The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1909-03-05
Another Chapter in the Comedy Which
Started Last December Was
Read in Court This
Morning.
A CHANGE OF VENUE
The Absurdity of the Thing Has Gone
Far Enough, Says the City
Attorney, But it Goes
Still Further.

The absurdity of the thing has
gone far enough" said City Attorney
A. T. Marshall this morning ii. the SUI
perior court when the slot machine
case came up again. He explained
that the four slot machines were con-
f1scated in December and ordered de-
stroyed and that it was now March
and nothing had been DONE
This morning was the time for the
attorneys to agree upon date in the
case which has been hanging fire so
long that the publ. begins to believe
that the slot machines will never be
destroyed. The attorney for Fred KEEL
logg of Quincy, who is said to be the
owner asked for continuance of the
case, which motion was ovel-ruled af-
| ter arguments from both sides.
Immediately after this, motion
/ for change of venue was filed ask
ing that the case be sent over tc the
district coure because of the prejudice
of Judge Mcnamara. The motion for
a change was signed by John Wheat
ICY do agent iOi IASIlOSS.
The city attorney asked for a short
time to reply to this motion and was
given until 2 o'clock this afternoon
when the motion came up.
Wants to See Them.
The attorney for Kellogg wants to
see those four slot machines mighty
bad. He has asked the court several
times for permission to open them up
in order to get the numbers and his
motion for continuance was on the
ground that he could not see the ma
chimes to property identify them and
see whether they really belonged tc
Kellogg. He offers to let the court
be present, the city MARSHAL and any
one who wants to stand around while
the machines are opened up and the
numbers taken, so that the real own
er may be traced. He complains ts
the court that he is not only denied
looking inside the machines, but is not
allowed to even see the outside OF
them.
The claim is made that there are
thousands Of machines CT similar
kind and the only way to distinguish
them is by the number on the inside
Perhaps they do not belong to kel
logg, but nothing can prove the owner
excepting an examination. After the
machines are properly located, he
Il
dence to properly defend the case.
Kellogg, the Myth.
, In his reply, the city attorney re
ferred to Kellogg as a myth, mar
| wha has never signed anything in the
| case and who has never beef inside
Of this court room Wheatley had
Z sworn that he was the owner of thu
| machines, but now comes the myth
: ical kellogg as an alleged owner
, In reply, tae attorney for kelloSt
; said that the myth would become
| very apparent reality at the propo
time.
5 THE absurdity of this thing ha!
gone far enough, said the city attor
,
, ponement of tie trial of the cas-
/. which started in December of las
: wear He was ready for trial and in
. sisted Upon an immediate hearing.
f After the motion for a continuance
i had been denied, the motion for
change of venue was filed.
And in, the meanwhile the four slo
machines rcpose quietly in a room
in the city building, where they hay
been for about four months, undis
turbed and ready to be used again
any time, in spite of the fact tnat tn
:, mayor ordered them confiscated an
destroyed, the court ordered them dc
stroyed and the public would like t
see them destroyed.
Mrs. Jacob Agne who has bee
,, very i'll at ler home on EXchang