The Portland daily press., 1898-03-25
1t Was a Hot Show According to
Witnesses.
HEARING YESTERDAY BEFORE
GOVERNOR AND COUNCIL.
The story of Sweet Aunabel and the Skin
Games Reviewed-Councii Decides
That 1t Cannot Pension Show.
Especial TO THE PREss.l


Augusta, March "a. The Governor and
Council this evening listened to some
picturesque descriptions of the York
county fair.as one that has been run with
I'D to date features and its gates wide
OMEN. The State of Maine in it's generosity
and with view to encourage agriculture
allows to the fairs sum OF money an
nually based ON the attendance and the
further proviso that the laws of the state
relating to liquor selling and gambling
shall not be violated. Secretary b.
Walker Mokeen of the board of agricul-
ture has objected to the payments of the
stipends for 1896 and 1897 to the York
county show and the fair people asked
for a hearing that they might answer
these objections and show the Governor
and Council that theirs was meritorlous
exhibition and entitled to the state alo
for tho two years which amounts to about
$780, The officers of the fair were here
tonight and SO were Hon. B. b. Hamll-
ton and Hon. J. o. Bradbury their at
torneys. while Hon. A. NJ. Spear repre-
sented MI. McKeen. The hearing was
enliyened by good deal of testimony
about young woman who was advertised
as the dancer who stopped the Seeley
dinner. An aged farmer also told how
he had lost S33 trying to make ball roll
into a hole in board and young man
who seemed to feel deeply on the subject
of the evils he described said that he could
NOT exaggerate them even if he had the
pen of Dickens.
After brief opening of the case by Mr..
Smear, Mr.. McKeen made a statement.
The fun began when he quoted from ad
yertisements OF the fair the statements:
nOur motto for 1S96-Free and Easy"
eaAll fakirs admitted.
sMorse will be there
I understand, said Mr.. McKeen that
Morse is the man who manages the pool
selling. Mr.. McKeen told how he visited
the fair in 1896 and saw games of chance
in operation which nobody was attempt
ing to stop. Mr.. McKeen favored the
Governor and Council with extracts from
the premium list of 1897, in which the
fair management offered what they de-
scribed as $4,000 IN prizes based on the
nearest guesses to the number of paid ad-
missions each ticket holder having a
guess and the prizes including the race
track and the grand stand. 1t was in the
premium list this year that the patrons of
the fair were reminded that Annabsl who
stopped the Seeley dinner would be there.
She also figured in big poster which Mr..
MeKeen produced. This is the way in
which the poster referred to Annabel:
Oh, Annabel, sweet Annabel.
She will be there,
She's 0. &.
She stopped the Seeley dinner.
Mr.. Hamilton asked. Mr.. McKeen did
you go to the fair in 1872"
"No, sir"
"Had you seen the poster before the
fairS" (Laughter.)
Mr.. McKeen also recited the fact of the
expulsion of Mr.. j. F. Barrett from the
National Trotting association on charges
of buying pools on race at this fair
when he was acting as judge.
Mr.. Uriah A. Kane Of Kennebunk, for
% years telegraph operator in the en-
pIoy of the Boston and Maine railroad
was the next witness to arouse interest
and amusement. He had paper on which
he had recorded his impressions of the
fair and his remarks sounded like an old
fashioned temperance speech. He said in
the course of them:
"It was an absolute impossibility for a
man who could see not to know they
were there and If he was blind the
cappers-in would get him up. There
were all kinds of games from the she'll
game up The victims were the old grand
fathers and the boys from our country
towns I saw one OLD man lose $50 or $40
and after had tried to pull him away
one of the cappers said to me: Young
man do you know the eleventh command
ment? 1 said: what is it?' He said:
Mind your own business. showed him
my badge as constable in my own town
and he shrunk away. Yes, sir; I saw
LIQUOR selling under the grand stand
| There were four or five bartenders and
the crowd was so dense that II man laid
down a bill he stood very little chance of
getting his change, and if he was SO dis
posed he could get his drink and go away
without paying"
On oross-examination by Mr.. Bradley,
the witness became even more animated.
He said that the language used around
the gambling tables was outrageous and
vulgar SO that ladies had to hurry by.
Yes, sir; did say something to the
officers. asked four or five to make
arrests and they said they wouldn't with
out a warrant. 1 asked what was the
matter with my swearing out warrant
and they said: "Young man, do you
know that if we arrested the principals
we should have to arrest these who
lanes C.. Davis