Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-06-23
FREEL|NG PROBES
FAR INTO NIGHT
Attorney Generals Attitude
Toward Sheriff Removal
Case Not Announced.
ROAD HOUSES BIG FACTOR
Fight Centers Around Dens,
Which Mccullough Says He
Tried to Danish.

From 10 o'clock yesterday morning
ney-General Freezing conducted IA Sc
cret hearing in a private room on the
fourth floor of the county courthouse
to determine whether or not he would
invoke the law passed by the last leg
islaturc empowering him with the au-
thority to remove county officers for
failure to enforce the prohibtory and
gambling laws OF the state.
The examination was directed
against Sheriff William Mccullough
on a complaint filed by members OF
the one hundred committee, charging
him with having allowed roadhouses
to operate thruout the county a
number of murders have occurred in
these notorious roadhOuses and pub
lie sentiment has been very strong
against them. The charge is that If
Sheriff Mccullough had been more
Persistent that he could have kept
these roadhouses from operating.
His Third Term.
This is McCuloIgh's third term as
sheriff and personally no man in the
county has higher standing among
everyone who knows him than he, and
he says he stands ready TO prove that
Whenever he has heard of the exist
ence of roadhouse he has raided 1t,
not once but repeatedly and that he
has done everything in his power to
close them up, but that they spring up
- over night and operate for some time
before they become so open and no.
torous that their loca lion becomes a
matter OF common knowledge. He
declares that he has not rushed into
print every time he has made a raid
and denies emphaticaliy that any
place has ever been permitted TO run
with his knowledge and consent.
City Is Better.
Freezing stated yesterday that so
far as the city OF Tulsa is concerned
that conditions are better than ever
before in its history, but that he will
bring custer proceedings against the
sheriff for the conditions i'm the county
is believed to be almost foregonr
conclusion. Sheriff Mccullough says
he will defend his official record and
that he will prove his innocence OF
any derilection of his Official duties 10
any fair minded jury. lie declares
that none of those who have joined in
the charges against him have ever
made any specific complaint to him or
furnished him any assistance in sup
pressing the roadhouse nuisance.
Charges Handicap.
Sheriff Mccullough asserts also that
Immediately after he took office last
January County Attorney Reeves cut
off all communication with him Off
cially and even put a special lock on
the door connecting their respective
offices. He says this unfriendly at
ttude and many others have initiated
against the faithful execution of the
law against Bookkeeping and other
crimes and the lack of cooperation
with the county attorney has been a
serious handicap to him in the per-
formance of his duties.
Houses Curse.
Whether or not Sheriff Mccullough
has been derlcct in his duties the fact
is that the roadhouse evil has become
a positive nuisance In Tulsa county
and is almost without exception in the
hands OF the most criminal element
that has even been mixed up in the
liquor traffic and unless some means
can be devised for putting these dens
out of existence public sentiment is so
aroused that mob law will be resorted
to to put them out of business.
Fractional and partisan fights in the
past have done much to keep the bet
ter element of people divided when
ever the question of law enforcement
has been brought ZIP ana even now
there are a great many reputable peo-
pie who know Sheriff McCulloueh
and who believe in his integrity and
uprightness who will regard the ef-
fort to oust him from office as Il re-
vival Of the old soap and Nhie in
no wise undertaking to defend or up
CONTINUED on PAGE FOUR