The Seattle Star Newspaper, March 31, 1917, Page 1

2 } (] JUSTICE FOR THE BILLINGSLEYS The Billingsleys came to Seattle to break our laws, to bribe, or to try to bribe, the public officials of our city. On the witness stand they calmly confessed that: —They had forged liquor permits. —They had broken every liquor law. —They had committed perjury in our courts. NE CENT ALL EDITIONS All the Time immunity. lawbreakers are put behind the bars. them SUMMARY JUSTICE. —They had bribed our officials. —They had commercialized criminality for their own profit. The Billingsleys belong in the penitentiary. mingle with decent people. E [THE ONLY PAPER IN SEATTLE THAT DARES © TO PRINT THE NEWS [THE 28 19. WASH.,, SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 1917. They are unfit to These men must be given no degree of Our officials must now do their duty, and see that these The community demands for LAST EDITION 7 Hi Gill, Beckingham et al., but the 5 weather man says occasional rain Pod ( tonight and Sunday. eet ONE CENT). true. GILL, FREED, KISSES LAWYE * *% | Attorneys Weep in Court as Jury Acquits ‘Six * ‘ALLEN MUM AS | Isn't TONEXT STEP ON 8. District Att y Allen to | aay refused to mak ny cor on the verdict of not gv y again pthe six officials indict nh the cor |spiracy chargn fused to [say what steps he wot ud now take against the Billingsley brothers, who had pleaded gullty to several counts in several of the indictments | against them Whether the grand jury will be reconvened is another mystery Logan, Fred and Ora Billingsley, as well as W. Hi. Ptelow, transfer man; Edward Baker, manager of the Jesse Moore Hunt Co, of San “I'm going to try and forgellly it all. Time will adjust the wrongs that have been done. You see—i’m beginning to grow ileal.” Gili sat at his desk hall. He had just from the federal courtroom, wh he had been deciared “not guilty” of booze conspiracy charges. Edward Wiedeman, a railroad clerk. | his head ‘as the battered and Willi r, transfer man, brown soft hat that has apparently | were jol Eben withstood years of wear and tear. / officials He was smoking the ever-present; The corn-cob pipe. But he was not as yeady to talk as he often ts Going to Do His Best “{ really don't think I've et uch to say. It's over now. I'm oot ‘as bitter as I thought I would be. The jury did me justice 1 have found justice, so I'm going to get right to work and be the test mayor I know how to be.” He smiled, slightly. was a time when I kept tal note book of sll the sons 1 knew. . They were the often saying. a it men n't like. I'm going to “wipe Hay tack clean and not add eny new names.” Spends Day With Family Friends were hurrying in from ether offices to congratulate the mayor. He smiled broadly, shook | <ouldn't have been any other way.” “Will you go fishing today?” | Jim Agnew ree. gaid the mayor, “this day fa for myself, a little woman and wo boys.” 4 “That's the right thing to do,” yelled Agnew. uae mayor bout the case. 5 “| didn't think at any time that fury would ever convict,” he said "As a lawyer, I believe I sized them up correctly. They couldn't convict on the word of confessed si SAY ALL THOSE WHO ARE CLEAR the last few weeks has put me be hind in my work. I'm going to get Here are the statements busy and catch up.” they made after the jury re- turned its verdict: MAYOR GILL—The Justice Ti will Bi ples but ha not yet been sen |tenced. Wiedeman has pleaded not |guilty. Baker and Frazier have not lyet pleaded District Attorney Allen can bring} ingsleys up for sentence! r he chooses Besides this main charge of con spiracy, Logan Billingsley is under} three other indictments for viola tions of the interstate in the transportation of liquor 1 Bilt }ingsley is under two tf and Ora Billings most of the have a dy yp In each case guilty There {s also an_ indictment against Edward J. Margett, policeman, and later bootlegger ri | val of the Bilingsley, and the Jesse Moore Hunt Co. Netther defendant has yet peladed | A further indictment, growing out! of the booze-graft case, is directed jagainst Charlies J. Mullin, former policeman, charged with attempting date witn d if the would charges against the Prosecuting Attorney Lundin today sald he would have to “wait until after conferring with Allen.” continued to talk POSTMASTER ORDER PUT INTO EFFECT WASHINGTON, Marc h 31- Post master General Purleson off) ly gave out President Wilson's exec tive order, placing first, second pte eines inde third-class postmasters under the} cyijpep pp civil service law. ke ak, ties eT hoe tan pea eR ~~! man could be convicted. I can't ee yet how we were r in Gicted MEYER the service and have jury did me adjust the » been done. KINGHAM—I didn’t ADVERTISING MANAGER'S DAILY TALK AMUSEMENT NEWS PEYSER—I've been in of the city 18 years never been mixed up in anything wrong. Naturally, I'm | tickled to death | JACK POOLMAN dut JAMES DOOM—It was a fair y and they did what was right NAN—A “bull worst of it in a The jury did] thousands of this information like this, but we ATTORNEY WILMON TUCKER | Today There is nothing I could say nee cecereesss:Eage Sl the verdict saya it all Moore At ; PORNEY WALT Clase & nis aww ‘ ;| brought against these defendants shertesie dd he rage t] U. 8. ATTORNEY CLARENCE rage 4/1, REAMBS—I haven't a syllable of comment to make,” | ATTORNEY JOHN FRATER The jury did the just thing. | ATTORNEY WILLIAM R. BELL | % This illustrates that no matter | THE FASTEST GROWING PAPER|) og) carefully prepared a story R FULTON former |» | hoped got justice. | 1 whole action was unjustly |i | LEN—I Chief Gets Ovation at His Office They're jebrating” down into the police station 10:30, and were the signal for @ big ovation. “Come over book all of you,” Sergt. Oimstead. A few minutes later the car drov » the ga’ Charlie Beckingham step ar with reached from His off all morn! stant han here and I'll deciared Deek Hee A few minute jrang announcing the verdict, I Hedges sent out for 26 copies of The Star's extra which told the story of the ict of acquittal in en all the cops gan read of Seattl record t e dropped wort “T'm might dict, but I thing rehdering of n't change the ic. It will take change that.” see dpa Gordon! ice Ju John B. doubly ha or he father of twins today James R. Mann of I over. It's a girl and a MAKE RICH PAY | WAR'S EXPENSE SAY PACIFISTS NEW YORK, March 31.— The strongest pacifist influ- ence in America today sudden- ly turned from efforts to pre- vent war to means of financing it. Simultaneously it became known that a plan put forward by the American committee on war finance, neaded by Amos Pinchot, to place the entire fi- nancial burden of the war upon persons with incomes of more than $5,000 per year has been indorsed in high govern- ment circles. The greatest Gordon is the grand And the 5 will be| significance was | placed upon the sudden action of| leading pacifists bec 6 of the} lellef that they were in close touch with Washington leaders. While they insisted that they “still) for peace, their actions in dieated that the hope is practically dead. | it cannot en whose good TORNEY FREDHRICK BAUS: the jury was more sub tial fn character than usual here was a general misapprehen- | sion concerning the amount of liquor brought in by the Billings: | leys after August 30. Hi Gill broke up their so-called carload shipment plan in five weeks. t S. ATTORNEY CLAY AL, have no statement to make, The verdict speaks for it self | neceed in cont ting characters are known IN THE NORTHWEST based on fi premesis may be, if ed told by witnesses without charac. LOGAN BILLINGSLEY—Well, 1 ptill say I paid the money. a * The Gill Verdict * * © * G' ADLY The Star congratulates Hi Gill today upon his vindication at the hands of a jury. The Star is glad that Hi Gill is not, as the Billingsleys had told us, a venal, vulpine old gentleman, spreading his web like a predacious spider in the city hall for fat flies. The Star is glad tor Gill himself, and gladder still for the town’s good name. Our exonerated mayor, however, is not exactly a joyous sight. He does not emerge from the trial unscathed. He lost one or two tail feathers in the scrimmage. The Gill nemesis, police trouble, can be blamed for his indictment and trial. It was police trouble that led, thru the Wappenstein affair, to Gill's recall as mayor. It was police trouble that led, under the regime of Louie Lang, to a wave of adverse public criticism and Lang's subsequent dismissal. It was police trouble that Gill’s latest predicament—the disre- garding by police officers of a sub poena. And upon this foundation of led to Batrterep But Nor KNockeD Qur-Yet! * 8 * * He fact the Billingsleys built for an am- bitious district attorney a convincing chain of circumstantial evidence. Mayor Gill, in denying his guilt, publicly admitted during the trial that his settlement with the Billingsleys might have been conducted in a wise and more discreet manner. The Star, however, is not disposed to scold him about things like this. We do not find it in our heart, at this time, to douse Mayor Gill's gratifiica tion over the jury’s verdict by laying emphasis upon the fact that the inevi- table police scandals, deserved or unde- served, have pursued him into his present administration. Neither do we find it in our heart to resurrect, with our best I-told-you-so manner, any of the things we said about him in the mu- nicipal campaign a year ago. We wish only to congratulate most heartily. And to say nothing more— Except this: That we have changed our fixed city of Seattle has Gill as mayor. him not, however, opinion that the outgrown Hiram Defendants, RY REACHES A RDICT A THIRTEEN HO “Not guilty.” Fifteen minutes before ten, Sature morning, the jury that had been out all night returned this verdict that freed Mayor |Gill, Chief Beckingham and City Detectives Peyser, Poolman, McLennan and who have been on trial four weeks, charge by the government with conspiracy to bootleggers import whisky. The decision had been made at 6:30 a. m. on the fourth ballot. The jury got the case at 5:26 p. m. Friday. And Mayor Gill twined his arms arow Friday Frye, his law partner, and kissed him on the mouth! Wilmon Tucker, counsel, arose and eamed out of his eyes and pattered down on a brand new xtic. He walked to the jury box and in silence clasped 1ands of each of the 12 men. le crowd that had gradually m swarmed around the defendants, Gill's filled the federal and then to the court roc jury box PASTOR MAKES A STATEMENT Defendants and attorneys and jurymen shook hands, By | this time te were streaming down the cheeks of nearly all of the The \ rest “it I of 100 can a the ce of Rey. Percy, one of the jurymen, rose above q Every one stopped shaking hands and talking. have done wrong,” he said, “I believe that a city ust itself. But if I had voted the other way, these men would have been the ones who the families of big tears © suffered most.” 4 HOW THEY TOOK THE VERDICT They took the go into | jmay not verdict in several different ways. hysterics after a strain, as |but he expresses himself, just the same, Mayor Gill, and all the defendants, jury, mostly in sitegce. And then their friends closed in on them. Late in the line that pressed toward Gill was his laws vartner, Frye. 4 |GILL KISSES “FRIDAY” FRYE “Hello, old soul!” cried the mayor as their hands met; they moved toward each other as by the ® j same and the circle around them beheld the specs] monly moves to mirth Am a woman caifiy man-fashion, | shook hands wi the P Friday, the impulse, and tacle that con two men kissing each 4 | other 4g | his hat not a smile in the crowd as his face, backed away | There was |held in front of room. Wilmon Tucker, one of openly and unashamed BECKINGHAM DISTRIBUTES CIGARETS Fulton, who eyes violently, Frye, the mayor's attorneys, cried typresented Beckingham, wiped his but recovered himself and answered ,congratu- vice hoa with much talking during the trial Beckin one beam of relief, broke for the anteroom ¢ had shaken hands with the jurymen, | He was iater seen distributing cigarets until his stock gave | out : has av ham, soon as he Jations in rse his face hands with battle shook everybody near | over with friends 7 The four policemen |them, and stood around fighting the juntil the crowd melted away. | According to one of the jurymen, four ballots were takenia Jin the trial. The first ballot stood 9 to 3 for acquittal. After some heated discussion had taken place the second balloty was taken with the vote of 10 to 2 for acquittal. About anal hour later the third vote was taken with one juror still teem maining in the doubtful column Exactly 60 minutes Ig (Continued on page 8 and got out of the 4 q