the local attorney who was looking after his father's interests in the proposed business deal. Gardner of- fered him the $7,000 in cash. He refused to take it. (Strange attorney !)
"I shall not dare to take it!" he exclaimed. "You see that crowd in the village square yonder ? Well, a populist picnic is on for to- day. Everybody is excited. Some one would be sure to find out that I had the money, and tomorrow morning I would be found dead in bed. On the other hand the local bank is tottering and we would not dare to deposit it."
Gardner attended the picnic, met two school teachers who introduced him to all of the attorneys present, including Judge L. W. Shafer. The latter took a liking to Gardner,
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and the two formed a law partnership which lasted until the fall of 1895.
COMES TO DAKOTA
Finally, Gardner got discouraged and went to Joplin, Missouri. Immediately after his arrival, he received from Attorney W. O. Temple, of Rapid City, South Dakota, a letter inviting him to come to the latter place and form a law partnership with him.
Inasmuch as Gardner's brother, William Gardner, also an attorney, had gone west several years before, and had already risen to the judgeship of the seventh judicial cir- cuit, in which Rapid City is located, the in- ducement seemed paramount, and so A. K. Gardner became a resident of our state. He began to practice law with Temple at Rapid City, in November, 1895. Their partnership continued for two and a half years.
Then Gardner withdrew and practiced alone for several years. Afterwards he formed a new partnership with Atty. C. J. Buell, of Rapid City. This association lasted until 1907, when Gardner accepted the gen- eral attorneyship of the North Western Railway Co., as previously set forth.
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VARIETY OF LITIGATION
The most outstanding fact disclosed by an examination of Gardner's career as a lawyer is the variety of the practice in which he has successfully engaged and the versatility dis- played in handling so many different branches of a law practice. He has had a wide experience in criminal cases and a still wider one in civil practice. He has prose- cuted and defended many notable criminal cases. For six years he had charge of crim- inal prosecutions in Pennington County, and in addition he has been retained as special prosecutor for particular cases in many in- stances, including several cases by the State Banking Department for violation of the banking laws.
One of his first experiences was the de- fense of John Rondo, a Mexican squaw man, who was tried at Hot Springs, in 1897, for killing Ben Tibbits, a halfbreed Indian, with an ax, on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. The killing was admitted and the case was vigorously prosecuted, but the result was an acquittal on the ground of self-defense.
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At a later time Mr. Gardner defended Nellie McMahon, tried in Meade County, for the killing of one Dave Thomas, an attorney. The case had attracted wide attention and the fact of the killing was fully established. In fact, the prosecuting officer of the county declined an offer to employ assistance, made by the county commissioners, as he believed the case to be too plain and simple to involve any question as to the outcome. A defense of temporary insanity was established and an acquittal secured.
Of civil cases, Mr. Gardner has tried a great variety - in law and in equity ; before trial and appellate courts and administrative commissions, state and Federal - involving contracts, personal injuries, public land titles, mining law, water rights, condemna- tion proceedings, railroad rates and service and corporation law - an assortment with which few lawyers are called upon to ac- quaint themselves. And to each he has brought the thorough knowledge and skill of a specialist.
As an attorney for the North Western Railway Company, he has defended many
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personal injury suits, but prior to becoming attorney for that company he had represent- ed the plaintiff in many actions of this kind. One of the most notable was Hedlun vs Holy Terror Mining Company. In this case the plaintiff had been severely injured in a min- ing accident. He had given a release of all damages in consideration of a small payment. Later he sought to recover damages commen- surate with the extent of his injury, but the older, more experienced attorneys believed he had lost his right by giving the release, and declined to take his case. Mr. Gardner, then a young man in the practice, took up the case and on the first trial succeeded in having the release set aside on the ground of fraud and recovered a verdict of $5,000. The at- torneys for the defense moved for a new trial and to their surprise Gardner confessed the motion. On the second trial, the verdict was increased to $12,500 and a judgment for that amount was sustained by the Supreme Court.
Mr. Gardner appeared for the North Western Railway Company in one of the most famous condemnation cases in the state, in- volving a right-of-way for the railway com-
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pany across a 1,500-acre irrigated farm in Butte County. The damages claimed were $66,000. The claimant finally offered to set- tle for $24,000. Gardner offered him $5,000. He refused. The case went to trial and the jury returned a verdict for $3,475.50.
He represented the North Western in the two-and-a-half-cent passenger rate case in this state, and sustained his contention.
Recently, he appeared for the North Wes- tern Company in a series of cases, arising out of a fire by which the town of Fulton was nearly wiped out. Some fifteen suits were started against the Company by plain- tiffs, who claimed that the fire was set by a locomotive. Three of the cases have been dis- missed. There have been two trials, result- ing in verdicts for the defendant, and the plaintiffs are now negotiating for a dismissal of the remaining suits. -
During the war Mr. Gardner was attorney for the State Council of Defense, and in that connection represented the Council of De- fense in the actions brought for the dissolu- tion of the Hutterische (Russian Colony) Corporations of the state, and secured a de-
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cree of the trial court requiring these cor- porations to dispose of their farms, farm an- imals and machinery and confine their hold- ings, to church property and their activities to church work. This case has been appealed to the Supreme Court and is now pending there.
A review of his record as an attorney dis- closes that either in the vigorous give and take, and battle of wits of a jury trial, in the more deliberate presentation of court cases or in the preparation of logical and polished briefs, A. K. Gardner is equally successful. Verily, we may say of him, as did Miles Standish to his friend, John Alden :
"A wonderful man was this Caesar; ٨٠
You are a writer and I am a fighter, but here is a fellow
Who could both write and fight and in both was equally skillful."
OUTSIDE THE PROFESSION
His only association with politics was eight years as chairman of the Republican county central committee of Pennington County, and six years as state committeeman from the same county.
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He has always taken an active interest in educational matters. Although he and his family worship at the Congregational church, he is president of the board of trustees of Huron College - a Presbyterian institution.
On October 14, 1896, Mr. Gardner was united in marriage to Miss Mary McHard, of Aledo, Illinois. Three children - two daughters and one son - came to bless their home life.
Mr. Gardner's life has been a dramatic one. Many stirring events in his career have been purposely omitted from this sketch. One of them in particular was a trip into Old Mexico where danger frowned from every angle.
In 1920, he returned to Missouri on legal business, met the teacher who twenty-five years before had introduced him to Judge Shafer at the populist picnic, and had a pleasant visit with him and other old friends whose acquaintance had been formed so long ago.
GENERAL W. A. HAZLE
FROM PRIVATE TO GENERAL
In every war in every country on the globe, commissions have been issued to cer- tain officers for "policy" sake. This plan works all right while troops are on dress
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parade or merely undergoing theoretical training. But when the real test of war comes, when men stand locked in each others' arms in a death grapple for the life of na- tions, then "policy" must be laid aside and men must be elevated to leadership who can get things done - and done quickly.
During actual warfare front-line troops (and not infrequently the support and the reserve) sleep on the ground. Their imme- diate needs consist of Water, Food and Am- munition. Give them food and drink and they can fight with their bayonets and put up quite a defense against infantry troops for awhile. If given plenty of ammunition, but not supplied with food or drink, they can withstand an attack or make one during a period of forty-eight hours; but at the end of that period (many men can only stand it without food or drink for from twenty-four to thirty-six hours), unless supplied, an army will melt away. The great problem in mobile warfare is to keep troops supplied with ammunition, food and water. This re- quires courage, endurance and tact. The larger the theatre of operations, the more
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serious the problem becomes. In our recent World War, owing to the large number of troops engaged, this problem forced those in command to utilize two classes of supply trains - one for food and water and another for ammunition solely.
IN THE SPANISH-AMERICAN WAR
Just so in the Spanish-American war which culminated in the Philippine Insur- rection in which General W. A. Hazle, now Adjutant-General of South Dakota, but who, at that time, was a Lieutenant, distinguished himself. He had enlisted as a private in Co. B, South Dakota State Guards, May 22, 1893 ; had been commissioned 2nd Lieutenant of his company May 9, 1895, and promoted to 1st Lieutenant on June 14, following ; made Captain May 25, 1896, and elevated to Major April 30, 1897, assuming command of the military department of the State Col- lege at Brookings. At the breaking out of the Spanish-American war, in the spring of 1898, when the State Guards were re-formed for actual service, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant and assigned to duty with
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Co. G, 3rd Battallion, First South Dakota Infantry, U. S. Volunteers.
His work as a drill master, guard officer and company commander, while this regi- ment was stationed for a month in Sioux Falls, six weeks in San Francisco and six months in Manila, P. I., inspired confidence and commanded respect. However, when the Philippine Insurrection against the Am- erican army of occupation broke out in the spring of 1899, and Major-General Elwell S. Otis, commander of the American land forces and military Governor-General of the archi- pelago, decided upon an invasion of the Islands to quell the disturbers, Colonel A. S. Frost, commander of the First South Dakota Infantry, - himself a life-long regular army soldier -, knew if he succeeded in keeping his supply train up with his rapidly advanc- ing infantry, he would have to depend upon a man of courage, determination, endurance and quick decision. He therefore detached Lieutenant W. A. Hazle from his duty as a line officer and placed him in charge of the regiment's commissary train. And it must now be said - even though this historical
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acknowledgment may seem a trifle tardy - that much of the success attained by the South Dakota Infantry in the Philippines, and much of the valor won by those men, was due to the splendid support given them by their supply train under Lieutenant Hazle's command. This was especially true at Calumpit where he ordered the pack train, consisting of fifteen ponies, and of two- wheeled carts drawn by caribous, to swim the deep, wide, swiftly flowing Rio Grande river and get supplies to the fearless boys who were backing the Filipino army toward San Fernando, while the latter surrendered their territory foot by foot and left it drenched in their own blood.
On April 13, 1899, while the hard Phil- ippine campaign was in progress, he was commissioned a 1st Lieutenant and assigned to duty with Co. H. While still in charge of the commissary department, he was also placed in command of Co. H - serving in both positions simultaneously, from April 26 to June 6, when the regiment was re- called from the firing line. After serving through the war with distinction, he re-
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turned with his regiment to San Francisco and was mustered out, October 5, 1899.
The legislature of 1901 enacted a new militia law. Under it the South Dakota State Guards were authorized. Governor Herreid appointed S. J. Conklin, of Clark, a veteran of the Civil war, Adjutant-General. Two regiments of infantry - the Second and the Third - in addition to some artillery units, were formed. Lieutenant Hazle could not keep out, and so he re-entered mil- itary life in 1903 and was made Captain in the Third Regt. S. D. S. G., and assigned to duty as Adjutant of the Regiment.
Under an Act of Congress, all State Guards were re-mustered as National Guards. The State Legislature made too small an appropriation to maintain two regi- ments in our state, and so the Second and the Third regiments were merged into the Fourth South Dakota National Guards. On May 16, 1905, Captain Hazle was promoted to Major and took command of the First Squadron of Cavalry. He was transferred from the Cavalry to the Infantry and pro- moted to Lieutenant-Colonel of the Fourth
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Regiment in 1913. He served with them in this capacity on the Mexican border in 1916.
IN THE WORLD WAR
After the United States entered the World War, in 1917, Colonel Hazle was transferred into the Federal Service without loss of rank and ordered to attend the School of Musketry at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, from which he gradu- ated July 31. Then he took a course at the same Fort in School of Fire for Field Artil- lery, from which he graduated in January, 1918.
He departed from New York, February 26, 1918, on board the U. S. A. Transport, "Amerika," and arrived at Brest, France, March 10, 1918. Soon after his arrival, he was assigned to the 102nd Field Artillery, Mass. N. G. In a couple of months he was transferred to his own regiment which had now become the 147th Field Artillery. This artillery was at that time acting as a re- placement unit for the 41st Division. They remained intact and finally became part of the "Iron Brigade" of the famous 32nd Division.
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This Division was placed on the firing line on the Alsace-Lorraine front, July 5, 1918, and Colonel Hazle was made artillery in- structor. From this time on the 147th Field Artillery was continually in the thick of the fighting until the close of the war. They were transferred from place to place and gave sacrificial and devoted service to the troops whom they supported.
Colonel Hazle contributed his full share to the success of his regiment. Indeed, he was given two Croix de Guerre by General Petain, commander of the French armies, for exceptional daring and foresight displayed on the field of battle. At Juvigny, August 28, he saw the opportunity and assumed com- mand of a Brigade of Infantry. He added to it additional artillery troops, threw them all onto the line and held it nearly all day until that Brigade was relieved the following day and a new commander took over the in- fantry. For this heroism, General Petain later issued the following order :
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G. H. Q. of the French armies of the east
Staff
Personnel Office (Decorations)
ORDER NO. 14438 "D" (EXTRACT)
Upon approval of the Commander in Chief of the A. E. F. in France The Mar- shall of France, in command of the French armies of the east, nominates for the roll of honor of the DIVISION.
Lieut. Colonel Wm. A. HAZLE, 147th Field Artillery.
"Gallant and high spirited artillery of- ficer, in charge of the liaison between the infantry brigade and divisional artillery, has greatly contributed, by his activity, to the capture of JUVIGNY, 31 August 1918, and the advance toward TERNY-SORNY 1 September 1918."
G. H. Q. 15 March 1919 THE MARSHALL Commander in Chief of the French armies of the east.
Official The Lt. Colonel Chief of the personnel office.
PETAIN
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A short time later another similar order was issued by General Petain, covering an- other one of Colonel Hazle's meritorious feats; and General Pershing, in an official report, cited him for distinguished service.
"The truly brave, When they behold the brave oppress'd with odds Are touched with a desire to shield and save." - BYRON.
APPOINTED ADJUTANT-GENERAL
His manly record on the field of battle in two wars elicited the profound admiration and support of his comrades; and, at the conclusion of the World War, they united in a request to Governor Peter Norbeck to ap- point him Adjutant-General of the state. This was done February 15, 1920.
From Private to General !
It's a wide range of military promotions, richly deserved and admirably won !
"Soldiers in arms! Defenders of our soil! Who from destruction save us; who from spoil Protect the sons of peace, who traffic or who toil Would I could praise you, that each deed Your foes might honor, and your friends might read." - CRABBE.
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PERSONAL
General Hazle is a descendant of Scotch
parentage. £ He was born at Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, January 13, 1875. The fam- ily migrated to Dakota in 1884, and home- steaded in Potter County.
There were no schools in that region in those early pioneer days; and at the age of fourteen William could not read and write. Then, his opportunity came and he attended rural school for three terms of four months each; and so diligently did he apply himself that at the end of this time, when he was as yet but seventeen years of age, he was able to pass a teacher's examination and secure a Permit to teach. His standings were sufficient to give him a Second Grade, but he was under the age limit required by law. The next year he secured a First Grade Certificate. He taught school for several years.
His yearning for an education was finally gratified when he found a way to enter Brookings College and work his way through school. This he did, graduating as a Bachelor of Science in 1897.
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On June 6, 1900, eight months after his return from the Spanish-American war, he was united in marriage to Miss Flora Ains- worth, of Brookings. Two children - a girl and a boy - came to bless their home; yes, and to lend tragedy to it. After Gen- eral Hazle entered the World War, Mrs. Hazle and the two children, Maurine and Gordon, went to California to live. Gordon contracted Pneumonia. General Hazle se- cured a Leave of Absence, and rushed across the continent to his bedside. The boy died February 10, 1918. They buried him the next day; and the day following his funeral, the General was racing back across the con- tinent on a limited train, in obedience to military orders, to catch the transport "Amerika," which sailed for France on Feb- ruary 26.
Only those who have had similar sorrows can enter into the spirit of an occasion like this !
Says Mrs. Browning in "The Seraphim":
"Death upon his face
Is rather shine than shade,
A tender shine by looks beloved made."
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And Moore comes to our rescue in "Weep Not," when he advises :
"Weep not for those whom the veil of the tomb
In life's happy morning huth hid from our eyes, Ere sin threw a blight o'er the spirit's young bloom,
Or earth had profaned what was born for the skies."
In addition to being a teacher and soldier, General Hazle is a lawyer by profession. He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1907. After his appointment as Adjutant- General, he transferred the military property of the state to Aberdeen, where he practices law, in addition to his official duties.
The General is a member of all Masonic bodies and of the Elks.
HARRY S. HEDRICK
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HARRY S. HEDRICK OUR STATE GAME WARDEN
As one drives eastward on main street in the beautiful little city of Polo, Illinois, across the Illinois Central railway for a short distance and then turns north, parallel to the railway, on one of Illinois' charming graded roads, the first thing his eye catches in the distance, some three miles away on top of a hill - apparently the highest point in the immediate vicinity - is a giant pine tree - perhaps seventy-five to one hundred years old.
Approaching it, one sees other domestic trees, not so tall, circumscribing a beautiful farm home - the birthplace of Harry S. Hedrick, now Game Warden of South Dako- ta. Here it was that he was born on the second day of March, 1873. Here it was that he labored as a farm-boy, did chores, and at- tended rural school in the winter, until he grew to manhood, bade the old folk goodby, and started out in life for himself - at the
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