The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-09-09
BAD ST. LOUISANS
BENCH WARRANTS ISSUED FOR
EIGHTEEN.
SOLD CITY LEGISLATION.
DELEGATE MURRELL GIVES THE
GAME AWAY.

Came Back From Mexico to Confess.
A Combine of Nineteen Formed to
Get Money for VOtes-Recefved
$4,000 for Suburban Bill and SAT-
500 for Lighting Bills-Murren
Held the Key to the Money Box
and Now Says He Is Tired of Being
Made the Scapegoat.
st. Louis. Sept S.-A sensation was
caused to-day by the issuance of bench
warrents for the arrests of eighteen
member and former members of the
House of Delegates on the confession
of Delegate ]. K Murrell, who fed to
Mexico last spring after being indict-
ed for bribery by the December grand
Jury in connection with the alleged
boodling operations of the municipal
assembly in relation to the granting
of street railroad franchises, and who
unexpectedly returned to the city
through the efforts of the St. Louis
Post-Dispatch and surrendered. Muir
rell is now in the custody of Circuit
Attorney Folk. and will, it is stated,
be granted immunity from punishment
for turning states evidence.
Following are the names of the al
legged combine members for whom
bench warrants were issued. charging
bribery and perjury in connection
with suburban street railway and
other legislation: E. e. Murrell, J.
H. Schnettler Charles F. Kelly. T. e.
Albright, George F. Robertson. Louis
Decker, John Helms, Charles A. Gutke,
Adolph MADEIRA, H. A. Faulkner, Julius
Lehman, Edmund Bersch Otto Schu-
macher, John A. Sheridan. Charles ].
Denny. William Tamblyn, ]. j. Han
Eigan and Emile Hartman.
Warrants were served on j.. E.
Murrell, Schnettler, Albright, Robert
son, Helms, Gutke, Faulkner, Schu-
macher and Hannigan. Albright and
Faulkner were released on bonds of
$50, 900 each. The others arrested were
allowed to go to their respective homes
in the custody of deputy sheriffs. who
will remain with the accused until they
shall have furnished surety for their
appearance in court when the cases
are called for trial. With the ex-
ception of William Tamblyn, who was
q member of the last House of Dele
gates and is now said to be in CIeve-
land, all the indicted delegates are be-
lieved to be in the city.
The police are watching the bridge
and other possible avenues of escape
from the city and 1t will be difficult
for any of the indicted men to remain
long out of the hands of the law.
MurreII's Confession.
J. K Murrell made the following
statement for publication to-day
II have surrendered Internationally
to the circuit attorney and have made
a full and free confession. / could no
longer stand the agony I endured as
a fugitive from justice, and the wrong
done me by the parties just as guilty
as l, who made me their cats paw.
II held the key to the box in the
Lincoln Trust Company containing the
SIS, 900 bride money to go to the House
of Delegates upon the passage of the
suburban bill. This money was put up
as the purchase price for the votes of
the combine, that price having been
agreed upon.
1.-THE combine of the House of Dele
gales was composed or nineteen men.
This combine held frequent meetings
in the room adjoining the House of
Delegates chamber.
There, most of the schemes to get
money for votes were concocted. When
the suburban matter came NV be-
fore the combine / was selected to
negotiate with Philip Stock, the rep
resentative of the Suburban Railway,
as to the best price we could get for
our votes upon the passage of the
bill. / reported the various negotia-
tions to the combine meetings and
was instructed by the combine from
time to time what to do.
when the price was agreed on they
designated me as the person to hold
the key to the box containing the $75,-
900 which we were to get when the
bill was passed and signed by the
mayor.
''The purpose of the combine was to
control legislation and sell legislation
for the benefit of the combine. Shortly
before the Suburban bill, the combine
sold their votes on the lighting bills
for $47,500
This money was handled by Kelly,
and was paid to the members of the
combine at a meeting arranged for that
purpose at Julius Lehmann's house.
Each member of the combine received