News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1896-05-14
T.. j. BOOTH.
More About the Banquets-Whsn Wine
Was Served.

Ed. BOOTH.
More About the Banquets-When Wine
Was Served.
f. j. Booth of Burlington, manager of the
j. r. Booth lumber yard, testified in regard
to the banquets and other matters as fol-
lows:-
O. Did you attend any of these banquets
given by the commercial travellers assoca-
ton where wine was seTvedg A. | have.
Q. DOu you remember the occasion, when
1t was? A. | remember one occasion when
/ was president of the association.
@. What year was that? A. | think 1t
was about seven years ago; seven or eight.
Q. And wine was served on that occasion?
A. Yes.
Q. Was you on the committee that ar
ranged about the wine? A. No, sir.
Q. l don't know as you know anything
about how the wine got there? A. do,
Q. You may tell us what you know about
It? A. At q meeting of the officers of the
association it was voted that we should have
wine at the banquet, and as soon as it became
known that wine was TO be served, Gov.
Woodbury. waited upon me, as | was presi-
dent of the association, and objected to hav-
ing wine served at the hotel, and said he
would not give his consent to allow 1t to be
served at the hotel, and wished that l would
not serve wine at that banquet. l
told him that 1t was beyond my power,
that it was in the hands of the committee,
and they had voted unanimously to serve
wine, and he told me that no servant OF the
house could have anything to do with the
wine; / told him that we would manage that
ourselves. The committee can't say who
the committee were, have forgotten their
names-sent to New York and brought the
wine here and we hired man at that time
to pack 1t in ice and take charge of it, and we
had the management of 1t in the dining room.
We allowed the house no commission nor
anything of the kind on the wine.
@. How were the tickets for that banquet
purchased? A. They were sold by members
of the association.
@. Were any sold by manager of the hotel:
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. Do you know that they were not? A.
/ think they were not that year.
O. But some years they have been? A.
dou't know; never have known that.
Q. You say the governor declined to fur
nsh servants, but he was willing to furnish
rooms?
By Mr.. Foster: He doesn't say that.
A. say the governor objected to having
1t served in the house, to me, personally.
Question repeated. A. No, he declined to
furnish room, he declined to have it served
In the house.
@. How did you get it done? A. told
him we were going to do it and we did do It,
@. You took the house by storm and had
It? A. We did, sir, on that occasion.
Q. What compensation did the house gel
for 1t? A. Nothing.
Q. There was no pay at all? A. No, sir.
Q. For your going there? A. They gOt
pay for our supper, but they gave us spe.
clal price-a separate price, same as they
have every year after, and they would desig'
nate what they would give for so much
money; they would designate on a bill OF
fare what they would give us for the supper
but no wine.
Q. How much did you pay for it, In the
bulk, or did you pay so much plate? A
We had to pay, in settling, in the bulk. but il
was figured so much plate-75 cents, per.
haps.
@. You didn't know the number and took
your chancesl A. We had to guarantee 70
think, to be at the banquet.
@. And the price was so much plate for
at least Is? A. Yes.
Q. And how did you pay; did the commit
tee settle with the hotel? A. Yes.
Q. They kept track of the number OF
plates2 A. Yes.
Q. That is the only time you have been
on the committee of arrangement so you
have known anything about 1t? A. No, sir
have been on committee before,
q. Earlier than thatY A. That year
served as president.
q. Have you been on the committee since
A. No, sir.
q. How many times before have you beeI
on the committee ofmanagement? A. Once
and possibly twice; l wouldn't say positive
twice.
Q. You remember that once? A. Yes.
Q, Did Gov. Woodbury. object then? A
He did, sir.
@. And was the same process gone through
with? A. Yes.
Q. He objected, but allowed you to do it
A. Yes.
''BeII Boy" Experience.
Q. Upon any other occasion, aside iron
these banquets, have you had intoxicating
beverages of any kind served to you in tina
hotel, In any part of it, ever since Mr.. Wood
bury has been proprietorY A. Only once.
Q. When was the occasion? A. 1t was a
the time of the adjustment Of our insurance
at the time of our fire.
@. State the circumstances? A. Their
were eight or ten insurance men from Bos
ton and New York here that met me at tn
hotel, and we were in a room up stairs, AM
when we got through business one of thes
men hired boy, gave him some money
don't know how much 1t waste 20 out OF
the street and get some beer, lager beer.
DEW