Mississippi leader. (Jackson, Miss.) 1892-1895, 1894-11-06
HERE'S THE RECORD.
A SAMPLE HIGH LICENSE LIQUOR
TOWN.

Lets In the Light on Chicago-This Is
the Result of Liquor and Personal Lib
erty.
From the Regular Chicago Correspondent of
the Boston Transcript, Sept. 8.
Gambling is by no means confined to
regular gambling houses. Saloons, cigar
stores and billiard rooms have been
transferred into dens in which men can
risk their money at many games. Some
weeks ago the keepers of these resorts
were ordered by the police to remove
the robbing nickel in -the-slot gambling
devices. For time they were all turn
ed against the wall, but now they are
all in operation and coming money for
the proprietors. The saloon without
its back room game of poker, horse
race betting or crap game is hard to
find
And poolrooms, too, are wide open.
Half dozen of them are to be found in
saloon which boasts a ticker are to be
found men who will register bet to
any amount These "handbook" men
are all given their odds and other in
formation by central syndicate, which
demands and receives its regular per-
centage.
There may be found in Chicago today
vice in all its forms openly displayed
and never interfered with. 1t has evil
IDENTIFY gone abroad that the city is
"easy prey" for many strange faces
are to be found in the resorts for dis
reputables. Their owners come here
from st. Louis, Buffalo, Philadelphia,
Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Cleveland and
other cities to ply their criminal voca
tions without hindrance. If the detect
ives of those cities would visit Chicago
now, they would recognize many ia
miliar face.
A man can buy liquor all over Chi
cago at any hour of the day or night,
Sundays included, provided he has the
"price.
Few saloons close at IL, the rule now
being to keep open from Jan. l until
Jan. l. A drunken man is never refused
liquor If mother or wife seeks to re-
cover money lost by wayward son or
husband, she is referred to regular
"agent, who makes the best settlement
he can with the real sufferer.
The town is filled with pickpockets,
thieves, burglars and murderers, there
being at the present time % murderers
in the Cook county Jail And if crimi
nails are allowed much longer the scope
they enjoy the indications are that be-
fore long there will be twice that num-
ber behind the bars. Vice is daily on
the increase, and the police force ap-
pears to be afflicted with paralysis.
The men interested in carrying on
this wickedness seem to have no fear.
They disregard the law and the police
with impunity. They appear to be con-
fident of their power and their security.
Men who have worn the pcniteutiary
stripes for crimes arc foremost in this
business. Convicted thieves run elabo-
rate saloons and gambling houses. Safe
blowers own gorgeous rum palaces. The
man who sins apparently has the best
of it. To be an ex-conviot seems to be
the foundation for an established bust
ness, and apparently this kind Of place
has police protection.
Harry Varnell, Doodle county COM
missioner, now proprietor Of an all day
and all night saloon and gambling
house, who served term in the peni-
tentiary, is an example Of this stripe
Other illustrations of this criminal no.
toriety capital are Dan Coughlin, who
was once convicted of being the muir
derer of DIR. Cronin; Oscar Neebe, the
anarchist, who was pardoned by Gov
ernor Altgeld, and William ]. McGari-
gle, ex-warden of Cook County hospital,
who for years was fugitive from JUS
tice in Canada.
Another Chicago disgrace is that at
least eight of the aldermen in the city
council are proprietors of gambling
houses and disreputable saloons. A COR
rupt gang of officials protect all the
evil resorts and are becoming so bold
with their Doodle acts that the men
who collect the corruption fund can be
picked out by almost any one in touch
with city affairs