The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-03-24
MAJOR APPO|NTtE
HAS NOT APPLIED
LID At ST. LOUIS
Conditions Bad, Saloons Being Per-
rnitted Openly To violate Prac-
tically All Laws.
DELEGATES SENT TO MAR
NOMINATION SCHEME
Liquor Statutes Not Enforced and
Alliance Is Said To Exist Between
Politicians and Beer Makers.

mitted openly and flagrantly to vio-
late practically all excise laws in or
der that their influence may be used
as a. political asset by the Major ad-
ministration, Is charged by local drys,
who also say that conditions In st.
Louis County, where the excise ar
fairs are administered by another
Major board, have become so unsat-
tsfactory that the county Democrats
are sending a delegation of twenty
two of their most representative lead
ers to the Democratic State convention
at st. Joseph, which opened today, TO
wage a finish fight upon the scheme
to indorse Major for yice-president,
Probably 100 of the 33a St. Louis
delegates will join the county dele
gates in the fight on Governor Major.
The speakers who have been selected
to make the fight on Major In the
convention are gathering facts reia-
tive to the violation of the LIQUOR
laws In st. Louis and st. Louis
County, and will make II plea to the
county delegates to crush the al
lance between the Governors poll
ticians and the liquor interests by de-
feating the Endorsement of Major for
the presidential nomination.
Rumsey's Record vulnerable.
The record of Horace s. Rumsey
Excise Commissioner of st. Louis,
who liz permitting wholesale viola
| tons of the excise laws, and is
| charged by Democratic politicians
! with trying TO use the saloon men to
his own political advantage, also will
be made an issue in the convention.
Two years ago the people of ST.
Louis County. which has a population
of 100000, appealed TO the Lesisla-
ture 20 create an excise board to have
supervision over the saloons OF the
county Their object was 10 create
an authority which would drive out
of existence the numerous lawless
saloons and dives which the county
authorities never would suppress. The
law was passed. and two excise com
misHoners were appointed. one of
them being Clarence L. Shotweli,
then chairman of the Democratic
county committee. and at present n
member OF both the Democratic State
and county committees.
The county committee has repeat
edly filed charges against Shotweil
with Governor Major and the Gov
ernor has several times promised the
committee that he would remove
shotweIL but he has failed TO keep
the promise. p. p. Lewis, Of Eureka,
president OF state Board of Agrfcul-
ture, and also president OF the Per-
manent Road and Bridge. Associa-
ton, which conducted in February
the successful campaign for the three
million dollar good roads bond is
sue, has taken a leading part In try
ing to have Shotwell ousted-
Friend Of Brewery Auditor.
The other member OF the Demo
cratic state Committee from the Tenth
District IL Louis Kupx, auditor of the
independent Breweries Company
which owns many of the saloons in
81. Louis County. Kunz ana Ehotwell
are intimate friends and daily asso-
ciates.
The charges filed by the county
committee with Governor Major re-
veal the conditions in the county
which the Governor is tolerating by
the retention Of his appotntee in Of
fee
In the letter now on fife tn the Co.,
ernor's office, which hitherto has not
been made public, II is charged that
In March, 1915. tho county committee
. learned that one of its members. Ed
Dillon. of Carondelet township. was
xoing to applicants for saloon IL
censes, whose petitions either had
been acted upon adversely or were
likely to be, and representing that he
could ''fix'' things with the Excise
Board.
The committee suspended Dillon
and called him before 1t for an In
quiry into his conduct. Shotwell, as
an attorney for Dillon, obtained an
Injunction TO restrain the committee
from conducting the inquiry. The
bond which Dillon had 10 give was
A~. aaJnnnEaanar
| Admits He Got Money.
The injunction was not served until
the proceedings had been had, ques-
tons being asked by John Il.
Mooney, chairman of the county COM
mittee, and the answers given by
Dillon "a follows:
O. did you procure any money
from saioonkeepers for the purpose
of procuring a hcense?"
A Yes. I would be paid for my
services in coming to Clayton and
representing the parties
Q. How much money did you
receive for this purpose
A. different amounts.
Q. How would you represent them ?
Would you sit at the counsel table
aud act as an Attorney"
A. mo, would take the Commits
sioners on the side and talk to them. "
@. Are you a lawyer"
A. II am a truck gardener and a
| peddler."
Cancelled checks representing pay
ments to Dillon, some for amounts as
| high as $3.50, will be taken by the
delegation to St. Louis as exhibits
for the information Of the country
delegates, who are not wise to the
devious ways by which saloon men
are granted special privileges under
| the Major administration.
The letter further charges that
| shotwell made tour of the country
! saloons with a man who makes a
| business Of furnishing slot machin es
to dramshop keepers and splitting the
profits on a fifty-fifty basis. 1t is
charged by the committee. but not In
1 the letter to Major. that only slot ma
chimes owned by this individual are
now permitted in the county saloons.
/ Conspiracy Charged.
! Allegations are also made that
Shotwell conspired with the Repnb-
| lican prosecuting attorney of the
county to have Robert j. Fine, the
| other member Of the board, who was
q member OF the Progressive party,
| removed so that he might have
greater power. Fine was removed,