Moose, Eagles

Last winter members of the Loyal Order of Moose and of the Fraternal Order of Eagles complained to the New York World-Telegram that these organizations were running large lotteries with small prizes. Someone, it appeared, was making an unholy profit. The alert World-Telegram turned the complaints over to Federal District Attorney Medalie for investigation. Last week the Federal Grand Jury in Manhattan indicted Pennsylvania's Senator James John ("Puddler Jim") Davis, Conrad Henry Mann, president of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, five other individuals and Western Union Telegraph Co. on charges of operating interstate lotteries. Conspiracy indictments were also returned.

Senator Davis became director general of the Order of Moose in 1906 with a contract that gave him all initiation fees for his promotion work. The order's orphanage at Mooseheart, Ill. was his special charity. When he became Secretary of Labor in 1921, he talked Moose to all- comers, signed up Senators and Congressmen. Smart politicians took care to join the Secretary's order when they wanted favors at the Labor Department. When Moose Davis resigned from the Cabinet in 1930 to take a Senate seat, he sold his promotion contract to other members of the order for a handsome profit. Last week's charges against him shocked his friends and followers, who always considered his interest in Mooseheart a sincere benevolence above any allegation of personal profit.

According to the indictments the Moose and Eagles lotteries were run in connection with social functions. A dance ticket included a chance to win a cash prize. Indicted as the actual promoter of these enterprises was one Bernard C. McGuire of Aurora, Ill. who was said to have had some 50 million lottery tickets printed in the last two years. The Government will try to prove that some $5,000,000 was collected from the sale of tickets while prize-winners got only about $225,000. The fraternal orders were supposed to have gotten back about $1,000,000 for charity purposes. The balance was split up for "expenses" and promoters' profits. District Attorney Medalie declared that the Moose and Eagles were ignorant, as organizations, of what was going on and were not responsible for their members' actions.

It was charged that $2.000.000 was collected on a Moose lottery, with $150,000 in prizes drawn Jan. 1 aboard the S. S. Priscilla in Long Island Sound. The Government claims evidence to prove that Senator Davis got more than $100,000 as his share of the proceeds.

The Eagles lottery was under the direction of Mr. Mann, close friend of President Hoover, who named him fortnight ago to attend the national business conference at the White House. Sales totaled $3,000,000. Prizes of $75,000 were drawn at last summer's Toledo convention of the order, aboard a boat out in Lake Erie. Mr. Mann is accused of pocketing $220,000, one-third of which he turned over to Francis E. Hering. editor of the Eagle magazine, Notre Dame University trustee and one of the first promoters of "Mother's Day."

The Ancient Arabic Order of the Mystic Shrine, under McGuire's promotion, also raised several hundred thousand dollars for a lottery at its San Francisco convention last month but dropped the scheme when warned of its illegality by the Department of Justice. The Knights of Columbus were also investigated for their lotteries but no indictments resulted.

Senator Davis, up for re-election this year, declared: "I'm sure these charges will prove false. I ask the people, especially those of Pennsylvania, to withhold judgment until after trial."

Mr. Mann's attorney declared that the Eagles officers "are not the character of men who violate the law. This enterprise benefited several hundred thousand people. It was no different from [those] conducted without complaint by church, lodge, Red Cross, Junior League, American Legion, etc. etc."

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