The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-04-26
FIVE WOMEN ARE ARRESTED.
PROPRIETOR KNEW NOTHING
ABOUT 1T UNTIL THE PATROL
BACKED TO THE DOOR.
MAYOR HAD SAID TWAS RIGHT,
1lecause There Are No Wine Rooms
and Respectable Families Pat
ronize the Place.

ment made an effort Saturday nlghI TO
tie his action touching concert halls by
a raid on the Sterling wine house,
which was made shortly after 10 o'clock.
The action of the police caused a good
deal Of talk yesterday, and furnished
another of those peculiar actions which
people regarded as being on a par with
Mayor Doran's recent course in regard
to the concert halls of the city. NO
reason is assigned for the raid nor any
explanation offered why place which
has been conducted as orderly and as
well as Andrew Heckler has con-
Quoted his place should be pulled and
the visitors of Saturday evening hustled
off to the police station. And it is still
an open question why Mr.. Heckler S
house should be singled out, when it is
well known to the police department
that there are dozens of saloons with
actual wine room attachments in full
blast every night. The matter of least
Importance to the police, apparently, IS
the fact that there is held to be no
Law to warrant their action any more
than there is law to back up Mayor
Doran's action in preventing concerts,
If anybody cares to make a test of it
IN the courts. The place of Mr.. Heckler
IS different from saloons with private
wine rooms. There are no wine rooms,
but one large room with tables in it.
For that reason it has been held that
the place is not subject to raid, where
the house is not charged as being dis
orderly, which has never been the case
with Mr.. Heckler's place.
Lieut. Babe Sergeant Ross and officer
Perro made the raid, and after roughly
handling five women in the rear portion
of the house, locked the prisoners up
on the charge Of disorderly conduct and
visiting saloons. The officers probably
know why they descended upon the
Sterling, and it was said yesterday that
they may be called upon to explain to
hose higher in authority. if it becomes
necsssary for Chief Goss to go before
: the mayor on the subject.
The women arrested were Myrtle
Beyers, a cook; Laura Day, a milliner;
Ida Davis, dressmaker, and May Nor
Gis, who, according to the tab at the
central station, has 10 occupation. The
charge of visiting a saloon, it is
. claimed, will not hold long enough to
get the women into court, for the rea-
son that time and again it has been
held that woman has as much right
in a saloon as a man, while the charge
Of diSorderly conduct, according to the
claims of Mr.. Heckler, cannot be sub
Stimulated. He denies emphatically
that there was the slightest semblance
OF boiSterouS conduct in his place Sat
Urday night, and considers the damage
10 his business by having the patrol
wagon backed up TO his saloon in the
presence of 500 people inestimable. He
is at a loss to understand the action of
the police, or the mayor, in allowing
him 10 be singled out, when he claims
to have always conducted an orderly
place. especially when ten days ago in
conversation with Mayor Doran regard
ing the presence of women in his Sa-
loon, he received the assurance of the
mayor that so long as there was no
disorder females might visit the saloon
without fear of police molestatiOn. In
speaking of the raid Mr.. Heckler said
last night:
81 cannot understand it. There has
never been a disorderly act in my
house. Women have always been al
lowed in the saloon so long as they be-
have themselves, and only those who
properly conduct themselves were per-
mitted its privileges. l was standing
near the bar when the police entered
the back door, and knew nothing of the
raid until customer Informed me Of it.
There is a law permitting women to
lSll SdlOOlIS, anu L Gill DIT d lOSo " uIl-
derstand why the police should take
matters into their own hands in abrid2-
ing their privileges. Moreover, my
friends often bring their wives and
families to my place for refreshment,
people who are respectable in every
sense of the word, and must these be
prevented from exercising the rights al
lowed them by law through the arbi-
trary action of policemen?
Recently 1 was informed by the pO-
lice that there had been complaints
against women freQuenting my saloon,
and when l asked from whom, | was
shown a dirty bit of wrapping paper
containing an anonymous scrawl re-
fiecting upon the character of those
who came to my place. l went to
Mayor Doran and we talked the mat
ter over. I told him that any restric-
ton he wished to place on my saloon
would be favored by myself if there
was reason for it, but that such an
alleged complaint as had been shown
me should have no weight. The mayor
then said that so long as a certain
class of women were not allowed in my
saloon there was no objection to the
presence of women, and that 1 need
take no notice of what had been said.
Simply keep an orderly place. said he,
and everything will be all right
have kept an orderly place; a certain
class of women are not now, nor never
have been allowed in my saloon if they
were known as such. Such drastic
measures as employed by Lieut.. Babe
and Sergeant Ross were wholly unnec-
essary, for if had been ordered to keen
women out of the saloon l would read
lily have done so. 1t was not necessary
to damage my business and brand nv
house."
Chief Cess stated last night that he
knew nothing of the raid on the SterI-
ing, and that 1t had not been the re
suit of any special order. He remarked
however, rather significantly, that If
women were not allowed in concert
halls. it could not be expected that
their presence would be tolerated in
saloons, leaving room for the Inference
that the Sterling raid was a sequel to
barring the concert gardens to women
patrons.
''Fhose arrests" said the chief, ''were
made by Lieut.. Babe, Sergeant Ross
and officer Perro, who undoubtedly had
cause for their action. There has al
ways been an order against certain
class of women congregating in sa-
looms which the police are instructed
to enforce Unfortunately. We do moi
intend to allow people of evil repute tt
cODgregate in any saloon, and if women
are disorderly in a public place they
are as liable to arrest as men. This
must not however, be construed tc
mean that reputable females cannot
visit saloon, and q company of such
persons in Mr.. Heckler's place, or any
other saloon, would be undfsturbed -
The vocation Of every prisoner taken