Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 6, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1902 — BANDITS IN OFFICE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BANDITS IN OFFICE.

FATTENED ON BT. LOUIS MUNICIPAL CORRUPTION. •V ■■ “Combine” of 10 Members Wbo> According to the Confession of One of Their Number, Made Upwards of *125,000 by Their Votes. The exposures made by John K. Murrell, former Speaker of the St. Louis of Delegates, in his recent confes-

for years that community has been the victim of as corrupt a gang of office holding bandits as ever contributed to the infamy of Tammany Hall or fattened financially at the expense of the taxpayers of Philadelphia. Murrell asserts that there was a com-bi-sion indicate that

nation in the House of Delegates whose purpose was to control legislation and sell votes for the benefit of the members. This, he says, they did, their profits at the expense of the people amounting to more than $125,000. All their, acts have not been made public, but from what is known it is safe to predict thatTJrison gates will swing open soon for men mho have long been influential in St. Louis politics and who are willing to part with honor in return for riches. Nineteen men are included in the gang of corruptionists, most of whom have been arrested, and some permitted to go on heavy •bail being furnished. The trial of the cases will be extremely sensational. The first known of the boodling, the whole truth of which is now out, was last December, when the grand jury found indictments against certain persons for bribery in connection with the granting of street railroad franchises. Murrell was one of these, aud to escape arrest, he fled to Mexico. The officials and the newspapers kept up a still hunt and Murrell to return to the

c-ity a lew days ago. He then made known the. details of the conspiracy, his confession being made to Circuit Attorney -Folk. He declared that he wa si essgiultyTha n others by whom he was being made a catspaw and that while in exile he suffered agonies of mind which he

could not longer endure. He was, so he declares, one of the members of a “combine” composed of nineteen men who belonged to the House of Delegates. This “combine” held frequent meetings in the room adjoining the House of Delegates chamber, and there most of their schemes to get money for votes were concocted. One of the schemes was to make a deal with the Suburban railway. This company wanted a franchise and Murrell was selected, according to his confession, to negotiate w r ith Philip Stock, the representative of the Railway Company, as to the best price the combine could get for its votes. Finally, he says, an agree-* ment was reached and $75,000 was deposited in the box of the Lincoln Trust Company and the key was placed in Murrell’s hands. The money, he confesses, was. to he divided when the MU passed and was signed by the Mayor. The subsequent operations in connection with this deal are not made public, except that the franchise was granted. Ex-Speaker of the House of Delegates William M. Tamblyn, who has been in Cleveland since Circuit Attorney Folk began his crusade, has returned, under arrest, to St. Louis. Before being placed in a cell Tamblyn asked to see Mr. Folk. His intention wns to tell all he about the doings of the combine in the House of Delegates, but he finally decided not to say anything at this time, for the circuit attorney told Tamblyn that if he desired to make any statement about matters that were being investigated, he' must do so voluntarily without hope of elemehey. Mr. Folk said that he had all the evidence he needed to convict the members of the house combine. Circuit Attorney Folk said that almost every one of the indicted members of the House of Delegates combine had offered to turn State’s evidence, but he declined to accept more than two or three with a promise of clemency.

J. K. MURRELL.

ATTORNEY FOLK.