Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1902-10-28
A SALOON CLOSED
Refreshments Parlor In West End
Seized BY the Police.
CHARLES STEIN THE PROPRIETOR
Was Behind on His City MuIot Tax
and Failing to Pay Was Put "out
of Business" by the Authorities
Stock Confiscated.

lFrom Mondays Daily.]
| Ottumwa awakened this morning TO
| find that one of her saloons had dis
appeared from the commercial strata
and the prisoners in the city jail
reused from their slumbers Sunday
morning to find that they had slept
All night not ten yards from gallons
of beer, whisky, alcohol, gin, rum and
other fluids which are used to quench
a thirst but seldom succeed. Charles
Stein, who for about month has con-
Quoted a saloon at the corner of Clay
and Sherman streets, in the West End,
was among the first to find out about
the matter, when Chief of Police
John Gray, accompanied by Captain
Gallagher and the police patrol wagon,
stopped at the door Of the saloon
shortly after 10 o'clock Saturday
night, walked into the place Of bust.
ness, read a search warrant, and pro.
ceeded to confscate all the liquid
stock in the place, which was loaded
into the wagon and taken to the city
hall There it was locked in one Of
| the steel cages usually used to hold
unruly prisoners.
Tax Was Unpaid. RI
The trouble all arose from the fact
that MI. Stein did not pay $76 exact.
ed by the city each month from saloon
keepers as mulct tax according to the
law. The money was due October /,
in advance but as the saloon had only
started the city authorities were leni-
ent with MI. Stein and gave him
time in which to pay his first months
tax. However, he had paid none OF
it Saturday, and Chief Gray, to whom
the collecting of this tax falls as 81
duty, visited Mr.. Stein at his place of
business in the afternoon. He was
asked to return at 7o'clock, when IL
was thought the money would be in
the cash drawer.
Not at Home.
The officer of the law made second
trip to the saloon in the evening, but
was informed by the bartender thab
the proprietor had just stepped out
for supper. However, the chief noticed
that he had been in the saloon only
a few seconds when the bartender
made trip to the back room, closing
the door carefully behind him.
Chief Gray waited long enough to
allow the man to eat two suppers but
before the time was out he had ar.
rived at the conclusion that Mr.. Stein
had purposely eluded him and accord
ingly he set out to get a search war
rent, after collecting from the bar
tender $40 on account.
Gets Search Warrant.
Judge e. G. Moon, of the police
court, was out of the city and Justice
o. l.. Campbell was called from his
home to the city hall to write the war
rent. Armed with the writ Chief
Gray and Captain Gallagher set out
in the patrol wagon for the saloon, ar
irving there shortly after closing time
and finding the proprietor in.
A Moving Saloon.
The warrant was duly read and the
work OF stocking the patrol wagon as
moving saloon began. All kinds of
booze" was included in the roundup,
and the space between the seats in the
wagon was nicely filed While the
work was in progress a crowd Of
thirsty by-standers forgot their feel
ing of pity for the saloon keeper in
their EXPLANATIONS of regret at seeing
so much good booze" confiscated.
Many were the inquiries made of the
police as to the sewer that was to ba
1 favored with the contents of the
battles.