The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-07-24
REV. ]. {. WRAY INDICTED
By FEDERAL GRAND JURY
FOR SENDING OBSCENE
MATTER THROUGH NAILS

lndlctment of Rev. ]. E. Wray, for
mer pastor of the First Methodist
church of this city, by the Federal
Grand July. There are eight differ
ent counts, the charges being the
sending of obscene matter through
the United States mails. Simultan-
eously with the indictments comes
the announcement that Rev. Wray
has become an inmate of the State
Asylum for the Insane, which he en-
tered of his own volition.
The news regarding Mr.. Wray's
mental condition comes as no great
surprise to many people of Lake
land, as during his residence here
he was extremely erratic. One no.
table example of this, known to most
of the people of this city, though
never mentioned in this paper be-
fore, was when he came to the Tele-
gram Office ON June 80 last year, and
also the following day, and raised a
violent disturbance because of a lit
tie harmless news item regarding a
straw ride, in which his daughters
name was included among the list
of guests. At this time he was so
wild in his actions and language that
he attracted a lobby full of onlook-
ers, and it was only by telephoning
for the police that he could be got
ten to leave the building At other
times, also, he gave evidence of an
unbalanced mind.
The great shock to the people,
however, comes in the discovery of
the nature of the business in which
he was secretly engaged. The Ev-
ening Telegram, however, had been
in possession of information on this
point for over year, but had not
only declined to make it public, but
had carefully guarded the secret,
hping that the church might be
spared the scandal of his exposure.
The matter came to us in this way.
Mr.. Wray had been conducting his
business under the name Of the Star
Book Company" A letter came from
a party who had sent money for the
books sold by Mr.. Wray, addressed
to another concern, having some
what similar name. The proprietor OF
the latter business was puzzled at
the complaint, but as the party gave
the number of the money order he
had sent, it was traced through the
postoffice and was found to have
been signed by Rev. W.ray. This,
with the discovery in one of the low
class magazines of an advertisement
of the "Star Book Company" OF
Lakeland, offering sporty books to
men only, satisfied us of the kind of
business in which he was engaged;
but, although he had mistreated us,
we refrained, out of respect for the
ministry, from giving the matter any
publicity, as we'll as also suppressing
other rumors of an equally discredit-
able character.
Mr.. Wray's. case seems to be that
of a brilliant mind gone badly
astray, and his condition will be
greatly deplored all over the State.
Concerning the charges upon
which the indictments against Mr..
Wray are founded the following
Jacksonville dispatch appeared in
the Tribune yesterday, appended to
which is a comment by that paper:
Jacksonville, July 24.-Rev. j.
E. Wray, former pastor Of Meth
odist church at Live Oak, and who
recently preached here, has been in
dicted by the federal grand jury on
eight counts. He is charged with
sending obscene matter through the
mails. He is now in the State Hos
pital for the Insane at Chattachoo-
chez.
It is charged that Rev. Wray OPP
Grated as the Star Book Company at
Lakeland and Live Oak, and that he
peddled through the mails booklet |
of the most obscene type, and photo
graphs Of women in nude poses OF |
a laseivious character. The booklet,
of forty pages, was sold
for IS a copy. The photographs cost
$40 for set of seven.
Rev. Wray, according to story
.a-.a - IA ca