The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1917-05-03
In Five Years by Grit Courage Ingenuity and Bulldog Tenacy
He Wiped Out the Gamblers and Whisky Peddlers From
Every Indian Reservation Remarkable Narrative
That Rivals Deeds of Old Froptiersmen.
He STARTS TOCARRIE NATIONIzE The JOINTS
With Three Trusted Deputies He Suddenly Descends on Tulsa and
Fires Three Gambling HouseS-Raids Other Towns and
Puts Crmp in Gambling and Saloon Business.

At an editors desk in Westerville,
o., there sits stoutish man of about
fifty-two, preparing the lay-outs of a
chain of temperance magazines and
newspapers. His head is as bald as an
egg, and it would surprise anyone who
had just met him and was listening to
the editors gentle, half-timid accents,
ito know that the several indentations
i'm the top of it come from revolver
butts implanted there during strug-
lyle in a courtroom somewhere in
Texas, when the said editor was
known as the most sensational news
paper detective west of the Missis-
Isippi.
William Eugene Johnson is a
Inatural-born bad man. That his ac-
Itivities have always been enlisted On
behalf of good citizenship is probably
ian accident due to early training and
environment Picture man of about
six feet three, by four feet in diameter,
an elongated flour barrel. with mus
1cles bullying out all over him; the face
of bandit, utter fearlessness, love
of fighting SURPRISING an Irishman's,
a strain of Indian blood that makes
him as tenacious and resolute as a
full-blood, and one governing princi-
pie. That is Johnson.
The governing principle is this:
Save the Indian from the bootleggers
who are debauching them with illicit
alcohol.
Johnson is stanch temperance
man, but no fanatic. 1t is only when
his blood-brothers, the Indians, are
ruined by rum" that you can see the
mans moral indignation aroused to
the point of fanaticism. For six years
he fought battle in the West on be-
half of the governments wards that
has never been equaled in strenuous
activity. The tale of his exploits is
here to be set out in full for the first
time.
In August, 1906, at the suggestion
of Commissioner Francis e. Leupp.
Johnson was appointed by Secretary
Hitchcock to be special agent in In
dian Territory, for the purpose of
stamping out the sale of intoxicants to
Indians. In 1908 he was made chief
of the. service, and after Oklahoma
achieved statehood his duties were
extended to cover all the Indian reser-
vations throughout the country.
go down there" were Johnson's in
structions, land put as many bootleg
gers and illicit whisky sellers out of
business as you can. Put them in jail
for as long as you are able, and, when
they get out, throw them back again."
Johnson, arriving a the scene of
operations, found four courts and
eight judges, with 5000 criminal
cases awaiting trial. It was evident
that he might kick his heels till judg-
ment day so far as bringing criminals
to trial was concerned. He found his
deputies bulldozed and diSheartened
and laughed at by the grog-sellers.
That was where Johnson began.
His first move was to make the best
collection of so-called temperance
drinks" used for debauching Indians
that was ever assembled. He
scooped up bottles of "Uno," 'Ino,"
"Mistletoe," "Longhorn," "Waukesha,"
'New State" Meth" "Teetotal," ''Tin-
top" "Uauto." "Nottox," Pablo" ETC.,
and had them submitted to expert
analysis Every one of them proved
to- be beer. highly charged with alco-
hoV. Johnson went before various
grand juries with this evidence, and
the grand juries smiled and voted mo
bill"
That spurred Johnson. He gave out
a signed statement to the newspapers