The Portland daily press., 1896-01-21
OBSCENE LITERATURE.
A Big Haul Made By the Officers Last
Night.

The Watch and Ward Society and Police
Both Take Hand-Two Nouns Lads
Arrested aud a Printer Charged With
Getting Out the Stuff.
Marshal Trickey, the police force, Mr..
Adam leighton, manager for Chisholm
Bros. and Mr.. E. E. Davies, represent
ing the Watch and Ward society OF Bos-
ton, are to be congratulated on an ex-
oellent piece of work that eliminated last
night in the arrest of man who has
been engaged through several news boys
who sell periodicals on the Maine Central
and Boston and Maine roads in dissent
mating books Of the vilest description
over the lines of those corporations.
AS early as last summer the Watch and
Ward society through Mr.. Davies, were
satisfied that there was a quantity of stuff
of the kind referred to, emanating from
Portland, and they knew that it was be-
ing sold over the Boston and Maine and
Maine Central roads. They also knew
that the right to sell books aud papers
Chisholm Bros. and Armstrong at high
prices and that these firms were careful
to prevent any sale of anything but pure
literature. 1t happened that an agent of
Chisholm Bros. at st. Albans, VT, after
great efforts had been made to ascertain
who was selling the stuff. received an Or
der that had been forwarded from Port
land to him, the sender evidently think
ing him good man to dispose of the
goods. He Immediately sent it to Mr..
leighton the manager of Chisholm Bros,
and that gentleman sent it to Mr.. Davies,
who Immediately put one of his young
men on the Case. Saturday morning the
young man succeeded in purchasing
quantity of the disgusting literature
from lad nam I'D Wallace NJ. Golf en-
ployed by Chisholm Bros, en- the Maine
Central to sell books and papers From
other evidence he gathered from ssGoff, he
was able to justify Marshal Trickey
yesterday morning in putting his men on
the case and they all worked like beavers
SO that about 6 p. m. the Marshal ordered
Officer Craig to go to No. 10 Franklin
street and arrest one Robert g. johnson
a printer.
When Officer Craig reached the house
for he came down the back stairs and
started on the run. The officer saw him
and gave chase. A first class sprinting
race ensued, but tho officer caught up
with his man as he lodged into an alley
way on Oxford street, and took him to
the station. In the meantime Golf had
been arrested, and also a young man
named Arthur L. Kicker, aged nineteen
years, who is employed by Armstrong
and runs on the Boston and Maine.
A big valise was captured atJohnson's,
containing 145 copies of Living Pictures
a series of the grossest kind of wood cuts
sold for one dollar dozen copies-301
copies of Adam and Eve. and 211 copies
of the indecent story called Maggie
There were Is bound copies of Adam and
Eve, and one of Maggie and five wood
cuts from which the pictures were re-
produced.
johnson is about 25 years OF age and
employed by MI. Bacon, the printer, who
found that johnson had used his bill
heads and paper for his correspondence
He says that he has to go to Boston for
his orders and then his printing office is
left in Johnson's charge who had ample
opportunity to work at his printing with
out interruption. The Marshal also says
that johnson used to work at night after
Bacon had locked up the shop and gone
home.
1t must not be imagined that the
young men employed to sell literature on
the railroad lines as a rule would be
guilty of such thing The men are
youths of excellent character. but
occasionally black sheep will creep in.
In the case of young Golf he was sus-
pected because he had done some crooked
business in the past, which had been con-