Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1898-01-21
MIR. BURDETTE
DID IT."
COLLEGE STUDENTS MYSTFY
THE PROH!B!TiONISTS.

THE PROH!BlTlONISTS.
4 Hot Time in Il Temperance
Town-Drank Champagne But
Nobody Rncw Where 1t Came
From = Burdcttc. the Guest,
Made the ScaregOat.
New York sun.
"This discussion about the sale OF
liquors at the Princeton inn recalls an
umusing experience that | had i'll a
strictly temperance college town a
dozen or more years ago." said man
at the Universary Club one night last
week. Amherst was the college, and
for several years it had been pro-
hibition town. The townspeople made
a great effort to enforce the excise law
very strictly, and there were times
when they accused the college men OF
not being in sympathy with them.
1t is quite possible that the accusation
had some foundation in fact. There
are occasions, as every college man
knows, when excise law must not be
permitted to obstruct hospitality.
"We had a small class society in
my senior year, which was composed
of several men from each of the
regular fraternities, and it made a
point of entertaining at supper such
distinguished visitors as came to
Amherst with the reputation of being
good fellows. Bob Burdette, the
humorist, was the last guest of the
club. Burdette delivered lecture at
Amherst, and our senior society in
timated that we should feel ourselves
highly honored by his presence at a
little supper after the lecture. Bur
dette sent back word that the pleasure
would be his, and so the supper was
ordered at hotel then very popular
with the students. The stewart of the
society was ordered to see that rea-
sonable amount of champagne should
be near at hand in case Burdette or
any one else was tempted to drink a
glass. He was instructed not to COM
promise the proprietor of the hotel in
any way, because ne was a good fellow,
ang a conviction of violating the ex-
else law would bring heavy fine and
imprisonment on him. When the
supper was served Burdette was on
hand and so was the champagne. For
obvious reasons the hotel walters were
not asked to serve the wine. When
bottle was called for the man who sat
at the head of the table opened the
folding doors behind him, stuck his
hand through and brought back
bottle. No one knew who had placed
it in his hand or where the wine had
been purchased, except the member OF
the society who had acted as the stew
ard for this occasion.
"It was a pleasant little supper.
Burdette told us some stories that were
new, and we told him some that he
had never heard. incidentally the
champagne disappeared in the way it
was intended to 60, and every one sup
posed that nothing further would be
said about it. Burdette left town for
the West the next morning, and a
week later the men who entertained
him were surprised to receive subpenas
to appear at the trial of the hotel
keeper ON the charge of violating the
excise law. 1t developed later that
livery-stab.e-keeper who had grudge
against the hotel men had given the
information on which the complaint
was based. We were very much bored
about the affair, and it was decided
that the hotel-keeper must be pro-
tected.
"When the case was called the first
witness summoned was member OF
the society who hailed from Chicago.
The prosecutor learned from him that
supper had been given at his hotel
on the evening mentioned in the
complaint to Mr.. Burdette.
"Was any wine served?' asked the
prosecutor.
"Yes.'
"What was it?'
"I looked and tasted very much
like champagne
"'Where did it come from?'
"Why, from behind the folding
DOORS answered the Chicago man, in
nocently.
"Who put it there?'
"I don't know. Perhaps Mr.. Bur-
dette did,
"Another senior was called, and he
couldn't testify definitely about the
champagne.
"Who brought it to the hotel?
asked the prosecutor.
perhaps Mr.. Burdette did, was his
reply.
"Ten more seniors were put on the
stand and rs each one in turn sug-