East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1906-03-03

| ouSu' rIoHi dinolB tne farming QlS-
tricts jurymen were secured, who re-
turned verdicts of guilty as fast as the
cases could be argued and submitted
Despite the rulings of the presiding
judge, despite the frenzied attacks of
the attorneys for the defense, the hon
est jurors stood firm in support of
the law.
1t was then that among the saloon
men began to appear tiny white flags.
Disaffection was followed by open
mutiny, mutiny by rout. The COM
binatioh was dissolved over the vigor-
Gus protests Of Johns and Rand and
the indicted men entered pleas of
guilty in all the remaining cases.
Nominal fines were paid, and the in
cident was considered closed. Popu-
lar fancy, now with Brown, gave him
credit for a complete victory
Instead, however, of being a decid-
Ing battle, 1t turned out to be merely
a preliminary skirmish. Just the mo-
ment the grand jury was discharged
gambling was resumed full blast, and
all saloons made ready to reopen on
Sundays. 1t required exactly As min
utes for Sheriff Brown to convince the
saloon men and gamblers that he
meant business.
In three-quarters of an hour he be-
gan raiding the wide-open joints, ar
resting not only players and dealers,
but proprietors and spectators. In
the justice court the men were forced
to enter pleas of guilty, although the
advice of Rand and Johns was to car
ry the cases to the district court
The citizens of Baker City awoke
to a full realization of the fact that
the town was "closed." Oddly
enough, the arguments of the anti
reformers were found to have been
flimsy and without basis in fact Cen
eral business continued good, even
better. Real estate values suffered
no slump. The heavens did not fall. |
The tax levy suffered no decrease. |
The mortuary record did not grow
larger. The end of the world did not |
arrive.
The Last Resort.
1t was then that the saloon ele-
ment conceived hte brilliant idea of
nominating Attorney Johns for mayor. |
iiNs llidl Will MN dl the |
head of the municipal government |
and welding a police force favorable |
to their way of thinking, Sheriff |
Brown would not dare after a bitter
campaign, in which Sheriff Brown
took no part, to butt in" Mr.. Johns
was elected mayor. on the night of
the election. when the returns an
nounced his victory, the town was
flung wide open. The jubilant saloon
men conducted an immense open-air
demonstration, even chartering a spe-
cial train to bring down from Sump-
ter a shouting delegation of open-town
sympathizers. Gambling was resumed
full blast. Joy was in the air.
Quietly, unostentatiously, Sheriff
Brown and handful of deputies be-
gan raiding. Before the shouting
died and the captains and kings of
the liquor traffic had departed they
were hailed into the justice court
Mayor-elect Johns was powerless to
do more than feebly protest against
the vigilance and activity of the sher-
If.
Sitting on the Lid.
Thus 1t has been ever since. At in
tervals the saloon men, feeling strong,
have attempted to bluff the sheriff by
opening games under his nose. Be-
fore a case-card shows on the faro
layout, before the nimble ball has 4,
time to drop in the spinning roulette
wheel, Brown appears on the scene.
He has planted his $50 pounds of I
steel-wire muscles and dominant will
on "the lid" and refuses to bulge ,
there from. The saloon men have at
last given up the fight. They are ,
with what patience they can I
assume, for the expiration of Sheriff
Browns term of office. With Brown
out of the way. they aim to laugh in
the face of the law.
But Brown refuses to get out of the
way. He believes he has a mission to
perform. Furthermore, he fancies he
hears call to a wider field of activi-
ty. IL he cannot enforce the law as a
reform sheriff in Baker county. he :
desires to enforce the law as a reform
governor of the state. ,
\ Native Oregonian.
Harvey X. Brown is a native Ore Z
gonian. He was born 80 years ago at
Pocahontas, village near Baker
City. His father, a native of Ire :
land, was one of the builders of the
west, an oregon pioneer of 1861. I
Harvey Brown spent the formative
period of his life on the cattle range.
At the age of IL he was one of the
best known cowboys in eastern Ore
gon. When IS years old he handled a I
big horse and cattle business. He
made frequent shipments of livestock
to eastern markets, accompanying the
shipments personally as far east as
the Atlantic seaboard. In later years I
he went into mining. For four years
he was general manager of the Nelson
placer mine, one of the largest hy- :
draulic properties in this state. He
still retains valuable mineral holdings
in Stice's gulch, being president and
general manager of the Stice's Gulch
Placer Mining company. He also
owns and conducts fine farm near
Baker City.
outside of his aged mother, his wife1
and 12-year-old daughter, Mr.. Brown
has no relatives of that name west of