El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1898-11-01
-WIDE OPEN" NEW YORK.
Under Tammany Rule Vice Again
Flourishes Openly For a Price,
How Blood Money IS Collected
Dives Worse Than Ever.-The
Drize EiuhtinQ MOnOpolY.

Dives Worse Than Ever.-The
Prize Fighting Monopoly.
From a striking article by Franklin |
Matthews in Harper's Weekly we eX-
tract the following:
The city of New York is wide open |
once more. Tammany Hall has at last
secured its terrible revenge" Rich |
ard Croker aud his assistants have set
in full operation q system of Tammany
under which vice flour
ishes openly for price. The old days
have come again, and Tammany lead
ers are fattening their pocket
books through the privilege of selling
the right to violate law and through
extortlon and forced tribute. Devery,
Richard CrOker's friend, is chief OF
police. According to q message to the
legislature from Governor Black, he
was selected for the place Ito repeat
the Infamous practices which had tar
nished his previous career" Devery
knows the town is wide open. Croker
cannot help knowing it, the police COM
missioners must know it, and if Mayor
Van Wyck does not know it, q short
investigation will prove it to him.
TO make sure not only that the old
system of eXtortion by Tamm Is In
full swing again, but to obtain list OF
prices charged, l vent under proper
auspices to one who, b cause OF his
actual connection with the police force,
knows whereof he speaks, and who, II
I we're at liberty TO give his name,
would be recognized as an authority by
every one who reads the newspapers.
Tnis man, so far as l know, does not
share in any police plunder-indeed,l
was sent to him because of that belief
but he knows all about 1t. This is
the rate of prices that he furnished:
pool-rooms, $500 to open, and from SlOO
to $500 month; gambling, from 500 TO
$500 or more a month, according to the
size of the receipts; keeping open
dive, 80 to $50 week; running dis
orderly resorts. $50 to $3.50 month;
selling liquor from l to 8 a. M, the
moderate C lsrge of o1ly So month.
To see what wide-open New York
means, and to obtain an illustration of
what Tammsny's terrible revenge"
really is, one should go to the Tender
loin station house in West Thirtieth
street about eleven O'Clock some even
ing. From ten to twenty creatures OF
the streets are brought in, and. within
an hour or two, are released under bail
furnished by professional boudsman,
q Tammsny Hall leader, William K
Mel on, proprietor OF the famous
BLACK and TAM saloon on Seventh
avenue. The next day these creatures
are fined in the police court.
According to newspaper accounts,
Nelson gets at least So for
every bond tina. he signs. No other
man is permitted to have the actual
privileges he enjoys. The sire ct sim
ner probably pays another 30 for her
fine, and to make up for what has been
taken from her under due process OF
law, and with the cooperation OF the
police for Nelson's prof, she must
Il fol in
to the clutches of Nelson's pull again.
Nelson's most intimate friend is the
famous "ward man. Schill, now back
at his old station for "police duty"
and with all indictments against him
dismissed In other words, distinct
part of the earnings of the creatures OF
the Tenderloin are diverted every
night-s sum amounting from $50 to
SlOO-to the Golfers of Bob" Nelson
Tammauy leader.
But one should go deeper when con-
sideriug the case of Nelson. The records
show that when Devery was indicted,
as the result of the Lexow investiga-
ton disclosures, Nelson was one of his
bondsmen. Devery has come back in
to power, and Nelson, his friend aud
| bondsman, is sharing in the terrible
revenge against Parkhurst In a way
| that Is swelling Nelson's bank account.
had the honor of an Introduction to
Nelson and his friend wardman Schill,
in Mel on g saloon not long ago. His
place reeks. Degraded blacks and
| whites may be found there. His hard
ened face show signs OF shrewd ness aud
intelligence, and one can understand,
after a study OF him. why he has been
able to accumulate a fortune.
The dives are not yet il full blast In
the Tenderloin. They are in full swing
further down town. Within the
| shadow of Cooper Union, and Haunting
( sit scenes of shame almost in the face
of the statue of the great philanthropy
| ist who founded that institution, is an
open dive, under the guise of club,
than which no more depraved place
ever existed in New York. L have a
ticket of membership in that club
The dance-hall of the club is like all
those of the dives, and it is unneces-
sary to go into particulars.
A new dive on the Bowery, however,
should be mentioned. 1t has a naval
name. About its walls are naval pic
lures exclusively. Flags d corste the
places where there are no naval pic
lures. The first impression, as one
enters this place and sees what Is 60
ing on, is not one of establishment so
much as shock. The names and pic
lures of naval heroes are being used as
decoys for vice.
The place has the open approval of
the police. While / was go ng In the
doorway at three o'clock one morning
recently, under the escort of a famous
Bowery character, two policemen stood
| at the doorway, and each was receiv-
ing drink of wbiskey from the man
ager of the place. / could give the
numbers of the policemen if necessary.
| Then there is the priZe-h0htiug re-
| venue for Tammany followersl They
have a monopoly of it in Manhattan,
and the Mclaughlin men have the mo-
nopoly in Brooklyn. State-Senator
| Timothy ID. Sullivan is the favored
| Tammanv man