July 17, 2025
HAD GOOD CIVIL WAR RECORD.
Aged Applicant for Parole Says Son
Was Knighted for Bravery.
Anderson J. Barker, 69 years old, was fined $500 Wednesday for running an alleged "fake" employment agency, wore only a pair of overalls and a short-sleeved shirt when he appeared before the board of pardons and paroles yesterday for hearing on his application for parole, but despite the costume his appearance was that of a stately gentleman of the "old school."
After telling of his service to his country during the civil war, during which he was twice breveted for meritorious conduct on the field, tears streamed down his cheeks as he told of how he had reared his two sons, both of whom, he said, were heads of Y. M. C. A. organizations, one in a suburb of Chicago and the other in Calcutta, India.
"For saving the life of Lord Frazier in Calcutta on November 9 last," said the aged man, his eyes suffused with tears, "my boy Ben was made a knight by King Edward VII of England on February 9 of this year. The king also decorated him with a gold medal for bravery. My other son, Edwin, is a thirty-second degree Mason.
"I have been engaged in one business in this city for seven years. The police judge heard only the testimony of a policeman and the complainant, and said: 'Five hundred dollars.' I never committed a crime in my life."
While discussing the matter of parole, Barker said he would withdraw his application, and appeal. He did not wish to bear the stigma of having to report to the secretary every week. The board told him there was no stigma attached to a parole and promised to look into his references today, when he may be granted freedom.
Labels: Civil War, clothing, England, parole board, police court, Seniors, veterans
