The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-03-27
Mayor Smith Wins First Round
In Fight to Prevent Illicit
Sale of Liquor in City of Pa
ducah.

Theobald Peters this morning paid
$3.50, the amount of fines assessed
against him in three cases in police
court yesterday, and agreed to not sell
any more drinks at his place. 1910
Broadway. The remaining four cases
against him are filed away.
Lively interest was manifested all
day yesterday in the police court
trials of Theobald Peter, charged with
Operating n blind tiger" resort at
] 040 Broadway, which resulted in one
acquittal and three convictions with
aggregate fines of $3.50.
Not the least sensational feature of
the trial was the resignation OF Chief
Of Police Collins, which was rendered
Mayor James p. Smith in writing.
and was withdrawn at the earnest So
l!citation of Mayor Smith, who with
City Solicitor Campbell convinced tn
chief that every confidence is reposed
In the head of the police department,
and that he was giving too much heed
to trouble makers, who designedly
put the wrong construction on the en-
'ployment of out of town detectives to
spot the city plague spots"
The chiefs resignation followed
the demand of City Solicitor Camp
bell for a jury drawn by the county
sheriff in the afternoon. Chief Col
Inns considered that a reflection on
the good faith of the police depart
ment, but his grievance was cumula-
tive, and that alone probably would
not have induced him to take such an
extreme step.
Mayor Smith employed two Pinker-
tons to spy out the bad Lands and
did not inform Chief Collins or anyone
else, as he desired the whole RESPONSE
bility for the work to rest upon his
own shoulders. Two reasons are
known to exist why local men are
not put to work They are
known by sight by everyone of the
persons the mayor wished to expose
and neither the mayor nor the chief
of police has the backing of the board
OF police and fire commissioners in d.
recting the police force.
At the conclusion of the investiga-
ton by the detectives Chief Collins
was i'll at home with tonsilitis and
Mayor Smith led raid on an alleged
gambling resort. Had Chief Collins
known what the work was he would
have gone out regardless of his physi-
cal condition. but he could not be told
over the telephone.
Ii was then the political enemies of
the administration got in their work.
Chief Collins is personal friend of
the mayor, and they chaffed Collins
numerically and declared that his
friend Smith had gone back on him,
and had no confidence in him. 1t hurt
the chief more than he would admit
Yesterday morning the. police chose
a jury in the Peter case and the de-
PENDANT was acquitted Naturally the
police went out and found the handi.
est talesmen they could. In the after
neon the sheriff drew the juries and
three successive convictions were Sc
cured.
The case, of course, might have
been different, and the real reason for
sending sheriff's officers instead of po-
Zee was that the prosecution desired
the officers to begin their search for
talesmen away from the vicinity of
the police court room; but TO Chief
Collins, already ruffleed by malicious
tongues, it looked like reflection on
the police department, and he re-
signed.
The Trials.
After the sheriff's venire had ap-
peared warrant No. 4, against Theo-
bald Peter was taken up and the fol-
lowing jurymen served: F. NJ. Gard
ner, Eli G. Boone, William Bougeno,