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THE TEliEGRAM, fsme io giveCIGAR STORES MUST NOT ALLOW MINORS TO / ENTER.■s-Officer Tells the Facts About tempt of “Black Bess” to Bribe Him.At-News regarding the Montpelier resort | HOST AMkeeper and slot machines in this city:“The question of prosecuting tl* woman was discussed between the prosecutor and the judge, and it was finally decided tf let ker-go for the present, provided she made public the names of the persons who furnished the money, for it was a well known fact that ‘Black Bess’ was not financially able to put across a deal of tjiat kind on her own account. So ‘Black Bess’ will be called before the I reunion, grand jury and questioned in regard j Henry, Wabash, to who furnished the money and who j Randolph and I it Was thai was anxious to start up ; were represented a a blind tiger. And it is believed that f^ur generations ]Kl 1Mr. and Mrs. Leoldest members o—*family in Blackfo royal entertainers, they w'ere hosts at try home, four m Montpelier/ to the 1 at the eighteenthshe will tell all about it.lt;4'McConkey, wifeThe grand jury recently returned ; Washington state,distance to be prlt;A sweeping order to the cigar store proprietors af Blackford and Wellsindictments against operators of slot machines. Some of them paid fines 1 by Rev j0bn j, and other cases are pending. But the ; county, were heldoperators seem to think the grand jury was just kidding them along, forthe noon hour, th of the day ■which athe slot machine business began to tion,. was spreadflourish just the same as if there hadcounties-' for law enforcement—not! been no indictments. Prosecutorpartial but strict enforcement—will be made soon by Prosecutor L. F.i9Sprague, of this city, according to that officials^ statement.Minors must not be allowed in's these places, else prosecution will follow. The prosecuting attorney, who recently knocked out the slot machines and saw to it that his order was obeyed, will give the cigar and pool room men warning against per-Sprague notified the slot machine men at Hartford City and Montpelier and John Decker, his deputy for Wells county, notified the operators at Blriff-ton that the machines must be closed —that they would not be permitted to run, and the orders were obeyed. Now the grand jury will try to find, out who it is that has so much interest in the-slot machines, who finances them ab4 who was so bold as to put them in use immediatelyinitting minors in places and then, after the grand jury has returned in-During the afterr was held. Fiftee cream was consul This year Lero; chairman. Follow the event to be h tbe chairman, th held next year at Kitterman, in Hen named as head ofPLEASANif the violations continue, he will prosecute, he says.dictments. There is something funny about this and the grand jury wishesOne indicted person, who awaits to get in on the joke.”trial at the October term of the October term of the Blackford circuit ourt, has attempted to bribe Prose-tor Sprague to dismiss or “pigeon le” the charge. She is “Black Bess”Blodgett makes a mystery out of the operation of slot machines in this city and says the grand jury will try to find out who is so much interested in them. All the slot machines inRobinson, Montpelier resort keeper, j this city are the property of the menaccording to Prosecutor Sprague.1 in whose places of business they are j She did not, however, offer him I operated and there is no mystery;money to allow her to conduct a blindabout who *is behind them. Prosecu-tiger in the Oil City, the state’s at-1 tor Sprague denies having been* in-torney says in denying the statement j terviewed by Blodgett.' His entire j of W. H. Blodgett, unreliable cor-; article is either based on misinfor-respondent of the Indianapolis News, mation or imagination, and is on a Following is the story, as ioid by Mr. j par with other effusions written by Sprague: shim. • .The attempted bribe occurred last I Speaking of conditons at Bluffton,Mr. and—Mrs. I Theodore Younce Sunday with relat Mrs. Ora Eikent home in Gary aftlt; Linder and familMrs. S. A. Inr following Tuesdaj Mrs. Jacob Parke Mrs. Ora Eikdib Wentz.Charles Hollins with Mr. and Mr Mr. and Mrs. ;July 23 and 24. The Robinson woman, .against whom two charges arethe prosecutor stated that they are not as represented by the Indianap-pending—one on a grand jury indict- olis News, for he has more confidence , mem. for conducting a blind tiger afid in John Decker, his Wells countythe other a charge filed by Prosecutordeputy, than to believe he has notSprague for conducting a house of ill j kept a “line” on liquor violations fame—came to Hartford City and | there. Decker is a young man ot sought the prosecuting attorney. Slie marked ability who carefully looks said she would pay him well if he after the matters of his office, the would suppress the cases against her. i prosecutor says, and a wide open This he refused to do. 1 Bluffton would be impossible, accord-On the following day the woman I in» to h*3 chief. The outcome of the returned. This time Sprague had a present term of the circuit court there hird person secret^ in liis office, will likely determine whether a grand Black Bess,” evidently believing that;3ury for Wells county will be called the sight of money would bring the or n°t-officer across, shoved .$200 in bills--at him, repeating her request of the ; MINISTER PRAlScSday before. The prosecutor called TIVe..■out his friend as a witness and asked ; -the woman where she got the mtfftey. j She replied it was her own. She made no request whatever that she be allowed to continue operating a blind tiger in Montpelier. She deniedrHIS LAXA-/... . . .1 rabsolutely that she had been sent as • an agent for anyone else. ;For certain reasons, the prosecutor said nothing about the visits of “Black Bess.” The woman, however, told a IjMontpelier physician that the pros- iRev. H. Stubenvoi! of Allison, la.,; in praising Dr. King’s New Life Pills 'for constipation, writes:—“Dr. King’s ;New Life Pills are suc-h perfect pillsi; no home should be without them.”No better regulator for the liver and ! bowels. Try them. Price 2Gc. at T.j P. Van Winkle’s....... lt;. . • ..... ... i ............‘ Xvl-Xvlvlv ;;.;.Xv v .v‘ VXvX'IvX'XvX-lv'.Xv:* • • *... •................ •...........v.yv.*.v .-.v.v.y.y..........V.v.v *.•••. '.V.VAViV .*mmmrnmSchool days will begin again forecuto'r had forced her to sign s‘tate-tsome W00 -°r W0'1 students in thia ments to the effect that she had paidicity September 8, when allgraft money to the Montpelier poUce, the public schools will resume.for protection. These reports came;ito Mr. Sprague’s attention, through;Mayor Burris, of Montpelier, and the j Robinson woman was called on the j carpet. She admitted having made j ‘the statements to the Montpelier doc- j tor and she as freely admitted they j 1 were not true. She said she really J didn't know why she made such an j assertion. She had told the Mont- i pelier police, she said, that the prosecutor held a “club” over her in the form of signed statements anenc the! bribery deal, which he was using against her.Whatever chance of immunity the woman might have had by turning state’s evidence against other law i violators is probably gone because of ; her misrepresentations and another deal in which she was caught by the prosecutor, leading to the bawdy house charge.This occurred prior to her attempt to bribe the officer. Word had come to Mr. Sprague, he says, that “Black Bess” was operating a house of ill ftme in Montpelier. He notified the police here who in turn notified the Montpelier police, and they reported conditions to the local police, but nothing was done. Finally the pros-• ecutor. in company with his deputy and Grover Griffith, went to, Oil_ City, where they caught “Black Bess”^’red-handed. The charge of conducting a house of ill fame followed.“Black Bess” still faces the charge. The prosecutor hinted that the police who, after some time had been given them, were unable to find her operating, when the prosecutor in one trip was able to do so, may themselves face indictments at the hands of the next grand jury if they do not en-force the law.* ^Following is some of the balderdash 'sent by Blodgett to the IndianapolisJohn Lind, special representative is said, to have 1 of President Wilson in Mexico, andto induce Provisi» Mrs. Lind, who accompanied him onta to Step down his mission to Mexico City, where he troublesome repi
Newspaper Details
Hartford City Telegram
Hartford City, Indiana, US
Wed, Sep 03, 1913
Page 5
Full Page
Clipped by
Tracy K.
USA 12 Jun 2019
Other Publications Near Hartford City, Indiana
Hartford City Telegram
