St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1886-10-28
The Haddock Murder.
Springfield Republican.

The Haddock murder case is likely
to bring more i'll repute upon Sioux
City, Ia, than its open saloons and
gambling bells have done. The officers
Of the law have been singularly in
competent or timid in taking steps to
secure and punish Haddock's murderer
and now there is little likelihood OF
any conviction. First none of the men
suspected of the shooting were arrest
ed, and several rumsellers whom the
evidence duplicates in a conspiracy
''tO lay prohibitionists ont" were al
lowed to flee the town without OppOsi-
ton. The evidence taken before the
coroner was kept secret and the par
ties it duplicates have run away. The
reporters have at last secured this tes-
timony, which shows that two Sioux
city men had agreed to "do up" some
prOhibitionists, but did not carry out
their promise that the saloon keepers
held a meeting a few days before the
murder and another on that day, the
latter being called to arrange for put
ting out of the way offensive prohibi-
ZIONIST; and that at the second meeting
it was understood that one Leavitt had
secured a man or men "tO do the job.
One witness, named DOak, swOre that
he saw this stranger of Leavltt's on the
day of the murder but had not seen
him since. The stranger and Leavitt
have fled, and Doak's testimony i'm
plicates them and several salOOnists
who attended the preliminary meeting
as accessories. One possible reason
for lack of vigOr in the case is indicat-
ed by another phase of the prOsecu-
tons which has developed since the
murder. d. w. Wood, the attorney OF
the law and order league, has been
"selling indulgences" to dealers whose
places have been enjoined by the
courts. A document is produced in
which Wood for $50 agrees not to en-
force the injunctiOns against certain
men until the day before the district
courts should meet. Wood was a
stranger, hired because, before the
Haddock murder, no lawyer in the
county would take up the prosecution.
Since the murder, however, they are
able to secure local counsel, and OF
course Wood steps out.
The murderer will probably escape,
but no one believes that HaddOck
would have been killed had he not
been prominent in trying to enforce the
law, and his death is making prOhibi-
ZIONIST sentiment in Iowa and the
neighbOring states. The case is quot
ed as an illustration of the length to
which the liquor interest will go if
necessary, and will bring the business
into greater disrepute than the open
and persistent violations of the law
have done.
The Need of Railroad Commission.
BrattlebOro Pheni1.
1t is of interest to note that one OF
the weak and hazardous places which
the New York inspector found was on
the New York end of the Addison
railroad operated by the Central Yer
mont company, which strikes off from
Leicester Junction on the Rutland &
Burlington road in this state and
crosses the lower end of Lake Cham
plain into New York near TicOnderO-
ga. The pile and trestle bridge was
found to be "greatly run down in life
of TIMBER" some of the piles were
broken or crushed, and the Inspector
found ''little factor of safety, even
with IA light passenger engine" and re-
ported that 'its actual condition rem
der its use extremely hazardous" We
do not quote. this as having any signif-
icance with regard to the Central Yer
mont lines in general, and we do not
for moment imagine that it at all in
dicates the general condition of the
Central Vermont property as a whole
but fact like this does show that
Vermont needs the same protection
against insecure bridges and rOadbeds
as is provided for the people of New
York and Massachusetts.