The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-07
HIT THE GAMBLERS
COURT MADE HEAVY RUN ON TWO
KENO ROOMS.
IN JUDGE NoRWooD'S COURT.
TEN MEMBERS OF SPORTING FRA
TERNFTY WERE FINED s2,4OO.

All Pleaded Guilty, Except One.
Jack Monahan and Jim Mehrtens
Were Fined 81 900 Each-Mehrtens
Went 10 FriaI-The Eight EN-
pIoyes of the Two Houses Were
Fined $50 Each-Warrants Were
sworn Out by John Reaves in JUS
tice Nathans' COurt-Witnesses
Were 10th 10 Testify, but Could
Not Evade summons-Fines Were
All Paid
Under ten warrants charging the
keeping. maintaining and carrying on
of "a certain scheme for the hazard
ing of money, known as keno" ten
gamblers were arraigned in City Court
yesterday morning and fines aggregat-
ing $24OO were imposed. The defend
ants are the proprietors and employees
of two we'll known keno rooms. The
former We're fined $1,000 and costs, or
twelve months on the changing, and
the latter $50 and costs. or six months
Imprisonment.
An account of the arrest of these
men has already appeared in the
Morning News. Under warrants
sworn out by John Reayes they were
brought before Justice Nathans on
Oct ~ At that time they all gave
bond, each in the sum of 500, and the
warrants were turned over to the So
licitor. The cases were to have been
heard on Oct. "a, but were postponed.
Mehrtens Pleaded Not Guilty.
The first one arranged was James
L. Mehrtens. He entered a plea of not
guilty to the accusation against him.
He had no defense outside of his own
denial of the charge, relying on the
failure of the prosecution to prove
that he was the proprietor of the keno
room. The first witness for the prose-
cution knocked this vain hope into a
cooked hat. He swore that the defend
ant handled the money of the house
and was to all appearances the pro-
prietor.
There were four witnesses against
Mehrtens. The defense produced no
witness. Judge Norwood, on hearing
the testimony, promptly passed sem
tence. MehrtenS was required to pay
into the eXchequer of the court $1,000,
or in default of payment spend one
year in the chaingang.
Against Assistants.
The accusations against the four
employees were then taken up. All
plead guilty. Mr.. David C. Barrow.
in entering the plea, called attention
to the fact that the defendants had
no interest in the keno room, and
asked that in consideration of that
fact the court be lenient. The fine of
$50 was then imposed. These defend
ants were; p John McHugh, Bob Levy,
s. J.>Wallace, and John Broodleg.
Jack Monahan pleaded guilty as did
also his assistants, a fine of 1000 be-
ing Imposed in the first case
and $50 each in the latter.
The same witnesses were summon
ed in this case as were summoned in
the other cases. Cob Robert l.. Cold
ing represented the defendants. There
were several well known business men
summoned as witnesses and their agi-
tation was manifest as. they paced
about the corridors. Whispered con-
situations were the order OF the hour,
and the corridors wore the aspect of
some presaging calamity. 1t was easy
to see that there was trouble in the
atmosphere.
number of the defendants came to
the court house forearmed with for
midable looking wads of currency
Others settled with the sheriff shortly
after the trial. and last night the ex-
chequer of the court was consider
ably augmented by the contributions
of the sporting element