The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1904-02-05
GRAND JURY INDICTS
Government Will Look Into
the Express Business
DEFRAUDED OF REVENUES
Cases of Liquor Shipped and
Sold for Charges,

Kansas city, Feb. 4.-Wholesale indict-
ments by ythe federal grand jury of ex-
press agents in kansas City, throughout
Kansas and in the prohibition counties
of Texas and of liquor dealers who have
been shipping liquor into these prohibition
states. are imminent, the result of a
movement started by John w Yerkes,
commissioner of internal revenue at
Washington.
The local agents of three large whole
sale liquor houses, il was announced to-
day. were indicted yesterday and ar
rested, but released on their own recog-
nizance and additional bills will, it is
said, be found against the agent of every
express company in Kansas City, in the
state Of Kansas and in the prohibition
counties of Texas who have acted as
agents of the, liquor houses in selling
whisky, fast as the evidence against
them can be presented.
For years practically every express
company in this part Of the south has
acted as the agencies for liquor compa
MES who have SOLD liquod in Kansas ana
Texas, the express agents of the differ
ent companies acting nominally as agents
at the various points. thus practically
multiplying the prohibition law.
To avoid the Law, the whiskey was
sent in sealed packages addressed to ne
titious names and sold by the agents for
express charges Millions OF cases Of
whskey have been sent into Kansas year
,ly. and for each case disposed of the
express agents were allowed 30 cents.
This naturally has not only proven
violation Of the prohibition laws Of the
states named but has deprived the fed
eral government Of an immense amount
of revenue. 1t is stated today that the
federal government has sent dozens Of
agents in Kansas and parts Of Texas
affected to gain evidence upon which TO
convict the offenders.
The three Kansas City liquor dealers
were indicted by a federal grand jury
sitting It Wichita. Kan, and the indlct-
1nents sent to the office of The United
States district attorney here for service.
Washington. Feb. 4-CommissiOner
Yerkes Of the internal revenue bureau
when shown the dispatch from Kansas
City stating that large number of eX-
press agents in Kansas and in the prohi-
bition counties of Texas would be arrested
for shipping liquor into prohibition states,
said that his office had not yet been in
formed as to actions brought against eX-
press agents either in Kansas or Texas;
that if arrests had been made or prose-
cutions begun it was probably due to the
fact that the local internal revenue Off
Gals had learned that express agents and
others were having goods shipped to them
by wholesale liquor dealers and they were
selling and delivering them to parties
without having taken out the special tax
stamp required by the internal revenue
laws. No sale of liquor can be made
legally by n person who has not paid the
agents have sold packages of spirits to
parties in their respective places of bust
ness without havink taken out the special
tax stamp they are liable TO prosecution.
That the sale was made in a prohibition
state has no direct bearing on the ques-
ton because the same law aplies in ali
localities