The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-04-08
Carpenters Making +" Improve
ments" interrupted.
THIS is THE FIRST.
McCoIlum Has Never Before
Been So Severe.
Evidently Just Discovered This
Gambling Resort.
Bar Moved Up Stairs Just Be-
fore Raid.

I0rG RAID
The ROYAL Joint was raided today by
Chief McCollum in person. The front
door to the stairway leading to the
second floor was battered down and
not a. feature was overlooked in max
ing the event as spectacular as possi-
BILE. The demonstration was all made
at the front door and the rear exit
was left unguarded and the people
who happened to be in the place were
thus given an opportunity to escape
which they did not overlook.
The Royal has been running openly
ever since NIcCollum became chief OF
police. There was a barroom on the
first floor and gambling rooms upstairs.
The police did not molest the joint eX-
cept on one or two occasions and It
was a noticeable fact that all the
glassware and liquors were carefully
removed to places of safety before the
police arrived. Evidently the police
did not know that the gambling re-
sort, which was the most notorious
place in the city, was in existence
But the proprietors of the Royal
must have heard something for force
of carpenters and masOns were put TO
work Thursday morning to make i'm
provements-
The improvements consisted of wall
ing up the door between the gambling
deDartment and the rooms on the
north and fitting a heavy steel door at
the head of the stairway. Today the
Joint which is locate in the rear end
of the first floor room, back of the pool
room, was removed to the second
floor.
The reason for this move is that
It is much handler to have the gam
a n
results of the recent election do not
look good to the union jOintists, who
see trouble ahead. The Royal gam
bling department has never been raid
ed by the police since MeGollum has
been chief, but the gambling frater-.
nifty is cOgnfZant of the fact that
change has been made Il costs $25
to be found in q gam bling house. The
penalty for being found in q joint is
nothing at all. While the gam bling
places are not under protection the
patrons are a little shy about dropping
in. With a joint ten feet away, how
easy it would be for the patrons to
make three long strides after the
alarm bell has been rung, have a solid
iron door closed behind them and save
S25 by being in d joint instead of
gambling house. The jointist can
easily dump his pitcher of liquor, and
then there is not even the danger of
being subpOenaed as d witness. The
Royal is selling booze at reduced rates,
and a 255 cent check is returned to
the purchaser who pays Is cents for
a drink of red liquor. The square
piece of aluminium is good with dime
for another drink at some other time
The other joints invariably charge Is
cents straight and two for a quarter.
The Royal can afford to cut prices as
the joint department has the largest
trade IN town, and is never molested
to any great extent by the police. The
managers of the place are sufficiently
well on to furnish bond for the
DaTren0eTS q efr
they are arrested, and SIS per raid is
saved in this way
'eRaid' Is Made.
A squad of officers landed on the
place at 1:So this afternoon and after a
half hour of hard work got up stairs
The "dead-fall" trap door in the back
stairway and a combination double door
in the unused stairway leading up from
the front were assailed with axes and
sledges- When the officers rushed into
the place on the second floor they found
nothing.
The joint was moved upstairs before
dinner time, but the liquor was removed
while the policemen did manual labor in
their effort to get in. Several carpenters
and electricians were at work fitting up
the place when the officers entered
All the gambling machinery had beer
put out of commission before the Off
GERS arrived, and at a late hour this
afternoon, while part of the force were
hauling away some old furniture the
prietors of the place. who, after walk
ing around over the building with the
searchers for awhile, quietly walked
away OF course they can be easily
found, and only desire to have thej1
bonds prepared before being arrested
Chief McCollum had a lengthy con.
ference with Mike Thompson at the
Royal on Thursday and Thompson
must have been surprised when tho
police battered down his front door
today.
NcCOIIum Was There.
An interesting sidelight on the raid
OF the Royal this afternoon is given bv
q Topeka man who went into the place
"Wednesday afternoon with a friend to
get drink. AS they passed through the
biinard room, there was AIcCoIlum sit
ting over in one corner with NfilSe
Thompson, the proprietor. They were
talking earnestly. and for fear some
thing was wrong, the man and his
friend stopped at one of the billiard
tables and pretended to watch a game
They saw quite a number of neoDle
pass back through into tbe ioinf e9la5 ang
concluded that everything must be ali
right. So they went back and each
took a glass of beer.
did you know McColIum is o,,t
there?'' asked one of the men of tie
bartender.
Yes. he's been out there quite a
long time"
"Well, what's up?"
"Oh. I don't know" said the bar
tender with a wink. Il haven't been
given the signal to close up, and so
know that everything is all right"
When the two came out of the joint
NdcCollum was still talking with Mr.
Thompson, and they said that Thomp-
son seemed to be having real good