The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1924-05-07
222 ON RECORD
OF COLLECTOR


trial had paid him money running into
thousands of dollars and that Bob Hol.
combe, O'Connor, Jemison, Cody, and
Chrisman paid him by endorsing his
notes so there would be mo come
back"
He further testified that he saw J.
J. Cummings, another of the defend
ants, make a quart of synthetic liquor
in the Dawes Tire Shop and that Cum
mings labelled 1t as Real Stuff" and
gave IL to him. The government now
has it, he said.
Must Have Money
A. G. Ward, he. said, telephoned him
about the meeting in which, the three
way split" was planned. When he ar
rived in the office Of the Mobile De
livery company where, he said, the con-
ference of MeEyoy, O'Shaughnessy,
Bob Holcombe and Kearns was held,
Holcombe asked how much money he
had. When his check book was shown,
Holconibe, he said, told him that was
chicken feed" O'Shaughnessy, he
said, left before the conference was con-
eluded with the remark that anything
you do with French will be all right
with me" Kearns said, according to
French, that eve will have to get some
money or my wife will leave me-"
Then, he said, Holcombe suggested
the three-way split for sheriff, police
and government and asked HIM whether
II though $4,000 would fix Boyles."
II told~him," said French, Il thought
$25, 900 would fix anybody but the sub
ject was not mentioned again."
French said on a later date he ar
ranged conference at DIR. Wards home
for Ward and Boyles at Wards re-
quest, and that Ward told him that he
thought II could handle Boyles." Nc
Eyoy, French testified, once told him
that everything was fixed with the
police and sheriff and that have to
get fixed with Boyles."
''F'or Personal Purposes"
!, Two payments from McEvoy to
French were testified to. One of $500
with a list of McEvoy's customers was
made, French said, in the George fruit
stand on Royal street. Another was a
check for $1,000 for federal protection
which French said he showed to Boyles,
Judge Burgett, United States commits
sioner, and Virgil Griffin, clerk of the
United States court. before he had 1t
cashed by Tode Medicus for personal
purposes"
French further testified that
"O'Shaughnessy once told him that the
police department did not interfere with
the sheriff's department, that the gov
eminent ought to follow a similar pol
icy, so would all get along"
f2 French said he left town, going to
Biloxi for two weeks, once at the re-
quest of Jemison and Frank Boykin,
another. of the defendants, and that
Jemison gave him $500 to leave with.
He said these persons told him he was
about to be arrested.
The $500 Note
Attorney McCorvey of the defense be-
gan the cross-examination of French,
stressing chiefly the note for $500 on a
local bank Endorsed by Bob Holcombe
and paid by him. This note is men
toned in the indictment of the alleged
copspiratorsF as one of the overt acts.
French said the Holcombes were not
friendly to his father.
Under cr0Hs-examination by Attorney
Hale, French denied that he collected
money for Boyles. He said he prom
ised the bootleggers no protection for
the money they gave him and denied
that he ever told the bootleggers he
'..was Boyles' right-hand man"
my instructions" said French,
were from Agent ]. NJ. fowler of the
department of justice, who told me to
get all the money / could from the boot.
leggers and keep it."
H. T. Smith continued the cross
examination by eliciting the informa-
ton that French's commission from the
sheriff's department was merely made
because he was working for the rail
roads in the big strike of 1922. French
said under this examination, that when
he was employed by the BOddeker De-
tective Agency and three railroads, his
chief Of the detective agency got
OfShaughnessy to give him a commits
sion.
Il have never been an officer for
city, county or government" French
said. Il may have gotten $4,000 from
the bootleggers, but / never kept an
account and do not know how much 1
was paid. Tom Cleveland and lobe
Medicus once told me they were going
to make the bootleggers pay me the
same as they paid the sheriff's crowd
and the police"
So far as know the bootleggers
were paying me for nothing. When
Agent fowler came to the city to start
the investigation resulting in this trial,
I told him all knew and he gave me
my Instructions" &..@
French said that after Donaghue put
him out of the sheriff's- office he came
and told his troubles to Aubrey Boyles
and applied for government commits
sion that he has never yet received.
French said that he volunteered his
services IA fha ynUaTfarnank end - H. i