The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1909-06-03
ATTORNEY REPORTS
GREAT INCREASE
Will Call a Meeting of Attorneys For
Railroads And Express Com
panies, Relative to Liquor.

Guthrie, Okla, June 3.-Fred s.
Caldwell, state enforcement attorney
viii request a meeting of general at
torneys of railroads and express com
panies operating in Oklahoma to con-
slider provisions of the prohibition law
with a view of stopping shipments of
contraband liquors into the state
Practically the only inpediment to
proper enforcement of the law, the at
torneys say, is interstate shipments
to persons who have paid the federal
liquor license, which payment, under
the Billups act, is declared as prima
facie evidence of an intention to vic,
late the law
Last fall the enforcing department
published a pamphlet giving names
and addresses of 500 individuals and
firms in Oklahoma who had paid for
and taken out government licenses.
Copies were sent to all common car
riers operating in the state together
with extracts from the law, intended
to put the carriers on notice. Yester>
day supplemental list of 400 names
and addresses were sent, showing a to-
tai of 200 federal liquor licenses paid
for Oklahoma. This is about the num-
Der Oklahoma territory had before
statehood. MI, Caldwell says, and the
400 gain is since Dec. 1, last
Apportioned by towns, about $50 ap-
pear for Oklahoma City. Muskogee
is next, Tulsa third, then comes Shaw
ness, Sapulpa, Bartlesyille, McAlester
and Guthrie, In the last lot, copied
from the United States internal rev.
enue records, Ardmore has 20, Ana
darko s, Chickasha 8, Guthrie 20,
Holdenville 8, Muskogee IA, Nowata
IA. Oklahoma City, "a, Sapulpa Is
Shawnee IA and other towns over the
state with smaller numbers.
The departmental letter accompany
ing the license lists informs the car
riers that it is a violation of the law
for the persons named to receive liq-
uor even by interstate shipments the
carriers assist in creating a nuisance
within the state They are notified
Immediately and forever to cease do
ing so.
Mr.. Caldwell believes, after a prop
er understanding of the law, attor
neys will agree that such shipments
are violations and win advise their
clients to refuse to handle them In
this he points to the order of George
Gould, as head of the Western Union
Telegraph company, refusing to parti-
cipatc in the transmission of racing
messages where the operation of pool.
rooms was against the law upon the
ground that his company did not wish
to abet in law breaking The attor-
ney draws a distinction between the
individual securing reasonable
amount of liquor for personal use.
which the courts have held is not a
violation of the law. So long as the
shipment is interstate, and the per
son who pays the government a fee
for the privilege of handling liquor |
In shipments to the latter class, he |
contends, the carrier is passively aid |
ing in a contract which looks to a !
violation of the statute, hence his no
tice and list of federal license pay
ers.
In event the proposed conference is
fruitless. Mr. Caldwell viii endeayor
to bring an original case before the
United States supreme court to have
this feature of the Oklahoma prohi-
bition law construed.