The evening times., 1900-02-07
POLICY PLAYING ENDED
The Gambling Game Driven Out of
This City. 4
4 Detective Tells of the Efforts OF
the Police To Extcrmiante Vicious
by Agents From the Dens In EN-
istence Across the Aqueduct Bridge

The fact that policy playing is not near
ly so much in sogue as it has been in
former years is matter of much gratii-
cation to the police, and in particular to
Policy Detective Watson, who is especial
ly assigned to prevent violations of the
law and to detect the few promoters who
have sufficient temerity, to operate in the
face of the heavy penalty consequent
upon conviction.
Contrasted with the conditions prevail
ing but few years ago policy playing is
practically extinct. The indications are
that the efforts of the police will be re-
warded in the near future by an absolute
determination of the lottery form OF
gambling.
Possibly the best Indication that policy
playing is on the wane, everything liber-
ally considered, is the fact that very few
violators of the law are apprehended,
said Detective Watson at Headquarters
this morning.
That statement may appear peculiar
when first considered" he continued, but
it should not be misconstrued. A disin-
terested party would naturally say that
violations of law might continue undetect-
ed, and the fact that no arrests were made
would not indicate that crime was extinct.
Yet in the case of policy playing the fact
that but few arrests are made indicates 20
a certainty that this pernicious form OF
gambling has been practically abolished
There are two chief reasons why poi
icy playing is not in vogue. The first is
and say this without egotism-that the
police seldom fail to detect the promoters
The second is that the courts stand by the
police and when a violator is convicted
he suffers heavy penalty. When man
considers his chances of operating without
detection are slim and that the penalty he
must pay when convicted is heavy, his de-
sire to violate the law wanes, and he
would rather employ some other means of
obtaining livelihood where the pro5abil-
tiles of punishment are reduced TO a
minimum.
When a person considers that no far
ther back than ten years ago policy was
openly played in this city. and compare
that with the fact that net a single policy
shop exists in Washington at present he
can appreciate the efforts of the police 10
eXterminate the game. Policy is played to
a limited extent today, but The shops ale
not in this city. There are only few
shops near by, and they are located across
the river. in Virginia.
Not many years ago there were num-
Der Of them in Jackson City, but even
those have been closed up, and now the
few remaining places in the vicinity are
located at RosSlyn. How different that is
from the conditions in 1880, when Blood
field, in South Washington, was overrun
with policy games and 'curbstone writer's
openly did business in Pennsylvania Ave-
nue.. between Thirteenth and Fourteenth
Streets. right in the heart of the city, aud
en- is greatest thoroughfare.
In those DAYS il a person wanted to
play policy it was like going to market to
approach writer and play anything from
a cent up on 4-u-4i,' known as 'nigger
row. or on blood row., chicken row,
fighting row. old clothes row. or, in fact
any row that a dream or other superstitiOus
fancy might dictate. The playing while
mostly INDUCED in by the colored people.
was not limited TO them and many white
persons invested dime or a quarter at the
suggestion of some negro who was sure his
dream would come out The game paid
then as it does now 100 to /.
That is to say, a player selected any
number of figures up to ten out of seventy
one and should three of the figures select
ed come out in the drawing that constituted
a row and won. Should more figures be
drawn the winning was greater. player
could elect to play in the morning or even
ing drawing and get 100 to / for the money
invested, but when he specified that he
played all day giving him chance in
both drawings, the ratio was only so to l.
AT the present time there are no more
local policy shops and certainly no curb
Tho bav
and now in order TO do business in Wash
ington is necessary to employ runners
They are our prey. runner takes the
plays of people in this city and returns
with them to Rosslyn. When the winners
are announced by the drawings the run
ner returns TO them with the proceeds of
their investments. 1t is difficult TO get
good runners and in fact any at all
Those whom We suspect of being run
ners are searched as they go on and off
the Aqueduct or Long bridges Many in
nocent persons are searched, but one can
not take chances.
"One would scarcely believe the methods
employed by runners to conceal the pol
icy slips about their persons. An old trick
and one that worked for a long time, was
to wrap the slips written on thin tissue
paper about a finger and about that wrap
a soiled and blood stained rag giving the
finger the appearance of having been in
jured. The trick was finally detected, and
then others were resorted to. Frequently
slips were taken from the nostrils Of run
ners. from under their armpits, between |
their feet and stockings, and from every
conceivable place where cunning would in
dicate place to hide them Recently I
caught a runner who had his slips wrap
ped about small piece of horse shoe, and
that wound about with red yarn.
cd hat =
tempt to successfully conceal slips about
his person, and knowing that evidence
found on him would result in conviction,
had his slips wrapped as stated, with the
intention of throwing them from the
bridge into the water, where they would
sink Rag -pickers used to be favorite
class of runners. as they could conceal
slips in their junk, but even their tricks
have been fathomed. l can truthfully say
that policy playing is almost dead
Commissioners Bound for Paris.