Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1905-10-01
MORE CRAFT IN MILWAUKEE
President Of Common Council Indicted on
Twenty oeuniL
GRAND JURY MAKES ITS FINAL REPORT
says City and County Omees Are
Honeycombed with Corruption
and vice IL Regularly
Organized.

MILWAUKEE, Sept. S0.-Corneiius L.
Corcoran. the president Of the COM
mon council Of this city, together with
a former alderman and two private citizens
were indicted by the grand jury in It's anal
sitting. which ended tonight at 10 o'clock
Corcoran in the only capies issued for his
arrest IL charged with selling hay and oats
to the city, which Is a violation OF a city
statute which states that no oficeholder
shall enter into a contract to sell goods of
any kind to the city. Frank c. Klode
president Of a local furniture company
which sold furniture to the county. Is In
dicted on a charge of perjury. william
Murphy, q former alderman, Is charged
with bribery and Fred c. Schultz, a re-
porter, with bribery. The grand jury rec
commended the calling Of grand Juries
periodically.
The number OF indictments returned in
the final sitting was twenty-four, involving
four persons as follows;
Cornelius /. Corcoran, president of the
common council, twenty counts,
Fred c. Schultz, newspaper reporter, one
Indictment, bribery.
niture' company, one indictment perjury.
William Murphy, former alderman, two
indictments, perjury.
vice and Crime Organized.
The total number Of indictments returned
since the jury convened, including to-
nights batch. will approximate nearly $50
and will affect about forty individuals. In
its report on the labors OF the summer the
grand fury took occasion to say that it's In
Yestigation had developed a most surprising
state of affairs, vice and crime being reg
uiarly organized and fostered." The report
continues:
4 1ft In 1
corrupt ways in which the affairs Of this
community have been conducted The eff
fort fully to expose these conditions Ts Ina. has
conceal the truth and encourage crime. We
have been hampered by the efforts OF witt
nesses to conceal the facts and in many OF
these instances II has been apparent that
the witness was testifying falsely. Our
observations regarding the vice and crime
Of perjury is such that we must charac-
terize 1t as nothing short of outrageous,
Omcers Charge illegal Fees.
The report states that the administration
Of the sherIfrs office during the last six
years has been investigated and that II has
been found that after that Office was placed
on a salary basis a system OF fee taking
grew UP at variance within the meaning OF
the statute 1t recommends that this fee
taking be still further scrutnized and that
the county board take steps to stop this
form OF grating. Many ways in which the
sheriffs Office profits from these fees are
mentioned. Bribery, the report says, is an
everyday AFFAIR. County ofices should be
investigated The county clerk should not
get fees. but does, and the practice should
be stopped at once.
The recent raid upon gambling houses
and prosecution of the keepers and inmates
thereof by the district attorneys Office dis
closes that in the city of Milwaukee there
have been for years at least eight fully
equipped wide open gambling houses. The
investigation dscloses, the report says, that
the eight gambling houses raided are per
mitted in the very heart of the city and
without interference TO conduct common
games of faro, roulette, craps and poker,
while other gamblers who sought to start
such games in their places OF business were
promptly raided by the police. The jury's
report says that since the starting OF the
investigation Of affairs in county and city
in 1903 there has been a noticeable decline
in grating" and other corruptness. The
jury recommends that grand Juries be sum
moned periodically to investigate AFFAIRS in
county and city.