The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-01-16
BAKERS DIVE A BAD one.
Men Who Hung Out There Tell Of Some
Of lis DARK Crimes.


Their whisky and Then Robbed-The
17-Year-old Son of Prominent Rail-
road Man One of the Victims Led
Astray by the Place. Whisky Selling
! in Full Blast on Sunday Gambling
Games Galore in an Upstairs Room.
Atlanta, Ca. Jan. l5.-Atlauta's Lexow
committee began its investigation of the
! Baker case to-day. j. is expected to be
| the entering wedge that viii bring the
4 whole police department. and probably
other departments Of the city government.
under the official search light While il
cannot yet be told how far this prediction
will be fulfilled the first days work of the
committee certainly disclosed a condition
of vice, crime and rottenness hourishing
right under the noses Of the police, in the
veryh cart of the city, that is great shock
TO the public.
The police may have been imposed upon,
but since the revelations before the inves-
tigating committee Of the very first plunge
of the search light 1t is nevertheless a
fact that there is room to believe in the
existence Of almost anything in the way
Of vice and crime in this city. and to war
rant an investigation Of the most thor
ough character The police themselves
are not on trial now and they may be in
nocent of any collusion. In fact this is
the probability, but at the same time the
discovery of such a nest as the old Ma
tional hotel and Of such a gang as in
| Tested 1t is a severe shock to the munici-
pal government.
one of the witnesses put up by the
| prosecution to-day was young Willie Grif-
fin, the 17-year-old son Of j. j. Griffin. for
years freight agent Of the East Tennes-
see road. The boy. according to his story,
on the stand, had been steered into the
| National hotel bar two years ago. when
he was but IS years old, since which time,
he was one Of the habitues of the place,
"a sucker" as he told the committee The
| gamblers, thieves, and toughs, who con-
slegated the place regularly got his
money and though but a boy he was
recognized patron at the bar.
The barroom opened on Peachtree
street with the billiard room in the rear
While the proprietor kept the front sa-
loon in ORDER the work of sand bagglng.
drugging and Gaping victims, crap"
shooting, card playing and all sorts Of vice
went on in fun blast undisturbed in the
ho'h Applis oALldg WAS no exception.
Then, as ON any other day, the evidence
showed, whisky was sold and the games
went on. The only difference was that the
saloon from the street had the appear
ance of being closed up.
Young Griffin is doubtless but one of
many boys roped in and preyed upon by
the hobos of the National hotel Asked
for his opinion of the place. the boy said
Il do not think anybody with money could
go in there and get out without it again. q"
This nest fiourshed for several years in
the heart of the city with policemen
walking up and down in front every few
minutes, even going inside frequently "on
business"
The investigating committee. which is
composed of Councmen Bell, BrayIes
Camp, Howell, Sims and Day, is holding
its session in the council chamber. When
Chairman Ball, called the committee to
order this morning. the chamber was
crowded to the doors with people Of high
and low degree. There were about 100
witnesses present, and more are to come
from time to time as the investigation
proceeds.
Mr.. Baker clerk Of the police court.
who is the man now under fire, Is reDre-
sented by Lawyers b. II. Hin, r. n.
Rucker and T. u. Ranes, while Hon. w
c. Glenn appears for Chief Detective
Wright to prosecute the charge and han
ole the toasting fork for the police de-
partment. Assistant City Attorney Col
vile met with the committee as legal ad-
wiser.
All the proceedings are taken steno-
graphically, in order to preserve the rec
ord
Chairman Bell in opening the investga-
tion, said the committee would probe to
the bottom so long as the evidence in
| troduced was confined 10 the province Of
the committee, that is, so long as 1t
bears on the Baker case. Other investi-
cations must come later.
After the reading of the formal charges
as already given in these dispatches.
| Lawyer Hill submitted Bakers answer.
| which was an explanation of some of the
| charges ana a sweeping denial Of others
Capt. J. w. English, chairman Of the
/ board Of police commissioners, was the
first Of the 100 or more witnesses TO be
sworn for the prosecution to be intro
! duced, after Lawyer Glenn had outlined
| the course to be followed by saying the
/ only question a issue was Bakers guilt
not whether the police were guilty also
or Incompetent, their guilt, or collision
| or incompetency being no extenuation Of
u Bakers career.
Capt English while he appeared only
| as a witness, is the real prosecutor in the
| case. The gist of his testimony was that
he disapproved of Bakers appointment
to office by City Clerk Woodward in pay
ment of a political debt. and then when
certain gamblers escaped the pursuit Of
the detectives he suspected Baker of hav-
1 ing given the tip" remembering his CON
nection with the National hotel saloon.
/ The captain tried to get Baker out Of
[ office without bringing on this inyestiga-
tion, but could not. lie told Of the scene
/ in his bank when Baker and Han de-
manded a copy Of the letter containing
/ Detective Wrights charges. and how he
! fired them out at the point OF his pls-
| tol.
Fred Cooper brother of ex-Mayor
! Cooper, who has a wide reputation as a
| gambler was then introduced. Cooper
was probably the most sensational
| witness that will be introduced be-
| fore the committee. Last May he went 70
| jail on a plea of guilty to gaming. and,
| after serving four months came out a
! reformed man. He claims that for years
| he was one Of the leaders Of the National
/ hotel "hobos," a gambler, thief and
! rogue generally. according to his own
! confession. But he determined to re-
/ form and consequently made clean
| breast on the stand to-day. He was en-
| ployed by Bill Hall as barkeeper Baker
was afterward Halls partner and while