The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-07-17
or BATH SAY
COUNTY WAS lIBELED
No such Violation OF Law rs To
sales Of Liquor as Indicated In
Newspaper Publication.
THREE CASES IN FIVE YEARS
Onicia1s VIII Ask Secretary Of Com
nnonwcalth to Appear Before the
Grand Jury Relative to News Al
legged TO EmarAate From His once.

legged to Emahate From His Once.
At the request OF several promi-
nent citizens and officials OF Bath
County, Virginia, The virginian pub
fishes the following reply to an ar
ticle appearing in another newspaper
which lis declared to have misrepre-
sented conditions In that county
They are of the opinion that the
information on which the article was
based originated in the office of the
Secretary of the Commonwealth, and,
in a postscript to their communities
ton, declare that Secretary of the
Commonwealth b. o. James Will be
summoned before the Bath grand
jury to state the authority for the
alleged facts. said TO have been given
out from his ONCE.
In Justice, however, to Secretary
James II will doubtless be found that
his Office has only, and very properly.
interested itself in the matter OF re-
auirsng such automobile licenses as
the State law demands and that any
reference to "bootiegzing' was an
1ncfdent rather eXAEBeFAtcu III tAS
publication mentioned.
The communication follows:
"In the Sunday Richmond Times
Dispatch OF July II. 1915, there Is
printed an article which Is as wholly
false as 1t IL possible for 1t to be
1t teens with expressions like these;
'Bootlegging de luxe Is flourish
| ing; large quantities of liquor be-
| ing constantly carried in automobiles
into Bath County from West Vir-
ginia. Hot Springs neigh
| borhood. FIVE miles south OF Warm
Springs. Is teeming with blind IL
gers ana itinerant bootleggers- The
liquor sellers are practi-
cally all West virginlans, living near
the state line The men en-
gagged in the business COT illegal H.
auor selling) are the owners OF
motor cars. - The bootIeggers
with automobiles bring their cars la
| den with TASKS and jugs of all sizes
over the West Virginia line daily
While delivering the goods they take
orders for the morrow. so that eacn
bootlegger has sold the load OF his
car before delivering 1t. The bulk
of the patronage given the bootleg
gers comes from the sum-
mer resorts in the Alleghanies. the
LIQUOR seller being more numerous In
the neighborhood of Hot Springs than
in any other part of the mountain
range The Illegal liquor
sellers are so free from molestation
that arrests for violation of the IL
uuor laws are very infreqnent. Many
shacks have been set up In the wood
lands where liquor Is dispensed over
the bar. The Fourth OF
July business done in the neighbor-
borhood of Hot Springs ffrom sales
made by these bootleggers to guests
of the several hotels and residents of
the neighborhood~ OF Hot Springs)
was at least $4,000. These automo-
bile Illegal liquor sellers carry West
Virginia automobile licenses. but
scorn to pay tax for operating their
portable liquor stores in Virginia.
Bath County Ia represented as the
bootleggers' paradise. His business
fiourishes in all parts of the coun-
~ as the green bay tree Then fol-
lows a list of the summer resorts
in Bath County.
Bring Liquor From West Virginia.
I'm the Tuesday issue July 13)
of the same paper there appears an
other article. apparently originating
in the Office OF the Secretary of the
Commonwealth. which refers to 'Au-
tomobile carrying contraband liquor
from West Virginia into the neighbour
hood of the half dozen resorts in
Bath. Illegal whiskey sell
Ing is so common that 1t no longer
excites comment. Interior
ence with the operations of the boot
leggers and speakeasies is almost UNI
heard OF. The bootle1gers
the mountains The buyers
OF the contraband liquor are guests
OF the half hundred hotels and board
ing houses in the western part or
the county tof Bath Sortherners
and westerners form the
majority OF the patrons of the boot
Ieggers but there are also
a great many virginians and West
yirginians among the health seekers
at the different resorts The
liquor laws have been openly
violated in the neighborhood of the
large hotels for many months.
Any quantity of liquor. from half a
pint to a barrel. is delivered 10 or
der at any safe place in the county.
Warm Springs. the county scat. Ii
said to be surrounded by blind til
gers. The supply stations
of the bootieggers are several rail-
road stations IN West Virginia i,ear
the border line. Cincinnati whoie-
sale liquor dealers are said to be
shipping whiskey. beer and other wet
goods in enormous quantities to the
men who retail IT in Bath County.
instructions 70 the county
officers in Bath. requesting them to
overhaul automobiles that are OPP
Grating in the county without carr
rying Virginia licenses have heen is-
sued from the ONCE Of the Secretary
OF the Commonwealth THE INTTI-
ALIVE THUS TAKEN ny THAT
OFFICE MAY Result IN THE Ar
REST AND PROSECUTION OF
SOME OF THE BOOTTEGGERS
AND THE BREAKING UP OF THE
ILLEGAL wHIsKEY TRAFFIC. IN
BATH
Declares Statement Fake.
THE above II fir condensation
and quotation from these published
statements
1--WE wish To say that We think that
X the Secretary OF the Common
wealth had the welfare OF his State
at heart ne would have ct least taken
the trouble to Ana out what. Il any.
truth there was In his es,callcd
communications before rushing into
print with = NEST iibeIoHs and wholly
false statement, Such would have
cost him = two-cent stamp or q
fw6nty-dve-cxnt telegram or had Ne