The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-03-27
TOpekan, Illicit Poultry Fan
cier, Returns to Penitentiary.
Was Head of Two Families in
s'SwelP' Apartments i'm X. C.
SPECIAL Law TO STOP HIM
Operations Made Action by
Kansas Legislature Necessary.
Career From DugOut to Riches
With Interludes i'm Prison.

Poole has bobbed up again.
Ever heard of the Poole chicken
law?
A few years ago the name Poole
was a by-word with farmers and poul-
try raisers. All Topeka knew of him.
Kansas has O. law making it pen1-
tertiary offenSe to steal chicken III
the night time. 1t does not make any
difference whether a whole flock or
chickens is lifted from the roost, or
the thief gets away with just one
poor, little lone Bantam rooster, If the
robbery occurs between sunset and
dawn, the offense is felony.
And yet conditions were not always
thus. There was a time when chicken
stealing was a profitable business. A
man could take a wagon and team
gather up as many choice pullets as
his team could haul, and provided
he was discreet and never took more
than $50 worth of chickens from one
hen roost, the worst that could hap
pen to him, should he be captured,
was to receive short jail sentence
That the protecting arm of the law
envelopes all chickens during the hours
of darkness, is due entirely to the e1-
forts of one man. And this man be-
longed to no purity league. He was
identified with no upiift movement
other than the uplifting of poultry,
and he worked entirely alone. Quiet
ly, unobtrusively, even shrinkingly he
applied himself at his chosen pro-
feSSion and fondly gathered the
chickens about him.
Passed Law for Him.
This man was A. F. Poole and so
energetic was he in his efforts ana
so extensive in his operations that 1t
became necessary for the people of
the state legislature to protect the
poultry industry against him.
Think of it! A special law neces-
sary to stop the operations of one il
licit poultry fanatic.
was about fourteen years ago, Poole
afforded the newspapers a first rate
sensation about once a week. For
about that often some farming COM
munity was aroused in the night time
to give chase to a chicken thief. And
once in a while Poole was captured,
but that was before the special law
against him was enacted, and then he
would serve a short sentence in the
county Jail. Newspapers used to an
nounce the date of his liberation
from Jail in bulletin form to farmers
like shippers are now warned to pro-
tect shipments against falling temper
atures.
But the special law which had been
enacted against Poole never caused
him any Inconvenience Before he
could be arrested for its violation, he
was arrested for the violation of an
other, and was sentenced to a term in
the state penitentiary.
Near Quinton Heights.
Poole lieved just south of Shunga-
nunga creek in Quinton Heights at
place which was then surrounded by
thickets and brush. The location is
just west of where Judge Ensminger
now lives. Poole had only team of
horses, tent and wagon, when he
took up his abode in this lonesome
spot. The tent was soon replaced by
q dugout and in time a houSe-a very
good houSe-appeared.
This house literally grew and so i'm
perceptible was it's growth that neigh
bors did not realize that a house had
that the house had been stolen-a
piece at a time had been gathered
from within a radius of fifty miles
from other houses and pieced together
to make the Poole residence.
&. 1t was this residence, and not the
special Poole chicken law, which was
Poole's undoing. He had been on
poultry raid in Douglas county. His
light wagon hitched to a team of fast
horses was loaded with chickens.
When homeward bound under cover
of night, Poole stopped at a school,
house near Lawrence. Stylish houses
had shutters for the windows in those
which Poole thought would better
adorn his residence. His home was
complete then right up to the shut
ters- So Poole removed the shutters
from the Schoolhouse and continued
on his way.
The theft was soon discovered. 1t
was also discovered that the wagon
made a peculiar track in the road. +
This track was followed from Law
renee to Topeka and then to Poole's
home. Poole scented danger and when
the officers called at his home, he
stripped off his shoes, SWAN the |