, 1875-01-28
THE GAMBLERS TRIUMPH.


THE GAMBLERS TRIUMPH.
Tho aceluttnl Of A11RE AloDosAIp, Jous
BOWLING, Jimmy TircoMnE, md the 1TANK1SB
Brothers by tho disagreement Of tho jury in
the Criminal Court on Tnesdcy, nnst DAN
KE1toaa, Nouns MARTIN, Harry LAWRENCE,
and FRED Foss, yesterday, in an Immediate
victory for the gamblers of Chicago, md n
general triumph for tho tlisorderly and
respectable, under lilo direct auspices Of tic
" Peoples ~ rarty." It shows TINT it is mn
imrossibili!y to convict gambler, and the
better classes Of the people Of this city might
rs well accept tho fact in its broadcast signifi-
cancc, not only az affecting MlHE A1cDoNALp
md his particular gaug, but every other gang
Of gamblers, bunko, anl cont}donce-1nen in
the city. lind A11EE MCDONALD been con-
victed, it would have been M easy task 10
convict the rest but the failure to tlo 1t has
closed the door in every other case, aud
these pests and lccches of the community aro
now ut liberty to pursue their traffic as freely
rs merchants sell their dry goods or hard
ware.
The tnoans by which these acquittnls were
secured are Obvious enough. Tho nlna Nc
DONALD WAS presented for trial by the Grand
Jury upon int'ubitab1e evidence, 1t WINS not
matter Of rumor or reputation, but Of direct,
convincing, positive testimony. When, how
ever, liz came into court for trinl, lie w1s ~
sntc rs if he ,Ycro i'll "trho Store" itself. Ac-
cou1n,otlating bailiGs provided the sporting
frnterni:y with front sents aud tho rabb1e
filed the back ones, and the jury faced n mob
Of gamblers, contldence-lnen, thieves, sl,onl~
der-hitters, md migrants, not one Of whom is
engaged in making nn honest living. It waa
MI easy matter to pack the jury, md those Of
tho number who were honest were intimi-
dated and influenced by this mob. Tic
Court was hold in contempt by its presence.
Tho witnesses who wero disposed to tell
the truth had not tile 1noral courage to
do 60 in tho presence of this scowling
crowd. Policemen, whonro supposed to know
something Of ga,nbling-houses and what is
done in them, camo on the stand md testi-
1ied to their complete ignorance. A Captain
Of Polico holds up his hand md swears TINT
lie does not know tho general reputation of
IS Tho Store,"-a resort md headquarters Of
gamblers aud vicious characters, tho reputa-
tion Of which is known not only to every po-
liccman, but to every newsboy mud bootblnck
on the street. A magistrate takes tho stand
and conveniently contradicts his own stnte-
1nents which ha1 been mnae before the Grand
Jury. Witness after witness appears, and
either remembers nothing or knows nothing.
Police officers unblushingly state they know
nothing about this ga,ubling.hcli, which
has been notorious ever since the Peoples
Party came into power, and which hos been
shielded md protected by its ta1-eaters And
thus tho FARGO goes on, until at last MCDONALD
tcstifes TINT he Inns bean in the habit Of paying
the police snaal sums when the game is going
on to stay away and not Interfere with it; and
yet this pattern Of propriety and veracity had
no interest in the operations Of the gambling
house, had nothing to do with it, and did not
oven know who ran It'll Az no one knew any
thing, Of course ho was discharged, and whon
he WAS discharged the whole gambling COM
munity brcathed moro freely. The Court
did its duty n1anfully to protect the pub
Lie, but justice was powerloss against
this mob, backed up and shielded
by tho Police Dopnrtment,--a combination
which inti1nidated Witnesses and successfully
reaisted every effort OF tho prosecution to
provo the fnota it had in hand. Against such
q combination it wRs useless to contend, aud
robbery and theft carried the day. The gam
blors nro free to practice their profession.
As long as the Peoples Party remain in
power, as long rs the gamblers and police go
hand in hand, the former subsidizing tho Int
ter and tho latter protecting tho former, go
long must the respectable people Of this city
accept the situation. Their only hope lies
in the ballot-box or in that remedy
which was applied so successfully in
San Francisco. II there is no hope
for the people in tho courts, il witnesses
anre not tell tho truth and iurios taro not
convict, If the police forco is simply IN in
stsuu,ent to afford the gamblers protection In
their infamous business mud is paid for doing
1t, md officials and magistrates stultify them
selves on the wituess-staud, then It may be-
come necessary for the citizens to protect
themselves. It will not require much effort
upon tile part Of the gamblers to create such
m emergency. The citizens can find REM
edy at the ballot-box, and VIC believo they
will, when the time comes, sharply and
effectively.