The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1905-09-30
GUILTY AS CHARGED.
A Conviction for Kline and his Bar
keeper-Two Days of Court.


A second time it has been dem
onstrated in court of law that the
operations of the so-called club in
Corvallis are un1a awful, and that the
place is an illegitimate saloon con-
Quoted without city license and in
utter defiance Of the law. Deputy
District Attorney Bryson has shown
in court that liquors are sold to
the members just as they are sold
at saloon, that each member pays
for these liquors according to the
amount consumed, that the prices
paid are about the same as at .sa-
loon, and showed further by infer
ence, that in all human probability,
Mike Kline is sole owner and pro-
prietor with Hooligan, Geer and
Milne as satellites and assistants,
barkeepers and the like and the fine
profit accruing from the business
probably goes in large measure to
the said Mike Kline. A jury of
six good men, in a single ballot by
verdict returned after being out less
than fifteen minutes, found Kline
and Milne, the barkeeper, guilty of
violation of the local option law as
result of the club operations.
and they are to be sentenced next
Monday. The ofense of which
they are convicted in this second
trial was committed after Kline
had been convicted and sentenced
for similar offense in the same
court, and as the law provides a
stronger penalty for a second Of
tense, it is suppose that his fine will
be heavy.
The trial began Tuesday fore
noon, and did not end until five
o'clock Wednesday evening. Most
of the two days was consumed in
hearing the evidence for the prose.
cution and in the argument The
case throughout was hot legal
battle with Deputy Attorney Bry-
son for the state, and J. R. Wyatt
of Weatherford & Wyatt, for the
defense, pitted against each other.
Objections on the part of the de-
fense to the admission of evidence,
and arguments thereon with citation
of authorities were almost constant
during the introduction of testimony
The state had to rely almost solely
on members of the organization for
evidence, fact that made convic
ton the more difficult. The attor-
ney of the club made no effort to
get members excused from testify
ing on the ground that they would
incriminate themselves" which was
the main defense relied on in the
former trial when the Klines, P. A.
and Mike, appeared as counsel for
the defense. He made no motion
to squash the affidavit and clear
the whole thing off the boardH as
was frequently done in the other
case. He simply fought as hard as
he could, and that was ably, the
threads of evidence, here and there
that Deputy Attorney Bryson
wound around the accused, and
when it was all in, argued his case
intelligently and forcefully. but
without avail. The trial took place
in the circuit court room. and a
large crowd of Interested spectators
was present throughout.
The jury was. W. T. Small, G..
H. Carl, A. w. Herbert, o. v.
Hurt, J. R. Smith and William
Bogue. They were selected after
many veniremen had been examin-
ed. The counsel for defense ex-
hausted all its premptory challenges
in making up the final list. Kline,
the secretary and treasurer of the
shebang, and Milne, the steward,
were the defendants. George
Plaster, a member of the club, was
the man to whom the liquor, as
charged in the complaint was sold.
He testified that on the 1st of Sept
ember he entered the place. and
! that Mike Kline told Milne to &C
out and wait on the boys. He got
| a bottle of whiskey or brandy, he
could not remember which, but
whether it was given him by Milne
or whether he got it himself, the
witness could not tell, John D.
! Wells, constable, swore that in ar
examination in Bryson's office,
Plaster had sworn that Milne hao
given him the bottle. Mr.. Plaster
also testified that he had received
one card that called for an "assess
ment of about So or $3.50, and thai
! he had received other such cards
It appeared from his and other tes-
timony that bill is rendered eacI
member of the amount due for The
booze they have received over the
bar, and that when a bill is render
ed it is called a card, that the act