Arizona republican., 1909-10-06
FORGOTTEN EXISTENCE
 0F ALEJAMDR0 RAMOS
THREE MONTHS IN JAIL WITH
 OUT ARRAIGNMENT.
His Presence Then Was Discovered
 By Accident.

| If Alejandro Ramos ever wondered
 what they were going to do with
 him. he carefully concealed any cu-
 riosity he might have entertained on
 that point. It was only by accident
 that he was discovered to be an ln-
 mate of the county jail, held as d | United States prisoner on the charge
 of selling liquor to Indians. He had
 been there since July 5. He had never had hearing: had not even
 been arraigned. Everybody in au-
 thority had forgotten him. if indeed. anybody in authority ever had any
 official knowledge of him. He was to all intents and purposes a prisoner
 in Mexican jail. where such things
 are not infrequent. It may be that
 Ramos thought he was getting what
 was coming to him. for he had ire quently offended > the law by selling liquor to Indians.
 He was arrested a year and half ago at Gila Bend for such illicit com
 merce. and Deputy Sheriff Williams
 notified the United States marshal's office He received no reply. and after holding Ramos for a week. the deputy sheriff turned him loose and deported him out of Gila Bend as an
 undesirable. He returned last July. and within twenty-four hours after his arrival. emboldened by his former experience. he began distributing liquor among agency Indians. He got drunk with them and all were thrown into the calabOose. The deputy sheriff wrote to the sheriffs office about it. describing his earlier experience with Ramos. He was advised that if Ramos were committed to the county jail for a disturbance of the peace and brought here for say. thirty days. that would give the United States marshars of flee time to turn around and get its bearings. Ramos was, accordingly, l sentenced to the county jail for thirty | days, and was brought here on July 5 | His case was then reported again to | the United States people. who agreed | to look after him. But about that | time there was hustle of prepara ton for the Elks' festivities at Los | Angeles, and after that function was | over weightier matters than the case of Ramos engaged the attention of the marshals office. He was allowed to lie in jail. eating his head off at the expense of the federal govern ment, which was engaged in futile efforts in other directions to be eco- nomical
 Yesterday there was a checking up by Justice Johnstone and the sheriff's office of the prisoners at the jail. The list was found to be one long. Ale jandro Ramos was. found to be the surplus. When this discovery was made by Commissioner Johnstone he ordered h m brought over for arraign- ment. and his hearing was set for Saturday Deputy United States Marshal Bush Anderson left for Gila Bend last night. in the hope that he will find some of the government witnesses yet alive.
 No blame attaches either to the or to the sheriffs office in this matter. The former had never had anything to do with the case be- yond the issuance of warrant which had never been returned. He could only suppose that Ramos had never been captured.
 As Ramos was a United states prisoner. the sheriffs office could only suppose that he had been held to the United States grand jury