The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-09-17
SOCIAL OFFENDER
CLUB WILL BE PRE-
sENTED TO THE GRAND JURY.
AN OPEN TIPPLING HOUSE.
30 IT is ALLEGED THE CLUB HAS
PRESERVED ON SUNDAY.

3Authentic Information That the
Club VIII BE Presented to the Grand
Jury on Friday, when lhe Next
session OF That Body Will he Held.
All other Clubs of the City, 1t Is
4 Understood, Have Complied With
the Request of Good Government
n League-Mr- Wilson Refuses TO
i Confirm the Statement That the
OgIethorpe Club Will Re ProSecut-
ed, but Says Exactly the Same
Rule VIII BE Made to Apply to All.
The Oglethorpe Club will be present.
led to the next session of the grand
Hurry of the Superior Court for the al
Hleged offense of keeping open a tipping
house on Sunday. 1t is understood that
{ all the other clubs of the city have
compiled with the request of the Good
Government League, and that the
sOgethorpe Club is the only offender
AGAINST whom the anger of the league
lis directed.
The request made by the Good Gov
4ernment League was that the clubs of
! the city, which have among their
members the leading and most influen-
4 tial citizens, would close their bars on
Sunday and thus present a good ex-
ample to the less influential and prom
inent. 1t was urged by the attorney
for the league that no good work could
4 be done in enforcing the law against
keeping open tipping houses on Sun
4 day, when the clubs were permitted to
violate the law, and the boards of gov
errors of the several social organiza-
stions were urged to comply with it's
letter and spirit.
This was several weeks ago. 1t is a
i well known fact that all the clubs in
/ the city other than the Oglethorpe have
compiled with the request of the Good
Government League and have closed
|up their bars on Sunday. From the
lOglethorpe Club it has never been pos
sible to secure any authentic informa-
'tion, and representatives of the league
say that the law against keeping open
Ia tipping house on Sundays has been
consistently and invariably violated by
Iers and threats have been alike with
fact that at the next session of the
grand jury the club will be called to
account for it's violation of the law.
Under the law of the state, the club
lean be prosecuted as a corporation, and
1.-The fines and costs of the prosecution
assessed against and collected from it.
pr is not necessary that any officer of
the club should be selected and made
|the defendant in the criminal action
that win be instituted. The corporate
kntty itself may be made to pay the
Pine and costs, if it should be adjudged
sguilty of a violation of the law
1t has been rumored on the streets
For several days that at the next ses-
Sion of the grand jury the Oglethorpe
Club would be prosecuted for its Vio-
lation of the law in question, and while
the confirmation of the report is con-
elusive, it is not yet official. On yes
terday Mr. II. e. Wilson, attorney and
counsel for the Good Government
League, was asked what he intended to
do, but refused to answer specific ques-
tons on the subject. Mr.. Wilson was
asked the direct question if the Ogle-
thorpe Club was not to be presented to
the grand jury for violation of law
keeping open a tipping
house on Sunday, but refused to re-
turn a direct answer. From other
the information comes directly
and with every appearance of anthem
ticity, and there can be but little doubt
that on Friday the grand jury will be
CALLED upon to investigate the question
and decide whether or not probable
cause exists to bring the club before the
bar of the court.
You may say this much for me-"
said Mr. Wilson. 81 do not feel it
would be right to enforce the law, or
to enforce it, against any one
of the clubs unless it is enforced at the
same time against all, and 1 shall GER
tainly attempt to make any action I
shall take in the matter universal. No
distinctions will be drawn