Fargo newsboys were shocked to learn of a betrayal among their own ranks on this day in 1907. A bundle of newspapers had been stolen from the depot of the Great Northern station on this evening, and several of the city’s newsboys were under suspicion for the act. The Fargo ‘newsies’ had “...long enjoyed a most enviable reputation for honesty and the theft of [a] bundle of newspapers...by one of their number...caused considerable alarm.” The newsies were insistent on finding the culprit, and actively sought out leads on the case.

Finally, on February 12, police apprehended a Moorhead youth for the act. The boy claimed that he had sold the stolen papers, but that he had purchased them from another newsboy. As the boy could not “establish the identity” of the mystery-seller, he was held accountable for the act, and the Fargo newsies celebrated the justice system that cleared the name of their honorable profession.

Source:
The Fargo Forum and Daily Republican (Evening ed.). February 12, 1907: p. 4.

--Jayme L. Job

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