Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-03-19
PUPllc OPINION.
The Way People are Talking on the
Gambling Question.
Expressions Of Various Sorts From Citizens
With Whom Register Reporters
chatted Yesterday,
The Progress Of the Temperance Work.
Seven Hundred and Fifty Signsrs---
An Out Of Town Wedding---last
Nights Race - Supper
Dsaths---A Suggestion.

The case of Chief of Police Smith,
charged with neglect Of duty, connivsnce
with gamblers, and general c~ussedness, on
trial before Public Opinion, in which case
Mayor Grub is complainant, the Intelligen-
Ger prosecuting counsel, and the REGIsrER
a spectator, whose only desire is for justice
and fair play, was continued yesterday, be-
ing almost the sole topic Of conversation
among all classes OF citizens.
Chief of Police Smith was seen early In
the afternoon by a REGISTER reporter, and
was asked how matters were progressing:
We'll, I'm still City Sergeant" he said,
"and / propose to run the office as
long as / hold it. On the Oath of
January the voters of this city chose me
TO administer the police affairs Of the city,
and l don't propose to let any man dictate
to me as to what | shall do or shall not do.
l viii do my best to give the city good SER
vice, and in due time will carry out the laws
to the satisfaction, / trust, of the great ma
iority of the citizens, but | will not be bull.
dozed, ever if the man with the club hap.
pens to be mayor of the city, and his hacker
The editor of a newspaper"
The chief said this with considerable
warmth, and continued at some length TO
d~enounee his ac3users and show what he
believed TO be the incentive Of the attack
which had been made upon him.
A city official, who q met by the re-
porter Just after the latter had left the
chief, said: 81 am of the opinion there will
be q good item as you scribblers say, in
this affair yet
What's comins2' asked the news gath
erer.
We'll, | can't say for certain, but it looks
like g libel suit might be in order next.
The Intelligencer says some pretty ugly
things in this mornings issue. 1t all but
openly accuses the Chief of standing in with
the gains a regular cent per cent. ar
raugement, you know, aud Porter is hardly
the man to stand that sort of thing. You
mark my words. therel be q tidy bit of fun
grow out Of this thing yet, or I'm no
prophet"
How did it rome that your follows got
along we'll with BenuettY' asked q reporter
of IN old time gsmOler-one who has been
universally recognized as such for fifteen
yesrS-lste last evening.
We'll" said be. 1T was pretty much Of 8
put upjob between US. although can't say
there was any arrangement made, Bennett.
you know, expects to be q candidate TOR
City Sergeant again in a couple OF years
and wouldn't mind trying for the Sheriffalty
lust once, you know, and OF course he wasn't
going TO make any wild break at US; he just
logged along, slow and easy like, and there
wasn't any fuss, and business was good with
Us all winter, along up TO the holidays, when
it naturally fell of a little
"WhyH'
"Ob, it always does; you see, the wimmen
folks and kids want a little money along
! about that time, and il takes more money
for q ~feller's family generally if he has one,
and If he hasn't his girl gifts a little present,
or a Teller sets EN- up a little ottener than
usual about that time of year, and as q con
sequence business with US is q little slack
"Aud has it been slack ever since?'
well, no. Along about the time the
country boys came in to see the Legislature
meet. or to take part in it, deliberations,
we braced up a bit, aud the games were
! kept going pretty steadily, but when the
lawmakers went home things got dull again,
and It's a fact, | haven't held a hand down
ct our place for a week, except last Sunday
night"
Another sporting man, who plays a good
same Of stud or draw, knowsa game chicken
when be sees it. and is something Of an
authority when it comes TO whisky, cor
| roborated the above statement. Its q
dead, straight tip" said be, that the games
generally are doing poorly-nothing at all,
in fact. The games are there, in the rooms,
but the boys only loaf around and smoke,
or, at best, catch on to a drummer or some
thing like that, that's steered up to the
game. One or two places, may be, are run
ming fairly, but nothing like a few months
ago, say six or seven"
Once in q while, as the reporter talked to
people on the subject, he found a gentleman
who thought Chief Smith, was. well, pretty
nearly as bad as his predecessor" to use
one cIrizen's words. One of these said:
They're all on the make, from Prose
cutting Attorneys TO constables, and from
Police Chiefs 10 lookup keepers. The things
got 10 be notorious, but you internal news
ysper men keep your mouths shut as tight
" as clam shells, except when
| somebody ike Jake Grub stirs
you up. I'm a Republican, but
| don't mind saying that the I~ntelligencer
would never have said. a word if Grub
hadn't stirred Hart up. No wonder Smith
feels bad; if lie starts out on the gamblers
its big money out Of his pocket-yes, that's
Just what mean, and besides that he
breaks his promise
DO sou mean by that to say there is q
whsck,up, and that he and the gamblers had
an understandings
well, that's what used to be, and
everybody knows it's the regular thing
tor a Justice ofthe Peace, or Constable, or
a City Sergeant or a policeman to do. l
tell you, my young friend, hat if the keep
ers of fancy houses and saloons and gsmb.
ing houses were put on cath and invited to
tell all they know there would be HI to
pay in this community. Why, Just look at
the saloons! There is a city ordi.
nance making it unlawful to sell on Sun
day, and there hasn't been q dozen
Sundays in the past ten years when you
couldn't get anything you wanted in any
one Of fifty different saloons. You have
beard Of constables and policemen going to
gamblers and East End madames and get.
ting FIVE and ten dollar notes, and even
newspaper men, and the newspapers them
selves have been subsidized in q quiet
way. Oh, / tell You, there's a big
thing in this matter, and If it ever
comes out a lot OF folks will wish they had
never been born"
A Main street wholesale merchant said
to the reporter that, Willie he believed in fair
NAV and thought Captain Smith should be