Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1907-02-09
BROATCH LIVING WITH NOISE
Police Commissioner and Big Whisky Nan
Under the Same Roof.
HARMONY IN SOCIAL AND BUSINESS LIFE
sideIight ON BrOatch's Reputation Of
spratlen After. Latter Had Put
Him ON Police Board DAD
Got Him ReappOinted.


Police Commissioner william ]. Broatch
is living with Walter Noise, the wholesale
whisky man and head Of the Willow Springs
brewery.
While the fact has been kept pretty well
under cover for fully a month, the circuni-
stances. as developed by inquiry, are sub
stantially these:
Captain and Mrs. Broatch gave up the
house in which they had been living on
Harvey street last spring, when Mrs.
Broatch left to spend the summer and au-
tumn with her daughter in Virginia. It
was Just about this time that Broatch sold
out his wholesale iron interests and the
rumors were rife that he was about to re-
move to Virginia as a sequel to his failure
to make himself mayor While his wife
was away he occupied a room in the home
Of William Wallace, who is related to Cap
tain Broatch's first wife. 1t happened that
when Mrs. Broatch returned to Omaha
about the end of December, the wife Of
Walter Noise was preparing to go to Cali
fornia to spend the winter, leaving the
Noise home on Park avenue only partially
occupied.
Terms Quickly Made.
Satisfactory terms for It's occupancy by
Broatch seem TO have been quickly ar
rived at. Police Commissioner and Mrs.
Broatch moved into the Noise house and
have taken possession Of the household,
while Brewer Noise remains as a star
boarder and retains his own room.
Captain Broatch asked a friend to call
| not long ago and said:
Telephone me any evening and come
| out"
whats the telephone NUMBER" was the
query.
1T is Harvey 674," said the police COM
missioner.
"WeI, IL 1 don't remember 1t I'll look It
up in the book" replied his friend.
| "Ohl no." interjected Broatch, you won't
find it in the book in my name. You will
have to look under the name Noise"
The intimacy Of the alliance between
Noise and Broatch was illustrated not long
| ago by another incident. Broatch applied
at one of the theaters for free ticket to
the show that was playing there on the
strength of the fact that he was police
commissioner. The pass and seat coupons
were given him without question, and that
evening the police commissioner appeared
at the door with Noise as his guest.
Mr. Broatch claims that he is a regular
tenant of the Noise house and that he
pays Noise $40 a month rent for it fur
nished, excluding the room retained by
the landlord, and presumably he has re-
ceipts for the rent money where he can
show them II necessary.
BrOatch's InGratitude to SpratIen.
THAT beats everything" said a well
known man about town, holding up the
| account in The Bee of Police Commits
sioner Broatch's avowed purpose to put all
the blame for police commissioner troubles
on to Lee Spratlen." l am a friend OF
| Spratlen's and 1 know that Broatch would
never have been police commissioner and
certainly never have been reappointed ex-
cept for Spratlen. Spratlen got him his
job first and forced Governor Mickey to re-
appoint him, but am not surprised that
Broatch is willing to ditch Spratlen now to
save himself II he can. He is pretending
now that he was always In favor OF the
strict enforcement of the Slocumb Law
when 1t is not three weeks ago that h,
attended the meeting of the Retail Liquor
Dealers association and talked to then
for an hour. assuring them that he wal
with them for Sunday selling and ready
to help them to open up. II was on tn,
strength OF his harangue that the salooI
men called on Mayor Dahlman and pro
cured from him the now famous lld-liftinl
order. Then, when the Civic Federation
preferred charges against the chief of pc
lice for carrying out the mayors orde
Broatch veered around and wanted to fir
the chief on the theory that that woul,
save him his job. AS 1 said, know
spratlen, and no matter what else is sail
about him, he stands hitched and stay
with his friends. whether It is to go dow
or go up together. But what else coulC
any one expect Of Broatch after his va
, INtas