The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1893-06-22
PERMCI0US TRAFFIC
In Obscene Verses, Books, Pictures
and the Like
70BE BROKEN UP ON ONE RAILROAD
Some Filthy Publications Traced to
a Man of Varied Pursuits, IucIud.
Ing Publishing a Newspaper, Run
ming a Bank and experimenting u
Sunday School = He and u News
agent Held for tho Grand Jury.

It came to the knowledge Of the Balti-
more & Ohio company that agents Of
the Union News Company were abusing
their opportunities to sell on the COM
pany's trains a very rank variety Of OBJ
scene literature. Determined to put u
stop to the vicious practice the railroad
company set out to discover who was
furnishing the poison. N. B. Outer,
superintendent Of the Pittsburgh di.
vision, took the matter In hand, and
his men soon got on the scent The
first arrest wa made on the Pittsburgh
division by Baltimore & Ohio Detective
Sheppard.
O. s. Howell, OF the claims depart
ment, came to Wheeling to see what
could be gathered here. He got on the
trail OF W. B, Jones, q news agent whom
he followed on tho westbound train.
While the boy wasNaway from his trunk
Mr.. Howell went through 1t and was re-
warded by the discovery Of o roll Of
printed stuff containing as filthy
rhymes as ever polluted white paper,
T~olegraphing for an officer to meet him
at Cambridge Mr.. Howell handed tho
culprit over at that place and the mayor
committed him to jail.
Jones at first refused to tell where he
got the obscene literature, but was
finally induced to tell all he knew. He
said he did not know the name Of the
man who supplied thn printed matter,
but said no lived in Butler, Ohio, and
gave q description OF him. Ho ex-
planned further that the man was In
the habit Of coming on the train and
delivering him the rhymes at the rate
OF $40 per 1000 copies, which he sold al
prices varying from fifteen to fifty
cents, the price being suited to the GUS
tomer and averaging about twenty-five
cents q copy, or $3.50 on an investment
Of $40.
Mi. Howell went to Butler and found
u man answering the description, but
by reason Of the position he held in the
community, hesitated to have him ar
rested, fearing o mistake. At this
jnncture tho newsboy, Jones, wa taken
to Butler TO identify the man who sold
him the contraband goods. He was
the man Mr.. Howell had hesitated to
have arrested, ]. L. Barr, publisher OF
the Cyclone, banker, liveryman, dealer
in fence posts and cross ties, pianos and
organs, compounder of condition pow
ders and superintendent Of a Sunday
school. Being confronted, Barr weaS-
ened and admitted tho truth OF the
charge, and was placed under $500 bail.
The news agent was committed to
Jail in Mansfield to DO held rs a witness.
He aays that the same thing 10 being
done on other railroads. People want
the stuff and the news boys sell it to
them, verses, books, pictures, anything
they want. He refers to tho Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe as one OF the roads
on which Everything Is wide.open."
The offense for which Barr Is to be pro-
secuted Is sternly dealt with in Ohio.
The penalty Is n fno Of not lesa than
$500 nor more than $1,000, or from ono
to five years in the p%enitentiary, or fine
and imprisonment, at the discretion OF
the court. This case will be pushed by
r R, Burke, superintendent Of the
Union news company, who is deter.
mined to break up the nasty traffic.