The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-03-01
R.L BLANTON. PUT
 ON THE GRIDIRON
Winston County'S Former Pro-
 bate Judge Faces a Charge
WAS II EMBEZZLEMENT 2,
Serious Accusations Grow Out of a Campaign Fund Contribution That Had a String to It-Testi-
 mony In the Case.

For ways that are dark and for tricks that are vain, Winston county politics and Winston county politicians knock the heather Chinee out of sight and al- most out of memory.
 That fact was demonstrated in United States Commissioner Birch's office yes- terday during the hearing given R. L. Blanton, the former judge of probate, in the good county of Winston. 5
 Judge Blanton is charged with em- bezzling from the Double Springs post office a letter containing valuable en- closure"
 The hearing continued throughout six hours. In that time the livid side lights of politics in rural north Alabama was given an expose that startled the unin- formed and abashed perhaps even past masters in the art of political chicane.
 An Interesting Case.
 The case has a most interesting his tory. Last April R. L. Blanton was a candidate in the democratic primary of Winston county for solicitor in the now defunct fourteenth judicial district. In case he should win the democratic nomi- nation for solicitor in the county Blan- ton promised he would subscribe sI50 to the county democratic campaign fund. For reasons weighty enough, at least, in the judgment of his fellow democrats, Blanton was required to deposit in the bank of Jasper, at Jasper $50 in the nfme of H. A, Wright, of Double Springs, a member of the county democratic com mittee Tn. understanding was that, if Blanton won the nomination in the demo- cratic primary, tie said $75o would be used as ''sinews of war" when the demo- cratic David went forth to battle against the republican Goliath in the fall eelc- tions.
 Wanted Him to Make Good.
 Blanton won the nomination for soie- itor in the primary, and the committee felt that he ought to 'come across with the S75O As, the summer months came on, however, the supreme court knocked out the Fourteenth judicial circuit, and Blanton began to howl for the three quarters of a 5000 he had promised to contribute to the campaign fund. He contended that inasmuch as he wash going to get any office, he ought not to be separated from that $750. His fellow democrats held that he gave the money to the great cause of democracy in the abstract, the only condition of payment being that he win the nomination for solicitor in the democratic primary. They said they couldn't anticipate what the courts would do regarding the constitu- tionality of the Fourteenth judicial cir cult and that point was not mentioned when Blanton promised to give $750 to help the faithful in their fight against 'the wicked republicans.
 Blanton came back at them with the proposition that as there had been, in law no such thing as the Fourteenth judicial circut, there could be no such thing as a solicitor for that circuit. To win nomination for an office that didn exist. he argued, was equivalent to win ming zero with the rim left off
 Compromise Proposed.
 Like Macauley, however, Blanton real ized that "the essence of politics is com promise" and so in July, when it began to look as though the Fourteenth circuit would be knocked higher than Gilroy s kite, Blanton met the democratic can didates and proposed, he says, that if they would pay him $500 of the $750, he would let them have the balance, or $25C for the county democratic campaign fund. This proposition was not, he says accepted Later, when the Fourteenth circuit was kocked out, Blanton demand ed his pound of fiesh"-not one cent less than $750.
 The democratic managers thereupon got together and agreed that they would give Blanton $500 of the $75o, devoting the balance of $25O to the democratic cause.
 Time for Payment.
 The November election was drawing near. The $75O was in the form of a cer- tificate of deposit made in favor of H. A. Wright, on the Bank of Jasper, at Jas per.
 Wright and Blanton met at Double Springs Sunday, October 9, and discussed the subject The upshot of the matter was that letter with the $750 certificate of deposit enclosed and addressed to the Bank of Jasper. Jasper, Ala, was mailed in the postoffice at Double Springs, on the morning of Monday, October 10.
 Who wrote that letter, what were it's contents. who signed it, what endorse ment was made on the s750 certificate of deposit and what became of that letter these are the questions that were aired in yesterdays hearing.
 Government Case.
 The Government, represented by As sistant United States Attorneys Steel and Standifer contended that the letter, though tvnewritten by Blanton was in-