Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1904-07-07
Another of the St. Louis Boodlers
Gives Up the Game.
GOING TO TAKE HIS MEDICINE.
There Was a Price Placed Upon all Legis
lation Wherein Corporations or In
dividuals Benefited. and the
Combine Got II.

Judgment came 10 De rendered. as II
will be in a few days, as he and others
OF the combine have reached the con-
clusion that they are fighting a losing
game since they have seen Lehman
and Hartmann taken to the penitenti-
airy for long sentences:
Following is tie confession of Gutke
as made to Circuit Attorney Folk:
Il am going to take my medicine.
The best PREPARATION that l can make
for the wrongs l have done, is to con-
TESS fully to everything, in order that
the public may realize what has been
going on. No mar can know what l
have suffered during the past three
years, l did not realize that | was
committing a crime in taking money
for my vote, until these Doodle prose-
cHtions commenced. Yielding to the
pleadings Of my wife, who stood by me
nobly during my trials, l have deter
mined to do all I can to atone for my
sins against the public. The people of
st. Louis even do not realize how
they have been persistently p~lundered
for years and years by the men they
elected 10 make laws for the city. Were
| to tell all and give the details of all
the various deals to my knowledge,
Volumes would be filled.
Il became a member of the house of
delegates III 1897, and at once became
a member Of the combine Of that body,
which was an organization composed
Of 10 members of the house of dele
gates for the purpose of selling legis-
lation. The man behind this combine,
and who has been the head ct nearly
all the combines in the house of dele
gates for the past 25 years, is Ed. But
Ter. The first bill that came up after
| had become a member of the combine
was THE Suburban Loop bill" The
combine got $50, 600 for their votes on
this bill; on the Union avenue bill
we got $4,000; on the Central Traction
bill we got SIS, 900; on the Third Street
line bill we were to get SIS, 900; on the
lighting bill we got SAT, 500; on the
Belt line bill $4,000; on the Suburban
we were to get 5000, which is now in
the safe deposit box in the Lincoln
Trust Co., being placed there with the
agreement that it should be turned over
to us when the bill had been passed.
While these are some of the largest
brides secured during my term of Of
flee, there were innumerable others,
ranging from $40, 900 for switching bills
to a few hundred dollars for mere min
or privileges.
THE bride prices were fixed in meet
ings Of the combine, the procedure be-
ing for some member to get up and
o that a certain price be fixed on
a certain bill. Other members would
give their opinions, and a vote would
be taken, and the price receiving the
highest number of votes would be
adopted. Then we would g.. select an
agent Of the combine, by ballot, to ne
gotiate for and receive the money. This
agent would distribute the money
amongst us. From my intimate knoWl-
edge Of dealings with this combine and
from information secured of what has
been going on here for the last quarter
of a century, | MAKE THE POSITIVE
STATEMENT THAT THERE is
HARDLY A CORPORATION IN THE
CITY OF ST. LOUIS OF $250,OOO AND
OVER THAT HAS NOT EITHER
BEEN HELD UP FOR BRIBE MON
Ely OR BOUGHT OFFICIAL ACTION
FROM THE COMBINE IN THE
HOUSE OF DELEGATES.
II acted as agent of the combine in
a number of these deals.
"In the Suburban deal l went with
Kratz to Stocks house and was pres
ent when the agreement was made re-
garding the bride of $60, 900 for Kratz,
which Is now in a lock box in the Mis-
sissippi Valley Trust Co. l went with
Charles Kratz and Carroll to the Of
fee of manning a prominent broker)
in the lighting deal, and there $20,0 900
was paid me by him to give to the
combine, and the promise was made
that $27, 800 more would be paid. The
additional amount | was told would be
brought to the house that evening by
Ed Butler. | was told that in case the
combine refused to accept the money,
TO give 1t back to Ed Butler or to
bring it back to the broker. The COM
bine refused to accept the money, be-
cause they wanted SIS, 900, and | gave
it back to Butler. Butler came to the
floor Of the house in the evening and
was there half an hour and paid SAT, 500
to Kelly, which was divided up among
the members Of the combine at the
meeting at Julius Lehmann's house.
Kelly got the money at Buffers office.
Bribery had been going on so long that
the people Of st. Louis seemed to
grow accustomed to 1t and the public
was Indifferent, and we members Of the
combine did not have any conscientious
scruples about selling our votes.
zone day, at the beginning of my
term as a member of the house of del
eSates, l expressed a lear that we
might be subject to prosecution, but |
was laughed at and twitted for my
nervousness. They told me no one had
v g been prosecuted for it, and that
nc one ever would be. That they had
too much political power and wealth
behind them, and that no one would
dare attack them.
when these prosecutions com
Inenced we were %astounded, but still
confident of our ability to get out on
top, Ed Butler assured us there was
no danger, ana gave us authority to
employ all the attorneys we wanted
and he would pay the bills, which he
did.
He told us not to feel uneasy. But
Ter talked to me q great many times