I received a file recently from the Franklin County chief assistant district attorney, Jack Delehanty, that he had discovered in his county office. Documents in the file contained the extensive paperwork and numerous photos of evidence that pertained to a court case involving area residents and local geographic points of interest.
Attorney Delehanty explained that he felt not only did the case contain interesting material of local import and judicial procedures, but it also was of some historical significance, and I think readers will agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Delehanty. The file will be protected with acid-proof envelopes and placed in the town’s archival records. Here, they will be available for future generations to research and gain insight into some aspects of those early pioneer days.
The photos depicting the logging equipment of that time period are especially valuable historically, and this column is indebted to A.D.A. Delehanty for his insight and courtesy in making the file available.
Much of the paperwork in the file is written in longhand with stick pen and ink, as was the custom in those days before the invention of the fountain pen or ballpoint pen. The penmanship is exceptional in the style then known as “Palmer Method,” and it is of particular interest as educators worry that today’s wired generation in this cyber age may be losing their penmanship as they depend more and more on the computer and its keyboard.
Before we review the court case charges, here is a brief background to set the location and introduce the “culprit.” As you will note, the incident took place approximately six miles south of this village. That would place it near today’s Rock Island Bay but on the original Tupper-Long Lake Road that lay east of today’s Rte. 30 and the Rock Island rest area.
The charges were against Clayton Elliot, age 47, head of the Elliot Hardwood Company, which at that time (1927) was operating a mangle roller plant on the former site of Hurd’s Big Mill on Demars Boulevard. The Elliot firm had a seven-year contract with Litchfield Park for blocks taken from trees over 16 inches in diameter, a condition that was a part of the Litchfield forestry plan under Floyd Hutchins Sr., the park’s superintendent (i.e. cut half of the mature trees plus half of the younger trees over a certain size). We will expand on both the location and the Elliot firm later, which will provide a glimpse of the historical interest involved.
The Situation
Elliot had placed his log loader on the highway from which he offloaded
logs brought in by horse and sleigh from the cutting operation on Litchfield
lands. The loader then transferred the logs to a truck (also on the
highway) for transport to the Tupper mill. This, of course, blocked
the entire highway for periods often up to an hour, enraging motorists
traveling to or from Long Lake.
What follows is a timeline as the complaints went forward and the various agencies became involved:
Jan. 27: Local attorney Francis Slater writes a letter to Bureau of Highways commissioner A.W. Brondt. In his letter, Mr. Slater asks, “Has a permit to place a log loader on highway been issued to Elliot?” Mr. Slater doesn’t indicate if he represents a client, and there is no further correspondence from him in the file.
Feb. 4: The commissioner fires back the terse reply, “No such permit was issued.” He directs Major John Warner, state police superintendent, Albany, to remove the Elliot operation within the highway limits at once.
Feb. 10: Lieut. Gorenflo of Troop B has a conversation with Clayton Elliot in Tupper Lake that evening. Elliot states that he is owner of the machine, and he placed or directed said machine to be placed in the highway.
Feb. 12: Lieut. Gorenflo returns to Tupper-Long Lake highway with state police photographer G.W. Bouchard. Numerous photos are taken (later to become “People’s Exhibit A, B, C, D, E, F, G” to show correctly the location of the loader and the manner in which the highway is blocked by the operation).
Feb. 16: Lieut. Gorenflo appears before local Justice of the Peace John Chalmers and requests a warrant for the arrest of Elliot.
Questions
- Why wasn’t Elliot simply told by the N.Y. State Police to remove the loader, given the fact that it constituted a public nuisance and was illegal? No indication is found in the files that such an order was issued to, or ignored by, Elliott.
- Why was the bail set so incredibly high? The going wage of $.38 per hour tells us that $1,000 was a huge sum at that time, and the risk of flight was minimal.
- Why did Elliot waive examination and risk the action and expense of a grand jury hearing for such a low-level violation?
Next: The Chamber of Commerce drafts a letter signed by prominent citizens asking Judge Main for clemency. Witnesses are found, a jury selected and a date set for grand jury proceedings.