The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-12-11
GREAT INTEREST
IN BOOZE REPORT
Ref0rmer's Digest of Testi-
mOny Creates Much
Comment
OFFICIALS COME
IN FOR CRITICISM
Feeling that if Considerable Ouan+,+v
OF Liquor Was Taken Some Of Them
Must Have Known It - More Wit
nesseS to Be Examined.


nesses to Be Examined.
No more entertaining story has been
printed III The Reformer in a lone time
than the digest of the testimony taken
at the village commissioners invast;-
cation OF the mysterious disappearance
from the village lookup of a quantity
OF hquor seized by officers in a raid at
valley sstrcet, published Saturday.
There was an unusual demand for con
les OF The Reformer and the story was
read in the highways and bvwavs and
generally commented upon.
a variety of opinions exist as to
where the booze went, but all agree
that It was unfortunate that nothing
more definite was brought out at tho
investigation. As matters stand now
the people in general look upon both
the police department and the sheriff s
department with suspicion that is det
rlmental to both, and with a feeling
that the existing state of affairs will
DC handicap to the efficiency of the
administration of the new states at
ttrney. In some quarters it is felt also
that an attempt is being made to make
~ iiISAii IAA' SSpsAl- whereas 1t Is not
8enefallE believed that this particular
person had any more to do with the
disappearance of the stuff than did
some others
The people are asking a variety of
questions about the case. One citizen
wants to know why it was necessary
for the sheriffs to drive by automobile
out beyond the fair grounds to empty
lot OF vials containing extracts for
making various kinds of liquor. on the
same day that the order was received
to sell the stuff in the lookup, whan the
custom was TO spill condemned liquor
into the sewer at the lookup.
Another calls attention to the fact
that when Hooker Winchester was ar
rested year ago and a quantity of
liquor was seized at the hotel in Guil-
ford, OF which he was proprietor. the
pooze was not stored in the lookup,
and after the legal proceedings it was
ordered sold b. the municipal court and
was sold to 2 license holder in Rutland.
1t IS pointed out that from this the
sheritfs knew that under a new law
hquor might at any time be ordered
sold instead of spilled.
The testimony of Policeman Worden
was that Policeman Wood said he had
to draw his dinner pail full of beer
tWlce to get enough to 90 with his din
ner, because it foamcd so much. Police
man Wood denied in his testimony that
he ever admitted to Policeman Worden
that he drank any of it. 1t is pointed
out that whether any such converse.
ton took place or not there was no tes-
timony to show that Officer Wood has
any knowledge as to what became of
the "hard'' stuff
Chief Wilson s testimony was that
because the room in which the liouor
was stored was a toilet room the room
was not locked 1t is pointed out that
there IS another toilet room on the
same floor, SO that the liquor could have
9een locked up without interfering
with the convenience of the police
headquarters
The possibility of any considerable
quantity of liquor being taken from the
lookup without some of the officers hay
ing some notion more than mere guess
work as to where it went is regarded
by most persons as remote There are
some who incline to the belief that
there was not as much liquor in the
containers as thought at the time of
the seizure.
Some Importance has been attached
to the testimony that the custom has
been TO leave the lookup unlocked af-
ter midnight. Chief of Police W. S.
Severance of Bellows Falls tells The
ieformer that when the night man
there goes homo about in the morn
ing he locks the police station. The
chief unloclls it when he comes on duty
about 9 a. m. Aside from that the sta
tIon is unlocked all the time, night and
day, including the office and cells. un-
less some prisoner is confined there.
That IS the custom in other places. as
It is not considered advisable for an of
heer to stop to unlock a door when he
arrives at the lookup with a prisoner.
The only thing out of the ordinary in
Rrattlsboro in this respect is that the
lookup has been kept locked before
midnight. Chief Severance saws that
when booze is seized it is locked in a
cell and no one has occasion to 90
where it is without an order.
1t IS understood that one or two more
witnesses are to be examined before
the ease is closed