The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-04-04
MOTLEY WRITES PLAIN
STATEMENT TO PAYNE
Calls Attention 70 His Apparent F,eol-
Ing La = Matter Of Which lie
Secn.s tn Know Little.

Tho Rev. Daniel z. Mouey. pastor
OF Bethney Christian church., wash
iHGson. we'll known lecturer and
preacher. who makes frequent trips
10 Virginia along the highways fire.
quented by bootleGgers denies that the
prohibition officers In Virginia Aro
rude. d.seouTteous. ruoghnsc!is ard
are guilty OF unseeElly acts" az has
been charged.
The pastor has written to John Bar
ton Payne. counsel for The federal
administration. IL. which he
discusses the attitude OF that officer
and who declares his Interpretation
of the law Ia IAN Invitation to boot
leggers 20 prosecute their business '
The letter follows:
MIR, John Barton Payne.
Washington, D. c.: My Dear Sir
do not like to write letters
not even for my own spacitio
work.
~ note the Washington Pot
says you wrote 10 the COVER aor
of Virginia the following:
Nothing Is dong 80 much to in
1ure the good name OF Virginia
as the conduct OF the prohibition
officers.' You are 'rJust TO said
otficerz
II am not person ally acquaint-
cd with any one OF rem | know
what 1 write Iwtce each month
for twelve months / have visited
down about Spotsyivania court
house, on tbs main pike from here
TO Richmond. and the iiQuor law
breakers gong over those roads
have and dc give the officers all
kinds Of trouble, and often 1t La
worth about IA much as a mans
life ~ be on that pike when .
liquor laden car comes through
running anywhere from forty to
aixty s--conservadveiy speak
ing-an hour. / am the man who
knows. as have bean on The road
tweaty-four times AT regular In
tsrvals In the last year. II Ia
marvel. literally so, that the pro-
hIbition officers OF virginia have
been and are a. caref III. conaider-
ate and leniaat "a the. are.
II do not believe for a moment
ina, you personally or person
ally would stand what they do
Your statement is not only unjust
TO said officers. hu. 1t will embof-
den every whiskey law-hreaker
|. who reads the statement You. y
! lawyer. and at that a lawyer In
Office. are not supposed 10 encour~
age iaw-breakers.
About two weeks aso-for the
frs; time. believe. In the hts
tory OF prohibition In Virginia.
state officer killed a liquor law
breaker thad over hundred
pints in his carr in trying TO ar
rest him. TIE papers howled
about IL for days. Liquor nohs
gathered. Last year a negro car
rying Illicit whiskey shot and kill
ed dead Coleman SHcihofse on
the train over In Alexandria
vicinity. Shelhorse was not rough
I'm any way. Sheihorse was in No
way high tempered Was head
of one OF the best families In
Pi,,sly,nnia county Va know
what | speak Of. for I went to
public school with HIM for ten
years. mayed all sorts of games
with him. Yet when negro
breaker shot ]. c. Shelhorse
dead tho papers mentioned 1t
merely one day, in comparatively
short spaces at that And no pro-
hibit'on mob arose up TO get the
negro.
II kindly ask you--And enclose q
stamp for the purpose-to send
this letter on to Governor Davis
after you have carefully road 1t
"Respec fully,
tsigned) DANIEL f. MOTLEY
In this connection, the state pro
hibition department yesterday dc
clared that prohibition officers refer
red to in a letter written to Mr.. Payn,
by the mayor Of North Caroiin:
city were not identified with the Vlr
ginia department The prohibition in
spectors alluded to by the Tarheas
executive are alleged to have offended
women passengers aboard Pullman
sleeping cars in their search for con
| traband whiskey