The Portland daily press., 1900-10-19
A Plan For Battling Off
GERS in Dry Times.
How the Thing is Being Done in
Kennebec County.

another raid Wednesday afternoon, and
it was as lively as some of the old-time
affairs when the city was dry" There
were four Of the officers-City Marshal
Breen, Deputy Marshal Breen, Deputy
Marshal Grover and Chase and Hanks,
and it was about 2. 80 when they descend
cd on the Hopkins place on upper Water
street.
The Hopkins place, it may be explained
to those who are not up in local his
tory, is one of the most famous joints in
thu capital city. 1t was here that Harry
Hopkins used to battle the officers, and
before him there was Mike Burns and
Charles Mclaughlin, way back in the
days when they had the famous fight
over the 'original packages" Each
regime has had its day Of reckoning with
the officers, and City Marshal Breen has
started in to see that the present pro
prietors have their taste of the undiluted
law Ia such cases made and provided.
Three weeks ago the officers made a
search at this place, but before they
could get through the gate which led to
the inner part OF the bar the wet goods
had gone crashing down the dump.
This time they didn't bother with the
gate The gate is at the end of a contin
uous line Of show cases, running from
the window clear to the lower end of the
front store. There is no middle opening
as there is in most stores. But there is
a door at the back which leads from the
front to the back store-or bar. This
door is fastened by a spring lock and
to the lock is attached a string -whi
runs over by the bar. When anyone
shows up who is all right the bar tender
pulls the string, sliding back the bolt
and leaving the door free to swing in
ward. But if the person who tries to get
in happens to be persona non grata
with the powers that he he, the string
is not pulled and the person corneth not
in.
The latter statement is true in most
cases. But it WASH t yesterday. The
string was not pulled, but the officers
went in just the same. Officer Chase
was the one whom Capt. Breen sent
forward to buck the ememy's line. Chase
may never have played foot ball, but he's
a great ground gamer. He took the door
on the jump and planted one OF his deli
cate No. y's right in the middle of the
panel, without so much as a by-your-
leave. The door, not being of armor
plate, gave way and Chase found him
self on the inside with the shattered trag-
ments of the panels clinging to him. He
was still, you see, on the outside of the
bar, for the door through which he had
come was the customers entrance to
the bar. But there ism t cat in Angus
ia who's any lighter on foot than this
same Officer Chase, and in the twinkling
OF an eye he was over the bar and stand
ing close to the side of the bartender.
The movement was executed with such
lightning like precision that the officers
who followed him in found him stand
Ing behind the bar as though he had been
there for half an hour.
1t was a quick rush by which the off
GERS entered the place, but it WASH It
quick enough to do the business.
Young Harry Hopkins was behind the
bar, and out ia the front shop stood
William Hopkins keeping a wen-peeled
eye to windvard. When William saw
the officers enter the door he sung out
to the man behind the bar, giving him
the rumseller's signal of distress, which
Is cry which no purveyor of the pro-
hibitlon will suffer to go unheeded, for
even the fractional part of moment
The officers were quick, but even quick
er was young Harry Hopkins, who was
waiting ON the wants of three thirsty
customers. When he heard the signal
of distress he pulled the cord. The cord
was attached to a steel pin. The pin
went into the wall just under hinged
shelf and when the string was pulled
out came the pin and down went the
shetland whatsverVknere was on the shelf
went down 30 feet through an 1S-inoh
chute, and brought up on lot OF
jagged rooks cunningly placed at the
bottom.
When the officers entered the place
there were four bottles of whiskey and
one bottle of gin on the shelf-or the
dump" to give it its professional name
according to the city marshal's figures, |
ana when the string was pulled they all
went crashing down TO the rocks below. |
The officers saw that there was moth |
Ing to be gained by staying up there, SO
down cellar they went. The dump ran
down through two stories into the SUBJ
basement. Up to that time they hadn't
time to examine the dump closely, but
when theJ triedsto break IN they found
that 1t was one of the strongest that was
ever built in the capital city, 1t was
made Of two-inch planks and was nailed |
together with long wire spikes. 1t was
50 soIidly built that it took three officers |
straining for all they were worth on a |
pinch bar to start the planking.
After a time the officer got into the |