Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-29
MYSTERIOUS MESSAGES
Policy People Send Their Plays Over in
Cipher.
Two More Arrests of Small Fry Rum
ners-Legal Points In a Prose-
cution of Backers.

Interesting developments are promised in
the policy business in the near future.
Gardner and Beveridge, for whom search
was made inVirginia last Saturday have not
been captured. but it is rumored that they
will relieve the anxiety Of the officers by
coming in and standing trial. In the way
of reward for this. they are to ask the
prosecuting officer to withdraw the charges
against Mrs. Gardner and her daughter,
Mrs. Travers. Should this be done the
policy men will then make fight in the case
pending against them. unless their other
offer to pay a fine and take a light Jail
sentence is accepted.
Judge Miller has always imposed SEN
fences In the policy cases calculated to
frighten off the hackers, and on many
occasions he has suggested that the back
ers should be prosecuted instead Of the
writers. The prosecution of the hackers.
the judge has often said, is the only way
the game can be broken up, and these re-
marks have, perhaps, caused the hackers
to fear the imposition of heavy jail SEN
fences. Then, too in the Police Court the
cases are tried before there is a chance of
the witnesses dying or getting scattered, so
mat the government is not put to any
special disadvantage. ard the defendants
witnesses may also be easily obtained
For this reason the policy men like to
take their cases to the Criminal Court
where cases are delayed for a longer time
and where their chances of escaping trial
are perhaps better than in the Police Court.
The Legal Point.
In event Of the surrender of the persons
mentioned, their cases may be certiorarIed
to the upper court in order to get them as
far as the Court of Appeals later.
The legal phase Of the question will then
De contested. These men, it is charged
conduct business across the river where
Vlolators OF the law have the right of way
over law and order, and 1t will be contended
Iuat IN so DONG they violate no law of the
Dlstrlct. The prosecution, however will
contend that the employment of writer's
mere constitutes violation of the provision
OF the law which provides against the
promotion" of the game
These matters have heretofore been fullv
argued, and decided by the Court in Cen
eral Term, sustaining the decision of Judge
Miller and now the Court of Appeals NAV
the question.
While this matter is pending the policy
payers and writer's are having a hard time
10 engage In the mysteries of the game
without getting in trouble.
Mysterious MesSaCe
In Georgetown yesterday Policeman Brad
ley made two arrests and one of them
showed to the satisfaction of the officer that
the policy men were resorting to their old
game of playing in cipher Green s. Lewis,
a fifty-fve-year-old colored man. was ar
rested and on him several policy slips were
found. He was on his way to Rosslyn at the
time, and, in addition to the policy slips, the
written:
The house in the woods. Ice and snow
on ground. Sheep in cote. Blacksmith at
forge-the travelling man was caught steal
ing-the singing girls shoes are old. 1 like
a good hat. Bread and Butter and Milk for
supper. l want watch to run monthly
one and eleven balls in the boys cap on Top
are twelve balls. The music mans hair
grew long white silk Dress, Drink. Whisky,
Barber, Black man, High horse. White c.,
ID. c.. Catfish. Frogs. Snakes, Filth, Runs,
Wagon, Water, Gold"
An examination of this paper showed that
II was meant to contain nearly forty policy
rows. among them being house row, l-S-lG;
wood row, 1855; whisky row, 1S-25-IG.
In some of the rows a distinction is made
between Georgetown and Washington.
Snake row, for instance, is made up OF
1853 in Georgetown. while in the city it
comprises 7-S-1l-66
The Trials Today.
When the old man appeared in Judge
Millers court this morning he admitted
that he had written the names to remind
him of the different rows.
",The amount of ingenuity displayed in
this business" remarked Judge Miller to
the prisoner, lis worthy of a better cause.
Il know it Is, judge" the prisoner said,
land | am as much against the game as
anybody else"
Il see you are"
Mcdonald said he was not employed in
any manner whatever by the policy people,
but that he sometimes made a play.
Judge Miller continued he case Until to-
morrow to hear additional evidence.
A colored man, named Thomas Shaadts,
who was suspected of engaging IN the pol+
icy game. was also arrested. He had a
punctured slip of paper showing policy
numbers, but he denied that he was even a
player.
But the police had seen him going across
the bridge day after day and he had even
been seen in the policy places on the other
side of the river.
What took you over the river so often
If you didn't play poiicy?' the Judge asked
him.
"A man over there owes me 80 cents and
I've been going over there after him"
Judge kimball held him guilty and SEN
fenced him to give real estate security in
the sum of 800 or go down for ninety days.
Some trouble was caused in the policy
camp few days ago when fish row. ell
&c. came out and many negroes had play
ed it. The numbers were changed on the