Omaha daily bee., 1883-08-08
The new DEAL.
The City Council Tries TO Turn
Up Jack,
The Gambling Business More Mud
died Than Ever.

1t was generally understood that the re-
cent %reopening of the gambling houses
was due to the weakening of the city
council and the determination to return
to the old order of things and let gamb-
ling run, conditional on the offenders
being arrested and paying a fine once Il
month. To be sure the resolution passed
some time ago ordering the places closed
had not been rescinded, but the with
drawal of Aid. Wood from the duty of
seeing that the marshal enforced the or
dinance, and other moves made lately by
the council Indicated that they did not
object to the gambling houses running.
The adoption of the resolution offered
by Aid. Wood, instructing the judiciary
committee, of which Aid. James is chair
man, to draw up articles of impeachment
against Marshal Jackson, for not keeping
the places closed, came therefore as a
surprise.
The marshal was visible on the streets
at an early hour yesterday morning.
"Good-by-I'm going"
He gave one of his ~good-natured
laughs, as though he didn't tremble very
much at the prospect of impeachment.
"How about this impeachment bust
ness, marshall"
"Well, I'll tell you. If they'll agree
to get Dohany's hall and give me the
gate money at 81 n head, III agree that
the house will be packed and none shall
go away without having got their moneys
worth of fun. 'Hark, from the tomb a
doleful sound, etc. You have heard
that haven't youl Well, therell be a
doleful sound for some before they get
through this business" {.
"But why haven't you been enforcing
the resolution2"
snow, see here, young man, what
is that resolution 1t simply calls on me
to order the gambling houses closed. |
did order them closed, and they
did close. / did just what the
resolution told me to do. 1t didn't say
keep them closed, or to prosecute them,
or anything of the sort. 1t isn't my duty
to spy around of nights after working all
day, and get evidence, and work up the
cases. | am the officer of the superior
court, just as Theo. Guitar is officer of
Ollo ihShci SouIO. iHcy uol U doh iiiil W
file informations because he is sheriff.
He serves the papers which the court
gives him to serve. If they furnish
proof, or tell me to file informations III
do it. What's the use, though? Can !
shut up the gambling places The mayor
has got more pr wer than | have. Why
don't he shut them up2 He has got the
whole police force to help him. Why
don't the aldermen shut them up2 All !
5 can do is to file informations. There
were some filed a little while ago and
D some arrests made, and the cases were
continued two weeks. Now, if | keep
on filing other informations, they would
have been continued, too, and if | had
: kept on they'd commence to cry perse-
c%ution. How about other things2 Why
don't they impeach me because houses of
prostitution are running in the city. Can
l stop theml There are lots of other
ordinances being violated every day.
Can / help it2 Why don't they impeach
me for thatl Here's Aid. Wood wants
mo to impound all the cattle, and yet
when l go up to the pound | find the
fence down on one side and a whole lot of
lumber piled up On the other. / can't do
everything"
But say, marshal, how about the i'm
} parchment business being n mere bluff
a sort of understood arrangement between
: you and the council, by which you are to
, release them from the responsibility OF
b gambling houses running here2"
81 don't know myself what they want
exactly. I've tried to get them to say
what they wanted done about it. Some
. of the aldermen have told me they be,
, lieved i'll letting them run and collecting
a monthly fine of them, as the city
. needed money and these might be Lei
run enough to pay off the police. Las
year Alderman Wood, as chairman of tn,
police committee, told me to run it tina
way. l don't know what they are trying
to do
h Little more could be learned from him
but all sorts Of guesses and surmises ar,
= made by Others. Some think that Jack
o son is, by either consent on his part, o.
by the force of circumstances, to be mad,
o the scape-goat upon whose head is to b.
Q laid the sins of the aldermanic camp, ant
he is sent out before the public to stand
the curses and relieve the rest.
d Others expect that if Jacksonissqueez
ed by the impeachment process he viii
y divulge some of the secret instruction
Q received by officials, and will otherwis,
q make things decidedly sensational.
y Others predict that Jackson will turl
q the laugh on the other side b,
suddenly peuncing down upon som
establishment, and dragging in some o
the big fish before the court. There ma,
be some sensational revelation
Il in the result of an unexpected pul
some night.
Still another surmise is based upon tn
fact that Marshal Jackson intended t
file some complaint this week, and had 8
ii said, and that some of the alderme
thought that if they got this %resolutio
OF impeachment passed first, he would b
if ashamed to go ahead then, for fear tn
1t public would think that he had not bee
forced to prosecute ON account of tn
council punching him up to it, and henc
70 would defer the matter, thus giving tn
u gamblers II little more rope.
, A finishing surmise is that some of tn
u council have a desire to throw Marshs
Jackson overheard, and have got hin
into this kind of a boot ~purposely to &C
90 a hold on him.
}. One thing is pretty certain. There
music in the air and more to follow.