Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-04-23
CHINESE GAMBLING.
The muddIe Into which the Matter
Has Gotten.

The muddIe Into Which the Matter
Has Gotten.
The Chinese gambling matter has sue
ceeded in winding up the District Attor-
news Office, the police force and two Of
the Justices Courts into very awkward
sort of a snarl. There is 30 much per-
jury and lying, conspiracy and boodling
on the part of the Celestials themselves,
that it is Just about hopeless to try to get
to the right and wrong of the situation.
1t is the secret, and as yet unavowed,
purpose of the police department to allow
gambling to continue among the Chinese
with the arrangement that the various
games are to be raided at intervals, and
the fines paid without contest by those
who are arrested. In this way the city
will receive satisfactory revenue. The
theory is that the games will run in any
event, and if those who are arrested
choose to make fight in the courts, it
will cost the city more than it will ever
get back in fines.
To this very interesting arrangement
q protest has been entered by number
of Cinnamon who represent themselves
as merchants, but who are said by the
others to be gamblers themselves, va
grants, highbinders and marplots. The
oblectors filed complaint sometime ago
with the District Attorney, against about
forty dealers and players. They engaged
an attorney and went regularly about
the business, as they declared, OF stop
ping the gambling. The others say that
it is only blind, and the complainants
want to be paid to let them alone.
NF HhA
gamblers was placed in the hands OF
Constable Fred. Smith, a county officer.
The Police Department was very far
from being pleased at this uPsetting
of their plans, and one special policeman
who assisted in the raid was dropped
from the list. The District Attorney
holds that it is his duty, as an officer of
the State, to see that the laws are carried
out, and will not give way and allow the
proposed arrangement" of the games
to go on. He proposes, with the assist
ance of the counsel who has been en-
gagged by the complaining witnesses, to
follow the case up to the end.
A counter-check to the whole scheme,
as outlined by the District Attorney, was
administered last Saturday night. Sew
eral Cinnamon went to the Chief
of Police and informed him that
the six men whose names were
on the original complaint were trying to
get up riot, and that the public safety
demanded that they should all be ar
rested. A complaints cross-eomplaint,
it might be called-was then sworn out
before Justice Stanton, and all six were
arrested. Three we're charged with
melting to riot, and three with vagrancy.
They were all clapped into Jail.
Yesterday these six prosecutors in the
original complaint, but defendants in the
cross oss-complaint, were brought before
Justice Stanton. The leader of them is
Wong Golf, the Arizona detective, who
received a permit the other day
from Mayor Hazard to carry a
weapon, .on the ground that reward
has been offered by the highbinders
for his head. The District Attorney
found himself placed in peculiar posi-
ton, that of being compelled to fight
against his own witnesses. The attorney
against the gamblers appeared for their
defense and the attorney for the gamblers
proposed to assist the prosecution, but
the District Attorney would have none OF
him. After something of a wrangle the
case was continued until to-day. The
six Cinnamon managed to give bail and
were freed.