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At the general
election of November 1912, the voters of Pomeroy voted the town dry under a
state local option statute then in effect. The decisive majority
against saloons and the sale of liquor, was induced largely by a desire on
the part of the people to rebuke and slap down the saloon keepers and
bartenders, who had exhibited such a degree of arrogance and defiance of law
and decency. After the saloons were closed, boot-legging became
common.
The boldest and
best-known bootlegger then operating was a man by the name of J.A. Dickson,
known only as "Diamond Dick". He had a criminal record and
was regarded as of the bad-man type. However, he had a sense of humor
and a crude sort of wit that amused his cronies.
The City Attorney,
E.V. Kuykendall, hired two operatives from Spokane to come down and pose as
visitors. One operative was placed at the hotel, while the other at a
lodging where it was was felt most of the illegal dealings took place.
It was their job to secure the names of persons who bought liquor at these
places. The investigation took place in the winter of 1914.
On March 18, 1914,
Judge Miller ordered the calling of a grand jury, and summoned members of
the community. Under the "code" of that period, it was
reprehensible for one who had bought liquor from a bootlegger to
"squeal" on the illegal vendor. This barrier had to be
broken down.
Sometime prior to
the investigation, it had been reported that a number of youngsters of
school age had pulled a party in a vacant house and that the occasion had
been enlivened by a liberal supply of beer. After threatening the
youngsters with charges of perjury the grand jury got the information they
needed. The Grand Jury returned with thirty indictments, ten of them
being against Diamond Dick.
After Diamond Dick
was convicted of the first three charges he began to beg for mercy.
The regularity with which verdicts of guilty were being returned appalled
him. He pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced on all
indictments. Some of his sentences ran concurrently. After
serving his time, Diamond Dick resumed his illicit sales. A man
who had had experience in the secret service was employed to work on the
problem, and soon produced substantial evidence against Diamond Dick and a
few others. They were prosecuted and convicted in the spring of
1915. The old maestro bootlegger, Diamond Dick, served his sentence
then shook the dust of Pomeroy off his feet and departed. He moved to
Colfax, where he was charged with "rolling a drunk" who got that
way by imbibing on Dick's firewater. He was convicted of robbery and
sent to the penitentiary.
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