The Topeka state journal., 1897-12-30
JOAN OF ARC.
A BraveWOman StartIes Topeka
in Tonight's Journal.
Mrs. H. C. Lindsey Speaks Out
Boldly.
Women of Topeka Will ~Act
Pretty Soon, She Says,
IF RUMHOLES GO ON.
Silence No Longer Endurable,
Says Mrs. Lindsey.
If the Men of Topeka Won't
Stop the Business
She Will Lead a Movement to
Stop 1t.
PROHIBITIONIST
Does Not Believe in the Pro-
hibitOry Law
But Thinks That a Regulated
System Would DO Good.


a joint, know could would just
tear up the things and put them where
they could not be used again A lit
tie woman with determination depicted
in every line of her face uttered these
words and as she gave utterance to the
words she stamped her foot The wo-
man was Mrs. H c. Lindsey, wife of
ex-Chief of PoliceI1indsey who has sep
arated from her husband and is now
living with ner parents, Mr.. and Mrs.
George Wolff, at the corner OF Fourth
and Harrison streets.
Il do not believe that the officers
want to do any thing for 1 know that
drink and when they help to violate the
law themselves there is not much hope
that they will do anything effective to
stamp them out.
stamp out the joints? They have the
law on their side and if the officers
won't do anything it is their duty to
act 1 suppose the men do not want
to do anything because they drink at
the places themselves and the women
don't take any interest in what is going
on right under their noses. I believe
that the women could do the work and
help rid the town of joints if they were
once aroused but the trouble is to get
them aroused.
The action of the officers is Disgrace
full. Once in While they will arrest
some poor negro ana they viii go right
past the door of an open saloon to ar
rest him. They do not touch the big
guns. They are allowed to run and
are never mOleSted by the authorities.
You cannot make me believe that some
one is not being paid money to protect
these places. While | am not able to
prove this 1 am as certain of it as I
could be of anything without having
seen the money paid.
Il happen to know that when the of
ficers have spite against man who
is running d place they will pull him.
1 happened to find out that a certain
man in this town had an interest in a
gambling place last summer or had
good reason to suspect that he had. l
know that he was a deadly enemy of
one of the members of the police board
and wrote a letter to the board telling
them that this man had an interest in
the place. l did not sign my name to
the letter, but sent it on Friday so that
the board would get it in time for the
Saturday night meeting.
THE next Monday night the place
was raided but those who were ar
rested were allowed to give assumed
names. They were well known peo-
PIE and it happened that the very man
I SUSPECTED of having an interest in
the place was there when it was raided
and he was taken to the police station
with the rest but he was on good terms
with the police if he was not with the
commissioners and was allowed to give
an assumed name. He is wealthy and
influential but if some poor fellow
would have been booked under his
right name and would have been locked
up.
Il understand that ex-PoIice Cap
tain Peter Gish who is now running an
open saloon behind a barber shop
boasts openly that there are $50 joints
in Topeka. He brags about it and
! seems to think it cause for gIorifi-
cation. Crish has very little reason to
| boast of anything
There are, 1 am reliably informed
/
! the postOffice. The town is full OF
| them and the officers of the law stand
| by and see them running without rails
| ing their hand
Il do not suppose you would call me
| a crank on the temperance question
| for I do not believe in prohibition. I
believe in the open saloon and a high
| license system by which the city will
! get the revenue and the low down
| dives will be weeded out. Now when a
| joint keeper gets a man with so cents
| or $40 into his place he keeps him there
until his money is all gone. If the sa-
| looms We're open we would not have
| anything of the kind. Those who could
| afford to pay a high license would see
| to it that the low down places were
! cleaned out. If a person wanted to
| find man who was drinking then he
would only have to go to the saloon
| and walk in. Now you have to go up
| and look in at a peep hole and the
| Joint keeper will not tell the truth nine
| times out of ten when you ask about
/ the person in whom you are interested
| "Oh, no one can know how deeply
| feel about this matterl Two homes
| have been broken up for me since the
| Joints have been running and the only
| thing I could do was to stand by and
| see II done l have sometimes felt as
| if I could go out by myself and clear
these places out but I am only a wo-
| man.
I'VE are soon to have a new sheriff
| and we will see then what will be done
! I don't believe that Mr.. Cook will stand
| by and see things run as they are
| don't see how an honest man could. I
he does nothing I think that the womer
| of Topeka who have suffered mos
| from the joints should rise up and dC
| something. If the officers won't do it
| there are other ways
| When Mrs. Lindsey was asked
| whether she would accept a place a.