The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-09-25
"Cash" Curtis Cha rged With
Being PabSt distributor.
NOT IN THE COURT.
Judge Dana Said His Presence
Was Necessary.
Eany Receipted Bills and Orders
in Evidence.

attorney. and ]. NJ. Wilkerson, the
sheriff TO break up the wholesale
trade in liquor and beer. particularly
beer in this city and county, reached
a climax today when the trial was
started in the district court in which
c. w. Curtis. Familiarity known as
cash" and the agent of the Pabst
Brewing company in this city. his
partner Matt Cave and Charles H.
Rigby are charged with violating the
prohibitory law on no less than fifty
counts.
If Curtis or any of the other defen-
dants to the charges should be con-
victed on the whole fifty counts the
least sentence that the court could i'm
pose on them under the provisions of
the prohibitory law would be a month
in Jail and a hundred dollar fine on
each count which would mean a total
of four years and two months impris-
onment and a fine of $4,000.
A rather unusual feature of the
trial laid in the fact that Mr.. Curtis
was not present. He is now in Hot
Springs. Ark, and when the case was
called this morning Otis Hungate,
who with Charles Magaw. is counsel
for the defendants asked for a contin-
uance of the case because Mr- Curtis
could not be present because OF Ill
ness a doctors certificate to TINS Ell
feet was presented, but Judge Dana
ruled that the evidence was not suf-
ficient to warrant a continuance or the
case and that it could be proceeded
with though Mr.. Curtis was not pres
ent as the charged is classed as mis-
demeanor-
Then began the work of selecting
jury The temper of the jurors FOR
this term of court had been tested in
the Shoaf case and Mr.. Schenck, the
county attorney, was apparently satis-
fed to take his chances with any OF
them. His examination of them was
brief and it was equally brief on the
part of the attorneys for the defend
ants. Nevertheless, the latter used
their prerogatives for challenges and
they had twelve because three defend
ants were on trial. The result was
that the regular panel OF jurors was
exhausted on the tenth peremtory
challenge of the defense and a special
venire of eight was ordered drawn by
the court This was by $3.50 o'clock
and a recess of the court was taken
for an hour until those drawn on the
special venire could be hauled to court.
Enough of them had arrived at the
hour named to proceed with the Sc
- lection of the jury and it was accom-
plished in short order
In his opening address to the jury,
Mr. Sehenck outlined the case ne
hoped to prove against Curtis and the
other defendants in their wholesale
violations of the prohibitory law
through the WholesalinE of beer to the !
druggists OF the CITY ne 0CClaA GU |
that Curtis and Cave had tried to stay |
in the background in this wholesale |
beer trade and had done their work
through Willis Clough, also known by |
the name of Chubb. and CharIes h
Rigby Although Clough, or Chubb. |
IS a defendant in this case he was not /
on trial for the very good reason that |
he has not been arrested as yet.
Mr. Schenck said that it was the |
custom of Curtis and Cave to send |
Chubb and Rigby out to druggists to
get orders for beer or send them /
around to collect the bills for the |
same. The majority of the orders for |
the beer. however. was sent in by the |
druggists by telephone. over the In |
dependent phone to No. S55. which |
was the phone at Curtis headquarters |
at No 500 North Topeka avenue. Mr.. |
Sch anck said he would show that this |
phone was in Curtis name.
He said. however. that bills for the /
beer ordered were rendered by Curtis ]
to the druggists each month ana that
collections were made by Chubb or |
Rigby Frequently the druggists paid /
their bills by checks. These checks
were made payable to c. w. Curtis and /
were endorsed by him for deposit. Mr..
Schenck said that many of these checks
and bills would be presented in evil
dence. 1t is his contention that every |
item in a bill to a druggist for which |
Curtis received a check constitutes an
Illegal sale of liquor by Curtis. For
this reason the counts in the informa-
ton run up to so. Mr.. Schenck said
when he filed the information in July
on which the warrants were issued for
the arrest of Curtis that he could just
as we'll charged him and his col
leagues with a thousand violations of
the law. Another thing Mr.. Schenck
said in his opening address, which he
said he would prove, was that good
many shipments of Pabst beer came
into Topeka via the Union Pacific and
assigned to fictitious names but that
Curtis always receipted for them.
Most of the druggists in the city who
have been handling Pabst beer under
their permits for medicinal and scien-
tific'' purposes were subponed at wit
nesses in this case and about all of
those subponened were on hand when
the trial was started. There was raft
of other witnesses on hand. for Mr..
Schenck never does things by half and
strongest possible chain of evidence
against Curtis and the other defendants ,
in connecting them with the unlawful ,
traffic in beer and liquor.
Clarence F. Young, the druggist with
his place of business at No. sol Kansas :
avenue, was the first witness called by !
Mr.. Schenck. He said that he was ar
quainted with Chubb. Rigby and Curtis
but was not sure that he knew Cave:
He testified that Chubb and Rigbv
came around occasionally and solicited $
orders of beer from him but that he had {
usually ordered it over the phone call :
ing up No. S55 on the Independent. He
identified invoices or bills for beer .
which he had ordered in this way and I
for which he had paid for by check in :
favor OF Curtis or sometimes in cash ,
collect them. :
This testimony of Mr. Young was :