The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-03-15
Claude Moore Takes Them Off
Feet for Whisky Fund.
Snoring in Hospital When Lo-
Gated by officers.
HE ADMITS CHARGE.
Judge Urmy Fines Him $25
and He Goes to Jail.
Member Gang Which Tried to
Create Liquor Famine.

Pawning the shoes on his feet for
$1.25, with which he purchased
whisky. Claude Moore. for ten years
regular" was arrested at the po-
| lice, station yesterday afternoon on the
charge Of being drunk in public
place This is the eighteenth time
Moore has been arrested on this charge
since February is. 1909. Moore was
fired J25 this lno.ring by Police Judge
Moore was released from Jail Sat
urday afternoon at 8 o'clock He had
Just completed serving out 25-day
sentence for being drunk He prom
:sed to get cut into the residence part
of the city and go to work and de-
ciared he would stay off the business
streets.
At O'Clock Monday afternoon, just
As hours after his release. Moore was
found in the hos pital ward of the city
prison asleep and drunk. When he
awoke he had been transferred into
the s'bull pen" with the other pris-
oners. Moore, after quickly drinking
tn. $125 worth of whisky, had wan
dere6 west on Fifth street. When he
reached the Jail he was very drunk,
but he Strengthened up" until he got
past the officers. Then he was ready
to drop to the pavement when
''trusty,' who was serving time with
Moore last week, caught him by the
arm.
"Come on in here and sleep it of"
said the trusty, expecting Moore to be-
come sober after nightfan and leave
the station without the officers know
ing he had been there.
Claude Was There.
But the best of men are some times
slipped up on, and for some unknown
reason one of the officers entered the
hospital ward about O'Clock and
Claude was there, his intermittent
snore making the windows tremble.
Clearly it was impossible to awaken
him. And then the officers prepared
a mean joke to spring on Claude.
Searching him for valuables that
might be stolen by other prisoners,
they carried his sleeping form into the
free for all'' pen and locked him up.
This morning Claude was brought
into the court room for trial. His face
showed the effects of his spree.
"Well Claude" remarked Judge
Urmy. guilty or not guilty."
II was drunk replied the prisoner
but not in public place. The hospl-
tai ward is not a public place"
Then esued an argument as to wheth-
err or not the hospital ward of the city
jail was a public place. Judge Urmy
Overruled the demurrer of the defense
ard Claude was fined S25 which means
% day Jail sentence in this case, He
is serving 1t out.
500 'ssIn the Same Old Way.
Claude Moore is the one constant re-
minder that there was once what was
known as the white Horse Gang in
Topeka. He is almost the last remnant
of the tribe who made war on the de-
mon rum by trying to drink up the
worlds supply of alcohol in its undilu-
ted form. Some of the members of the
band are dead and others have almost
ceased TO visit the jail. Some of them
now reside here and they are hard
working citizens who do not get drunk
more than two or three times a year.
It is big Improvement for them.
But Claude, who when sober, is pro-
badly tie most likeable Of the lot, con-
tinues in the same old way. After his
name in. the index of the police docket
are written the pages in which his ar
rest is chronicled from time to time.
Moore's name appears on the following
pages of the new docket: Z, r. %, 80,
81 40, So, SO, 63, 70, 81, and 81.