Witnesses in the Charles Heddy Liquor Trial at Burton Badly Rattled
BURRTON – The case against Charles Heddy, charged with bootlegging at Burrton, came to an abrupt termination yesterday morning. The four principal witnesses for the State could not “get together” in their testimony. One of them admitted that he was a convicted felon and was out of the Hutchinson Reformatory on parole. Another gave his testimony very fluently until warned that a misstatement of fact constituted perjury and was punishable by imprisonment, when he promptly commenced to “back water.” Judge Cone thereupon instructed the jury to return a verdict of “not guilty,” which was done, and thus Burrton’s whiskey war came to an untimely end. The town has resumed its normal quiet – the bold, bad man from Hutchinson having taken himself to greener pastures. The Evening Kansan-Republican, Newton, Kansas. Tuesday, July 24, 1900. Page 1. A003. (c) Transcribed by Marty Fuller for the Harvey County Geological Society.
