Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-02-21

tions. and was expected to testify late
this afternoon.
Repeated efforts on the part of
counsel for the brewers to have sub
penas for brewery books and papers
withdrawn have according to e.
Lowry Humes, district attorney. re-
suited in failure, and he will go on
with the inquiry.
Those who know Aulvihill who
have seen his giant frame in so many
public places and always with a num-
her of friends are mystifed at his
seeming disappearance. They wonder
how he could be anywhere and not
he noticed at once Mulvihill is a
strong and towering man physically.
lie shows his strength in the hearty
grip of his hand.
Like other well known Pittsburgh
politicians, he got his start in the
highly paid work in the rolling mills
of the steel districts. And like them,
also, 1t was not long before he be-
came a power in politics. His word has
zone far toward electing Legislatures
which would vote down local option
bills. Mulvihil! was influential because
he was the representative of the vast
liquor interests with their great wealth
of invested capital and of the large
number of men whose livelihood de-
pended upon the liquor business. In
this last regard liquor dealers have
asserted that 100000 votes in Penn
sylvania may be influenced by those
engaged in the liquor business.
Feature of Legislature
Whenever politicians have met to
discuss plans and candidates., Mulvihill
has never been far away. He is always
a feature. Hence it is that he is the
most sought after man in the present
Grand Jury investigation. Mulvihin.
IT is felt, is the key to the secrets of
the brewer and of their relations to
the political parties.
Mulvihill is vice-president of the
Independent Brewing Company, one
of the biggest in the Commonwealth
AS a brewer, however, Jim" Mulvi-
hill is only known to a few coming
in contact with the brewing COM
pany's letterheads, for his much
wider fame is as a figure at Harris
burg. He has been prominent at the
last 10 sessions of the Legislature.
and has dominated at least three of
these.
Through Mulvihill, or those in SYM
pathy with him. members of the Leg
islature, it is declared, have been
bought, brow beaten or tricked into
voting against local option, or other
antisaloon legislation. He led the
fight at the last session which resulted
in the defeat of Governor Brum-
baughs local option bill. Government
thousands of dollars of liquor money
spent in the last decade in politics.
Tax to Defeat Local Option
Information comes to the Govern
ment agents from many different
sources that retailers, wholesalers
and others in an election for men,
bers of the Legislature in the recent
past were charged 81 barrel for
beer customarily selling for $3.50,
and that the purchasers have been
frankly told the extra so cents was
an assessment to help defeat local
option, not only in Pennsylvania. but
other States. This was in 1912, it is
said, when the local option battle was
strong in Pennsylvania, tho South
and TIE Southwest The disburse-
ments it is said were made from this
city and Philadelphia. Since then the
assessments have been from 5 to 20
cents per barrel on beer and a proper
tionate assessm ent on the distillers and
whisky dealers and all parties bene-
fited
Federal Prosecutor Humes worked
over the case yesterday at home, and
Government agents communicating
with him predicted that the Govern.
ment is on the trail now of new evil
dence more sensational than any yet
hinted at.