Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-03-08

On the back is a route to the place in
zigzags, via South Main to Sixth, to
Grand avenue, to Jefferson street, to the
cottage.
The fast men OF the town needed little
direction to find the place. 1t has been
an open secret that high jinks were
played there for the past twenty-four
months. Reports have reached the out
side world OF revels there which would
not disgrace the orgies of ancient Bac-
chantes, or the devotees who took part
in a Roman Saturnalia, Here it is said
the historic vaquero Ell Hammond, the
defaulting tax-ccllector of this county,
spent many night with his fat and
greasy beer-slinging inamorata, and here
he spent much of the taxpayers hard
earned pelf. It is said that the San Fer
nando vaquero Of mal-odorous memory
has "blown in" as much as 5000 of the
county taxes in single night. 1t was at the
Flag Cottage, too-if Dame Rumor be
not an arrant liar-that young Kirste,
the defaulting ticket seller of the Santa
Fe, squandered many of his stolen She
kels. Wine, women and song at the
Flag Cottage have been the easy descent
by which many young bloods went down
the smooth path to Avernus. Only
short time ago milkman found woman
in the roadside in that quarter of the
city. She was in a state OF beastly un-
consciousness, the result of terrible de-
bauch. No one ever found out who
she was, where she came from, or
how she came there. But the sensorious
tongue of too uncharitable world was
loud in the proclamation that she was
decent woman who had been decoyed
into some place whose character she did
not understand, then she was induced to
drink to excess, then outraged and cast
into the street. There we're suspicious
of drugged liquors in this case. and the
long finger of warning pointed directly TO
the Flag Cottage as the not unlikely
scene of this affair.
AN OUTRAGED COMMUNITY.
Near the Flag Cottage is very staid
and respectable community. Not far
away is the University of South
ern California. The presence of
the Cottage has been thorn
in the sides of the people there for
months. Its gaudy and meretricious
splendors, for it was gorgeousiy fitted up,
contrasted very badly with the sober
aspect of the other houses in the neigh
borhood. 1t is also a temperance COM
munity there, and the Flag Cottage was
noted for its fine wines and choice
liquors of all sorts. The question of its
suppression was agitated for long time,
but the question was how to get at it.
The only inmates of the house we're
Charles and Maude Mccormack, who
are man and wife, to all outward appear
ances, at least. No one has the
least right to question their relations,
one to the other. The world looked
upon the place as house of assignation +,
but it was very difficult to prove this.
Habitues of the place would not betray
its character, and, it being beyond the
city limits, put police surveillance out OF
the question. Effort after effort WAS
made to gain knowledge and the proof
that the house came within the purview
of the law, but these efforts all proved
abortive.
sUPERVIsoRAL AID BEsoUGHT,
All other means proving of no avail
the people of the neighborhood besought
the County Board of Supervisors to take
hand in the matter and see il the
house could not be suppressed. The
Board put the matter in the hands oi
the Sheriff, Mr.. Martin Aguirre, who
was left to work out his own method ol
gaining proof sufficient to call the Nc
Cormacks to account. The able young
officer Immediately set TO work to gain