El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-08-18

'Harry Hills Club" irequented by
women who patrol Broad way after mid
night and the men who know them,
yielded q grist OF thlrty-one opium
smokers, besides the alleged proprietor,
when the police raided IL on Wednes-
day night.
John G. Ellis, who used to run the
White Elephant Cafe, WAS held in
$500 bail Yesterday as the proprietor OF
the place, and thirty-one others, in
GLIDING four women, were held Tor
trial for frequenting the place. The
only fish that escaped the net was the
boy who waited on the smokers. He
swore that the yellow stains on his
fingers were from cigarettes, and that
he did not use the drug, and Magistrate
Cornell let him 60.
"Harry Hills Club" had been in
operation only few weeks, and the
evil fraternity for whose purpose it was
started had only begun to patronlze IL
literally.
The news of the existence of the es-
tablishment was given by cards Judlc1-
ously distrib uted throughout the Ten
derloin.
Opium fends passed the word one to
another. There ia q free masOnary
among them that makes it safe to trust
them with the secret of an Illicit bust
ness address, and "Harry Hills Club"
might be running yet Ii one OF the wo-
men had not introduced an amateur.
The place being convenient, she
robbed him, and when he made q row
about it the men of the place beat him
and threw him out. He went to police
headquarters with the story. and the
raid OF Wednesday night was the re-
suit.
Ellis, as usual, says he had nothing to
do with the place; that his arrest was
just another piece of police persecu-
ton. He asked that Frank Moss, OF
the Mazet Investigating committee, be
sent for, but the police would not heed
him.
They caught him in the full regslis
of the high-toned opium fiend, Oriental
gown, Turkish slippers and all. He
had just cooked a pill, they allege, and
was making the long draw of heavy
white smoke that shuts out the troubles
of the world.
The names the men and women gave
are of no consequence. They were the
first names not their own that occurred
to them.
Thnopium place was the rear fiat on
the top floor of No. % West Sixty
fourth street. The three houses, Nos.
%. 80 and 80, are at Ellis's, as a sign
proclaiming Handsomely furnished
four room flats for rent at from S5 to SO
per week" indicated.
In the vernacular the opium place at
No. %, West Sixty-fourth street was
'.swell joint" It was extravagantly
described as hung with rich Oriental
trsppings aud furnished with luxurious
divans. AS matter of fact, it was
furnished like other cheap fats that
Oriental trappings were two Chinese
lanterns, and the divans were q few
hard lounges.
The exaggeration WAS typical of the
opium iends. The drug robs man of
ability to tell the plain truth. Every
opium smoker is liar, and, the police
say, thief.
The marvel is that thirty-two peo-
pie could have crowded into the tiny
together, women and men, like worms
In q bait can. The men had their shoes
and coats of, while the women were
even more scantily clad.
Everybody in the fat was stupid
with the smoke. Some of them did not
wake up from the opium trance until
hey were in the police station. The
women alone resisted, They screamed
Ind tried to escape, but the squad OF
Der of Captain Moynshan's patrolmen
rom the Sixty-eighth street station,
guarded every exit.
There were no escapes, but yester- J
lay sollow faced men were telling each |
'ther on the steps of the raided house
exciting tales of the cleverness with
which they climbed out of windows
md lodged across roofs. These stories
we're merely dreams-real ''pipe
lreams.''
The crowd captured was q typical
me. Notwithstanding the oft-told
tories of opium palaces where the rich
md beautiful indulge in the beguiling
ice, the den that was raided Wednes-
ay night was about as gorgeous as the
swell joints" generally, and the