The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-10
BURNETT DENIES USING INFLUENCE TO COERCE
 MEN TO BUY FROM HIM
CONTINUED FROM FACE 5.,

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.) customers place in the same neighbor- hood, whose account had been on our books for @ long time, and 1 suppose he had bought 99 per cent of his goods from us. He paid me up with a great deal of feeling and reluctantly told me the same thing that Mir. E'uqua had said. Mir. Fred <relhause is the name of the party am speaking of, that is, the party saw after 1-left MT. Fuqua. He paid his bill, as I have stated, and told me he had some bad news to tell me, that he would have to quit me for a while. 1 asked him what for, and he told me that he had been requested to throw his business to the k. D. Burnett Cigar company These are his words as best l can remembers: I do not feel like an American citizen. for somebody to order me to buy from certain parties. but l have got to do it. 1 asked him if he would give me the name of the party who told him to do it. He said, Is it between us?' l said yes, and he told me Tom O'Byrne. l thanked him for his check and thanked him for his past business and went out of his place His ac- count is closed on our books to this day. On the first of last month l called him up on the telephone, and this is what l said How about my coming out today and get your first of the month bill? Don't you think you have starved me out- enough? He said, You had better wait a little while longer said all right, but l hope you will let me see you some time soon and give me some business.
 'I was so thoroughly disgusted with the course things had taken I got in my buggy and went back to the store, and calling MT. Snider in the cigar room, which is little private, and told him the situation. I told him I felt like re- signing my position unless he went to Burnett's office or allowed me to go and tell him what he was doing and what thought of him. He told me not to -be too nasty, but be cautious and wait a little.
 After leaving the store as l was walk ing past the American Trust and Saw ings bank l saw MT. O'Byrne inside talk ing with several gentlemen. I waited until they got through and then called MT. O'Byrne outside and lead him over by the curb, and in an evasive kind of way told him of the situat tion, telling him that some parties around town were calling on my customers to get their goods from R. D. Burnett and not to buy from Snider. I told him that was a pretty bad way for a man to do busi- ness He then acknowledged that he
 
 had to do it for while. I told him that was treating me pretty bad and that I had not lost all my influence, and that my house had some left and I did not see how they could do such business on account of some dirty politician, and he said we had better get to work then and stop this high license. He had stated about being my friend and I said: 'No such friendship for me-, and went off, he going one way I another
 My business with the outside saloons has been steadily falling off for several months and parties mentioned above are now of of our books entirely, as our books will show.
 'I went up to MT. Egglers place whose account was growing smaller monthly and I think last month amounted 10 about Sl0.50, against from s75 to s100 per month in the past. When I called MT. Eggler was out, but 1 saw him afterwards down town and I said: Hello. Henry, how about my taking an order from you. He said You know 1 am not buying any goods right now, and have got pretty good stock on hand. l said l saw your bill yon paid Burnett, which was between s9e and slO0 and l also a copy Of your order you gave him this month. amounting to approximately s60 or s75. He then said: Well, you know we have got to sugar old Dick for while l said don't do it too long, and then went away.
 T also called on Mir Ben Oldham. whose account has been a good one for many months, in fact years, and which has dwindled to almost nothing, and he told me also that he would have to buy elsewhere for a few months. that every thing would be all right after little while. Stating that it was simply neces- sary for him to deviate his business at this time.
 These instances which I have related fairly. illustrate the effect 1t has had on my business as salesman since MT. Burnett has been on the Board of All dermen."
 On cross-examination Attorney Tillman asked:
 Did Mir. -Fuqua say that ne had been