The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-11-26
POKER AMONG POLITICIANS.
FIVE CITIZENS CLUB LEADERS Ar
RESTED AT ATLANTA.

Police Raid Their Little Game in the
NimbaII House-They Suspect They
Were betrayed to the Police by "a
Member of the Liberal CIub--The
Charge Indignantly Denied by the
Liberals and the Atlanta Police
Also Pronounce the Suspicion Un-
founded
Atlanta, Ga, Nov 25.-Five of the most
prominent politicians of Savannah, all of
them leaders of the Citizens club, have
been placed under bond to appear in the
state courts as defendants In gambling
cases. Every artthce and influence THAI
could be brought into play. has been used
to prevent the names of these gentlemen
from being given to the public, and for
twenty-four hours after their arrest, they
succeeded In completely hoodwinklng all
the local newspaper men, and even then
when the story came out it was minus the
names of the culprits, because the report
ers could not get at them with sufficient
certainty to publish them. The Morning
News correspondent has, however. secured
a full list of the names, and their pubIica-
tion will doubtless cause a great sensa-
tion.
Curiously enough the first name furnish-
cd was that of Hon. w. w. Osborne, thu
present solicitor general OF the eastern cir4
cult
The next name is that Of Harry wiz
link, commissioner of public works of the
city of Savannah.
The third name is that of H. NJ. Lof-
tar, y.e fta to,.
The fourth man is A. A. Lawrence, att
torney for the Citizens Club.
The fifth man is ]. s. Collins, clerk Of
the city court.
AS will be readily seen, 1t would have
been hard for the Atlanta police, or even
the sleuths of the Forest City, to have
made a haul that would have contained
so many big fish, from a political point OF
view 1t is the star quintette of the Citi-
zens Club, and when they appear in court
to answer the warrants against them, if
they are compelled to appear like ordinary
mortals, Atlanta will give them a crowds
ed house. They may not be arraigned,
| preferring to forfeit their bonds.
| The Savannahans are exceedingly
wroth at their Ill luck, and have been
making all kinds of charges against the
local detective department and the Lib
eral Club faction. They charge that their
! arrest was caused by some member Of
the Liberal Club who used the detective
department to persecute them, and this is
| the color given in the article which ap-
peared in a morning paper here to-day
| The charge is Indignantly denied by the
Liberals, however, and, as win be seen
| later on, from the statements Of the of
ncers, is very wide of the truth,
Detective Captain Slaughter, in speaking
| of the affair, said Solicitor Osborne want
| ed to find the man who is supposed 70
| have "peached" and give him good whip
| ping, while the quintette were willing 10
pay a reward of $500 for his name, all
| this supposng that the informer was
member of the Liberal Club.
The telegraph wires have been kept hot
| to-day between Atlanta and Savannah ON
! account of the arrests, the impression
| there being In line with the story printed
here that the Liberal Club, or some OF
| It's members, was responsible for the raid
| OF the police on the poker game OF the
| Citizens Club quintette in the Kimball
| house. Detective Captain Slaughter has
received a number of messages from the
| Forest City himself on the subject, some
| of them roasting him for allowing him
| self and his department to be used by
| those dirty Liberals" to persecute their
| political opponents.
| Briefly stated the facts in the case, which
| bids fair to bring on hot complications be-
| tween Savannah and Atlanta, are these2
About midnight of Tuesday, the five gem
| tlemen of the Citizens Club mentioned
| above were engaged in very interesting
| game of poker in one of the private rooms
| Of the Kimball house. They had been at
! Il for some time, and were apparently deep
| ly absorbed in making jack pot, when
| Detectives Looney and Hewitt of the city
force broke in upon them ana bagged the
whole crowd The Savannahians were
| highly indignant at the interruption, as
may wen be supposed, and their protests
| were entered accordingly. But no amount
| of kicking had any effect upon the detec-
| tives, who insisted upon making them
prisoners. When the quintette saw
that they were in for 1t they
| to keep the affair a secret, and final
| ly persuaded the officers not to take them
| to the police station, but to permit them
| TO remain in the room under guard until
warrants could be issued and bonds given.
| This was accomplished along about day.
| light by sending out for a justice of the
! peace.
| The Savannah politicians were too care.
| ful of their good names, however, TO iden-
| tify themselves to the officers, who did not
know them personally, and when the war
| rants were issued they all bore fictitious
names. In this way the reporters, when
| they finally got on TO the story were fool
| ed for awhile. and but for the charges
made that the detective department had
been used by members of the Liberal Club,
| it might have been that no one would have
| ever been the wiser as to the names of
| the luckless poker players. However, they
| Immediately began a hot chase for the
name of the supposed Liberal Club man
who had put the police onto their game,
| and this worked up complications with the
police which to-day brought out the real
] names of the players.
| According to the first story, a member
| of the Liberal Club had gone to Capt.
Henry Jennings and informed him that
| the game was in progress, and declared
| that unless he pulled" II he would be re-
| ported to the police commissioners and
| charges made for failing to do his duty.
| To-day Capt. Jennings denied this, and
said emphatically that the man who in
formed him was not even a resident of
Savannah but was well known TO him
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