The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-02-26
KLONDYKE BLUFF.
Continued From First Page.)


runnin' saloon down there now. Ye
see. they was a few accidents here
bruised, or perhaps killed, in the Klon-
dixie. Klondikers refer to the crimes as
here and the goyermor Of the home he
sent for the governor of the state to come
he made a big blow, and said we'd got
to close up That was way along early
ter pension day, SO they got most of the
trade they could git anyway Then they
to sentence EN- if they would quit. There
wasn't very much business ahead for
of EN- did, but now pension days here
they're gittin' ready for business again.
have been all right and | believe they
could have got out all right. But most
anyway; Louie, he talked big, but he was
about the first 20 close up and pull out
That's the reason l had to let my place
All this time there had been sounds of
carouSing in the rear room, although the
proprietor mad attempted to shut the
sound off as much as possible by closing
the door between
the other ROOM he remarked. apologetic-
ally; and they git a little noisy once in
The principal thing that works against
the boys out here went on the barber
is the fellows who run saloons in town.
They and the electric line thought the
boys out here was gettin' too much of
the business and they helped close US up.
But they have just as bad accidents in
town as we do out here and there more
DO. you ever get held up for fines. or
anything like that?
We'll, we used to. The officers used
to come around pretty often, but they
haven't been since we was closed up.
I'm a-lookin most any time now though
Besides the eight or nine joints that
We're running in the Klondike proper on
started in a new location on the north of
the home grounds, in a more secluded
spot. These We're only established for the
4 fPnDnOTaTW m IA faIyT fnII mo
The population of the Klondike nearly
sion payment, and drops off again after
the old soldiers, who frequent the place,
have parted with their money. Thugs,
gamblers, disorderly women, and people
| of that class swarm there from Leaven-
prey off Of the old veterans, some of
whom spend their entire pension for three
months in a single debauch.
IF joints are going to run somewhere
| anyway said one old soldier Il don't
know but it's just as well to let the
! kIondlke run The old boys get robbed
| and slugged in the Leavenworth joints
| just as they do in the Klondike, but here
! home and some of the others always
bring them in and put them to bed, while
/ if they get drunk or hurt in Leavenworth
| the police lock them up and they have
to lay in Jail for awhile.
/ There has been liquor sold right along
in the klOndfke since it has been closed,
/ but the jointists have been more careful
about it. There has not been near so
much, of course, as there was before for
the reason that the old soldiers haven't
much money to spend now. Stanley and
Dawes and Tom Fenlon made big fuss
| about closing the klOndike last fall but
they let the joints run till after the last
| pension day, and after the jintists got
| all the old soldiers money they We're
| ready to promise to close"
| 1t was as long ago as last August that
| Governor Stanley first declared war upon
| the K1ondike and appointed ex-Attorney
| General F. B. Dawes and ThOS. Fenlon
as attorneys to prosecute the law-break-
ers, paying them $500 as a starter out of
In weeks time nearly anyone could
have accumulated sufficient evidence to
have sent two-thirds of the inhabitants
to Jail for five years, but Mr.. Dawes and
Mr.. Fenlon took over three months to
Sheriff EVerhardy, of I.eavenworth
county, employed a deputy for each of
the most notorious saloons, collecting
revenue off the jointists themselves for
the alleged purpose, at least, of keeping
order in the place, These deputies, how
the saloon keepers against customers who
might start a rough house.
BY subpoenaeing these deputy sheriffs
and with the aid of the Leavenworth
jointists, it would have been an easy mat
ter to quickly close out every Joint in the
Klondike, but instead they were allowed
to run till December, two weeks after the
November pension payment. And ever
then the offenders were allOWd to go free
upon their promise not to engage in the
joint business again in the Klondike.
How well it was intended to keep these
promises to shown by the rapidly with
: which the Klondike Joints have been re
+ ]
: instances the joints are opened under the
name of some other proprietor, but usual
share the profits In this way they car
evade the charge of having violated sheil
again arrested.
Complaint was made to Mr.. Dawes OF
Friday that large number of joint:
were being reopened in the Klondike, anc
2 he had warrants issued for two of them
The warrants were placed in the hand!
of Marshal Townsend, of the Leaven
worth city court. who went out to thu
p KlOndike Friday night to serve them H,
went alone without intending to bring
I any of the persons arrested back witt
$ him. These two warrants were for Mrs
: Karst and Mrs. Bodder. Marshal Town
! send served them and told the women t
4 appear in court Word was passed aroun,
n that Townsend was making arrests, bu
before the officer could get away from
I the place he stumbled to four NOR
joints, and the keepers of two of thes
were also told to appear in court. Thel
g they were left to continue their business
:, These two who were arrested were Mrs
& Robert PohI and Gertie Erhart. Mrs
+ John Lines begged off and promised t
quit if allowed to go free. No one wa
$ he was not arrested. The rest of tn
T jointists were not disturbed a all
r The action had all the appearance of
. farce, and while it caused some of tn
: jointists little uneasiness the most 0
:, firm in the belief that they would be al
n lowed to run while the old soldiers
r money lasts.
= Colonel J. 6. Rowland, the governor c
the soldiers home says that he - power
less to do anything himself towards clos
ing out the Klondike.
you understand that there is only
very small comparative number of tn
= inmates of the home who patrOnize tn
: KIondike," he said. I'VE have now 255
old soldiers here, and of those go are re
ported on the sick list today That leave
: a few less than 2.300 men who are abb
I to go about, but out of that number no
r more than 10 per cent spend their none
:, for drink. But go drunken men look Xix
Il a whole lot, and when they spend thre
e months pensions in one lump it makes
f good deal of money"
=. How many joints were there IN tn
= klondike before it was supposed to b
closed up2' Governor Rowland was asked
i do not know exactly he replied
s There must have been at least Is fo
II the sheriff told me that he had that nun
r Der of deputies employed and he calcr
Q lated TO keep a deputy in every saloon