The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-02-20
MIR. PALENsKE DISPUTED.
The w. G. T. q. Tells of A1ma's Pro-
hibitory Violations.
Alma, Feb. 20.

To the Editor Of the State Journal:
Some of the statements made by L.
PalenSke, representative form Wabaun-
see county, in the Journal of the 18th,
in giving his views on the prOhibitory
law and resubmission certainly call for
an answer.
The statement that I'm Alma we have
had for the last five years from two to
three open joints or saloons is only too
true, but how can Mr.. Palenske say
that the county attorneys ever made
any attempts to get evidence against
them or that the assistant attorney gen.
erals ever came here to make any in
VestigationS!
J. T. Keagy, the police Judge of AL
ma testified in court two weeks ago that
his court was somewhat migratory; he
sometimes holding 1t in the saloon of
J. H. McMahan, receiving the fine of
SIS and then, although as matter of
fact complaint had been made, he
made the entry on his record to the eff
feet that the city marshal had made
complaint against said McMahan for
selling one drink of beer to a German
or colOred man, name well known, gen
orally, and McMahan did then plead
guilty and paid a fine of $25-
Four years ago the Woman'S Law and
Order league here, through their attOr-
ney, S. B. Bradford, prevailed upon the
Populist county attorney to let him help
him a little, and as a result a perma-
nent injunction was issued by Judge
Thompson of the district court against
McMahan-and with that injunction
over him he ran his saloon openly dur
ing the remainder of that attorneys
term and during the entire two years
term of J. B. Barnes, who was the next
county attorney, although grand jury
furnished plenty of evidence for Barnes
to use, nine months ago.
And as to the state officers it is hard
1y probable that any assistant attorney
general came here to hold Investigations
when the attorney general himself
would pay no attention to our appeals.
Attorney General Ives became quite
indignant over the idea of being ap-
pealed to in the matter when one of our
ladies called upon him; and Attorney
General Dawes treated our letters to
him with unbroken silence for months
and then wrote as that he would not
interfere with the county attorney here
as he believed him to be fully able and
competent to attend to his business
Last fall when Mr.. Dawes came here to
lecture, our w. G. T. U. took the oppor-
tunity to ask him to investigate ma t.
tiers for himself. Eight of us called up
on him and after an interview lasting
over an hour, he assured US that he
would look around while here and in
vestigate the matter what he could and
! write US soon as he returned to To-
peka.
Of course we did not hear from him
but those who saw him and heard him
lecture that evening were convinced
that he had made the promised ''investi-
CATION
The grand jury last May indicted nine
men with an average of 20 counts
against each, and County Attorney J.B.
Barnes so arranged his bills of indict-
mentS that when the cases came to trial
this month each man could be tried on
only one count. For instance there were
46 counts against J. H .McMahan but
County Attorney Barnes had made the
papers out SO that he could only be
tried on one count, and yet Mr.. Pa
lenske implies that the grand jury was
the failure and the cause of great ex-
pense to the county. AS matter of
fact the grand jury cost about 5000.
! He says that almost a week was
wasted in the trial of this McMahan
case, whereas it began sometime We'd
nesday afternoon and closed before dark
Thursday afternoon. OF course the jury
! hung, in spite of the evidence, but some
day when the jury does not hang the
county will not be out. from $4,000 to
! So. 5000 and accomplish nothing"
OF the other eight men indicted two
have been convicted, one could not be
tried at this time, owing to absence of
witness, one has not yet had his trial
| but will be called this week, two left