The American issue. [volume] (Westerville, Ohio) 1912-19??, 1919-09-26
Can't Fool Lands

Can't Fool Lands
Il am So years old and have been
in this game for SO years and l know
that you do know" commented Judge
Lands as he sent the witness out of
the room again saying, go and think
it over. 1t may save my time and
possibly your time" Following the
testimony of the Hartmans several
other saloonkeepers refused to say
whether they had bought or sold any
us per cent beer since July lst.
They were held to the grand jury.
Then another saloonkeeper, Charles
Stenslsf, decided to tell the truth. He
admitted having purchased 2.75 per
cent beer at Kenosha from the Neid-
erprim agency.
Following the lead OF the Hart
mans he gave full account of just
how he. secured his supplies, going
personally in Ford touring car"
fifteen to eighteen times and purchas-
ing about Sc dozen bottles each time.
He also told of having secured two
truck loads which we're delivered to
him in a truck by driver whose name
he did not know. Both Hartman
and Stenslaf agreed to bring all their
275 per cent beer still unsold into
court When the stock arrived sew
eral dozen bottles of Miller High Life
beer were brought into court and a
sample was sent out to be tested by
chemist.
During his examination of the two
Hartmans, father and son, and the
other man who had decided to tell
what he knew, Judge Lands developed
the simple explanation Of why the
beer business hourished in Kenosha
after the first Of July. The witnesses
stated that they could get only one
half of one per cent stuff i'll Illinois;
that the 2.75 per cent stuff was easier
to sell; that it cost $500 a barrel
while the one-half of one per cent
cost only $l1.00; that they could get
the stronger beverage in Wisconsin,
and therefore patronized the Kenosha
beer agents. This explanation, to-
gether with direct testimony to the
effect that they had purchased beer
of the Niederprim agency, which han
died Miller beer was Immediately fol-
lowed by an order to hold Niederprim
to the grand jury on a conspiracy
charge. Niederprim had stubbornly
held to the statement that he had no
knowledge of his sales being made to
Illinois customers who contemplated
selling contrary to the Illinois law.
The Sole Slip Proved Point
A few moments later the testimony
of w. P. Warren, Chicago man fur
nished another link in the chain of
evidence Tightening about the Keno
sha beer wholesaler. The witness
waived his constitutional right to keep
silent and admitted ordering beer of
truck driver who had solicited his
order. Declaring that he made the
purchase innocently, not knowing that
the beer to be delivered was intoxi-
eating, and not knowing that it would
come from Wisconsin, he placed into
the hands of the judge sales slip
covering the transaction. Judge
Lands smiled broadly when he read
the slip, and then suggested that the
authorities inquire into the sanity of
the Kenosha beer agents. The sales
slip was dated at Kenosha, Wis, and
showed the location of the purchaser
to be North avenue and Wells street,
Chicago, Illinois. In his testimony
Niederprim, who handled Miller beer
of the brand mentioned in the trans
action in question, had reiterated that
he had no knowledge of sales for de-
livery in Illinois.
The North American brewery, of