The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-10-19
TWO BARRELS OF
| WH|SKEY GUILTY
Ordered Destroyed by Judge McNa-
mara, But This viii Not be
Done Until Uncle Sam
Gets Done.
THEY DEMAND A JURY
The Barrels, Through Their Attorney,
Made a Strenuous Effort to
Avoid Destruction, But
Failed.
THEY DEMAND A JURY

.'The defendant, the whisky. de-
mands a jury"
1T is refused"
That short colloquy between F. NJ
Ballinger, appearing in the superior
court as attorney for two barrels or
whisky the police seized on truck
| in an alley one September night, and
Judge Mcnamara opened the trial
this morning. The whisky is charged
with being subject to destruction be-
cause illegally transported into Iowa
| from Warsaw, Illinois.
A. T. Marshall, for his client, Wal
tier Curfman, driver of the truck, who
was not in court, demanded jury
as bailee which was also refused by
the court. Then all this was placed
in the record and excepted to by the
defendants.
Next, County Attorney McManus
fled a, motion to strike out the plead
ing of Walter Curfman by which he
entered the case as custodian OF the
two barrels, because Curfman had
| not made affidavit as to its truth, as
required by the general rules OF
pleading. The defense argued that
the proceeding against the whisky is
like a misdemeanor
| trial and hence any defense plead
! tngs need not be sworn to under
Iowa law. The court overruled this
motion.
The defense objected to the war
rants, notices and so forth offered by
the county attorney as evidence, but
was overruled by the court in its
turn.
/ In the end, Judge Mcnamara found
the two barrels of whisky guilty and
entered Judgment that it be destroy
ed. The whisky appealed, which
stops issuance of the order of de-
struction.
Identifying the Defendant.
Chief Henneman was the first wit
ness and told of having two barrels
| in his Office on which are internal
revenue liquor stamps, revenue In
| spection marks, and bond warehouse
marks. The attorney for the whisky
fired a stream OF objections. on the
ground that the barrels ought to be
brought into court and marked ex-
| hibit F as evidence. The judge did
1 not take kindly to this idea.
| Deputy United States Marshal Gray
took off the labels, Hennemann said,
whereupon Attorney Ballinger made
an earnest protest OF violation OF
rights, which the court overruled.
! Hennemann said he did not test
the contents of the barrels in his
office.
| County Attorney McManus offered
! in evidence the first four lines Of
Curfman's pleading referring to the
goods as 1.-TWO barrels of whisky" to
assist in identifying the defendant
packages.
The only other witness was Officer
Barney Conn who seized the whisky
in an alley. He told how he saw the
truck without lights and told Curt
man to turn on his lights which Curt
man did, and then turned them of
again as soon as he turned corner.
Conn then recited Curfman's route
like that of a parade all over town,
to his return to the same place in
the alley when Conn saw the bar
rels and took the outfit to the police
station. He testified that Curfman said
ito him: 'If you'll let me go, I'll take
| it back across the river"
The whisky had no witnesses in
its defense.
What Did curfman Intend?
! Attorney Ballinger argued to the
court that it had no jurisdiction be-
cause the whisky belongs in other
courts as evidence against Curfman,
who is indicted in the state district
court and bound over to the United
States grand jury, and these courts
will want the whisky there.
He also argued that there was no
I