Kansas City daily journal., 1897-01-28

committee conciusively established the
statements of the Journal that gambling
has fiourished under every board OF police
commissioners that ever existed in Kan
sas City. The two men who are now police
commissioners are no worse than their
predecessors so far as permitting gambling
is concerned. Like their predecessors, they
are partisans, and owe their positions on
the police board 10 a partisan governor.
Over two years ago the Journal published
list of twenty-one gambling houses that
were then running wide open. The men
who were then police commissioners and
the man who was then chief of police did
nothing to suppress them, and papers that
are now making great outcry against
gambling sneered at and attempted 10 be-
little the Journals efforts to put stop to
gambling.
The members of the grand jury. should
not consider, their investigation OF gam
ping at an end, or nearly at an END. There
Is another faction of gamblers that should
receive their attention-the Bliler-Oldham
II Frosecuting. Attorney Lowe refuses to
have that faction Investigated 1t Is IN the
power of the grand jurors to summon wit
nesses and compel them TO tell all they
know about gambling houses run by Bliler;
oldham, Cal Morton, Grim and other We'll
known gamblers who are not Identified
with the Findley gang.
| There is no reason why the grand jury
should contine its investigation 10 craps
ana policy, for there are other forms OF
gambling. The losses in Kansas City in
| at the numerous poker games. some OF
which are now said TO be running in soms'
GREATER than the losses sustained by the
players of craps and policy.
Before the grand jury or the mouse com
| mlttee began their Investigations OF gam
| bling. the Journal made the statement that
| Prosecuting Attorney Lowe would attempt
| to confine it to the unlawful doings OF the
members of the Findley faction. The IN
| dictments returned by the grand jury bears
| out this statement. 1t was said in the
journal during the late campaign that Mr..
| Lowe was the nominee of the bosses of
the Shannono'Neill faction of the Democ-
| racy of Kansas City, and that if he should
| be elected an attempt would be made TO
sas City from Ed Findley TO persons who
| were identified with Joe Shannon. This
| statement is seemingly borne out by the
work S,,o, Of the grand jury in Investigating "a r
| Prosecuting Attorney Lowe.
The people of Kansas City who are neith-
er gamblers nor political bosses would hail
with, JOY the permanent closing of every
| gambling house or room in Kansas City.
But those who are best informed know that
| there is no prospect of the present anti
| greatly desired result. The primary OBJ
lect of the crusade was to prevent the con,
| nrmation of Commissioners Fyke and
Johnson by the senate. In order TO do this
| 1t was necessary to hold them up before
| the gaze, of the public in general and of
open and fragrant violators of law and
| their oaths of office 1t was believed by
the men who are running the faction OF
/
| Brown, Commissioners Fyke and Johnson
| and Chief Julian and their political associ-
| ates. that this would be an easy thing to
| do but it proved to be greater task than
| they had expected. When the bosses OF
| the anti-faction and the bosses Of the Bill
| er-Oiuham gambling gang succeed in get
| ting new police commissioners and a new
| chief of police, the public will hear little
| or. nothing about the suppression of gam
| bling from the men who were the most
active in procuring indictments returned
| The cases against the men indicted ye'
| terday will doubtless be continued from
| time to time. for want of time to try. VI
| or because of the absence of material wit
| nesses. In the meantime Findley will be
| compelled to leave town unless he succeeds
in patching up his trouble with the Shan
non-O'Neill bosses and the Bliler-O Oldham
| gang of gamblers and gets "a pull with the
successors of Commissioners Fyke and
Johnson, who will be appointed by, Govern
| or Stephens and confirmed by the senate
As stated upon number. of priviorss oc.
| casions the system of police government
from Jefferson City is pernicious. The rem.
| edy is a non-partisan police board elected
or appointed in Kansas City and directly
responsible to the people of the city.