Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-09-18
FUNERAL PARTY" COMES TO
GRIEF AT COUNCIL
BLUFFS.
PROVES TO Be
VARIOUS SIZED BOTTLES
Officers Receive Tip and Spring Upon
Funeral Party From Shadows Of
Chicken coop-Four Arrests Made
and Liquor is Placed in Storage
Corpse Came From ST. Joseph, Mo.

Council Bluffs, Sept. ls.-The last
sad rites for old John Barleycorn, were
rudely interrupted by Sheriff Grone-
veg and his deputies at the witching
hour Monday night at the J. H. Garner
farm, in Garner township, Ave miles
north of Council Bluffs. AS the full.
bright moon hung in silent grandeur.
outlining the landscape in bold relief,
the officers swooped down upon the
cortege and took possession Of the
late deceased"
that met their gaze-not at all. Rather
they beheld n number of suspicious
looking guany sacks and packages that
clinked merrily as they were rolled I'M
tremendously from the casket that
was about to be lifted into the big
automobile hearse. Something like
S25 pints of booze lay revealed in all
its splendor. while something akin to
smile spread over the mobile face Of
old Luna as she smiled se<enely down
upon the fantastic little throng below.
Four Mourners Arrested.
Four men. all from Omaha, mourn
ers" and "pallbearers' for the late de-
ceased, were taken into custody and
the funeral declared off forthwith. The
men were William Foxx. alias william
Heller; Alebrt Fox. alias Albert Joseph,
John Van Meter. alias John McMillen,
and G. D. Huston.
The two Fox brothers operate an
auto garage at 1914 Cunning street.
William Fox is known in the two
cities also as a baseball umpire Van
Meter is a hearse driver for the Palace
Horse and Auto Livery at Twenty
second and Cunning streets. Huston is
a taxi driver and lives at $50 South
Twenty-fourth street. All the ad-
dresses are in Omaha. The hearse is
the property of the Palace livery. 1t
was taken possession of by the Off
GERS. together with a big Cadillac car
which had accompanied the hearse to
the farm.
The men arrested. or at least num-
Der of them. We're evidently making
the trip from St. Joseph to Omaha
Sunday night when they met with ma
chine trouble and stopped at the Gar
ner farm. They were given permission
to leave their load in one of the Gar
ner out-buildings until they could get
to Omaha and return for it. The con-
tents Of the load were not known.
During Monday afternoon some Of
the party returned to the farm and
took away portion Of the load None
OF the occupants of the farm were
present People in the vicinity, how
al in
was given to the sheriff, who immed-
lately went to the farm. Mr.. Garner
was located and took the officers to
the building. where an Investigation
was made. One Of the men had given
the garage address in Omaha and Car
ner called this number and told them
to come at once and get the goods.
Officers Hid In Coop.
The sheriff and his deputies. George
Gillaspy, A. H, Hollis and Tom Rich
ardson, then concealed themselves in
an adjacent chicken coop and waited.
1t was l o'clock Tuesday morning be-
fore the party showed up. The big
Cadillac car appeared on the scene
first and stopped at the shed where
the booze was concealed. After a while
the big hearse came up the road.
"Good heavens, calculated Gilaspy.
as he discerned the big car outlined in
the moon light whats coming on
here? Who is pulling off a funeral at
this time of night?"
The crew of the hearse stopped at
the shed door and everybody began to
carry out the packages and sacks. The
big metallic basket was taken from the
hearse, the cover removed and the
packages carefully deposited within.
When the operation was nearing COM
pletion. the officers stepped from their
hiding place. where they had kept vigil
with the chickens for many hours, and
covered the funeral party with their
guns. -Four pair Of hands went UP.
Huston was SO frustrated that he
stuck up the cover OF the basket along
with his hands. Thus endeth the funeral
rites of old John Barleycorn. Instead
OF going back to Omaha with the
body it went to Council Bluffs and
Is now in storage The four men were
taken to the county Jail. One livery IN
Omaha will be minus a perfectly good
funeral car for an indefinite period
and someone is also short Cadriiac
car. They may be returned some day.
if the courts will it.