The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-11-01
Big Shrinkage in Drinkables
Stored Therein for
Safe Keeping
COMMISSIONERS PLAN
AN INVESTIGATION
Ordered Recently for Polish Wedding
and Seized by Police Officers - Had
Been Ordered Sold by Municipal
Judge F. E. Barber.


The only thing that has ever escaped
from the new village lookup is about
half of the stronger portion of the
booze seized two weeks ago tomorrow
by the police, the seizure holding up a
Polish wedding and causing apparent
ly no end of trouble for everyone who
has had anything to do with it.
Who took the booze is the question
now up to the village commissioners
and Chairman f. W. Gibson saws the
board of commissioners intends to de
tcrmine that fact if possible. The mem
bers of the police department and local
members of the sheriff s department
alone are supposed TO have the KEYS
necessary to give access to the liquid re-
freshments stored from time TO time in
a room in the police station while
awaiting orders of the municipal court
for its disposition.
A rather unusual order by Judge
Frank f. Barber of the municipal court
was instrumental in bringing to light
the interesting fact that about half of a
five-gallon jug of whiskey, about half
of a threc-gallon jug of wine and about
an equal quantity from a gallon JUG of
rum, had leaked out of the village lock
up and all but few gallons of pale ale
had evaporated from keg.
Under recent law of the legislature
1t Is possible for 4 court to order the
sale of confscated liquors when the
quantity is sufficient to warrant such
disposition. According to testimony in
the trial of the liquor case Anna Wilk,
now Mrs. Frank Szot, gave William
Crus 1925 to pay for consignment
of wet goods with which her friends
We're to celebrate her arrival at the mar
riage state.
Judge Barber considered that it was
too bad to spill such a quantity of jov
breeder. Accordingly, instead of order
ing it spilled as has been customary, he
gave Sheriff G. +. Mann an order to sell
the goods to someone legally qualified to
purchase intoxic3nts and the sheriff
started to carry out the order
The testimony in court had been that
only one of the numerous containers
had been tapped and that was the jug
of rum which the bride testified she had
opened and tasted to determine the ma
ture of its contents. Police Chief
George Wilson, who made the seizure,
/ testified that the seal of only one con.
tainer had been broken.
| Sheriff Mann looked over his stock
/ and III few minutes decided that there
/ had been a sizcable leak He com
municated with Chairman E. w. Glib.
son of the village commissioners and
Capt. Gibson investigated Next to be
called into consultation was Judge Bar
! Der.
/ ~ e -, Il
of the several containers of ''haro
stuff were measured and it was the
consensus of opinion that somebody hat
gone $3.50 with the state. Only few
gallons of pale ale had been left in tho
keg that had been tapped.
Sheriff Mann wanted to know what
he should do about the order and Judge
Barber told him that the goods were tt
be sold, even if the quantity had beel
reduced without permission of the court
No extra precautions have been taken
but 1t is expected that the sheriff viii
be able to dispose of what he found.
The liquids were stored III a room
III the police station to which access i
obtained through the office of the sta
ton. No unfortunate prisoner coult
have been III position to have relieved
the tedium of his incarceration by in
dulging i'll refreshments
There are three members of the DO
lice department, each of whom has
key to the lookup, and Sheriff Mann
and the several deputy sheritfs who liv,
in Brattleboro are similarly provided
The only other known key hangs in th
fire department headquarters for emer
gency use in ease of q fire in the polio,
station.
While no one of the officials is ex
lpected to remain in the station at al
times as they do in larger places wher
there are more officers, they are no
expected to leave it unlocked and opel
to the public. If it was locked some
: one with key had access to the booze
The liquor was seized by the pole
under the direction of State S Attorne
: 0. b. Hughes and was in their custod
, IN the lookup until the court ordered i
turned over to the sheriff. The villag
: commissioners, therefore, consider tha
! it is up to them to do a little invest
eating