The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-01-28
Fully IS Surprised Gamblers
Are Rushed to Lookup
and Bailed Out.
Raid Was a Complete Sur
prise and Gannesters Were
Terror-Stricken.
When Watch Showed 1890
Officers Raised Hammers
at Five Doors.

~ RASHING of heavy oaken doors,
4 the overturning of gaming tables
and the banging of secret doors
leading to side stairways announced to
hundreds of excited pedestrians last
night that the lid had gone down with
crash and that the tiger had been
surprised in his lair.
Precisely at 1920 five squads of DO.
licemen broke in the doors Of as many
gambling houses, barred the front and
rear doors and called for the patrol
wagons. To say that there was con-
sternation in the gambling fraternity is
putting it mild, for every knight of the,
green cloth thought himself secure be-
hind the guarded doors and many,
knowing a workhouse sentence awaited
them, turned pale for the first time in
their lives.
The raid planned and led by Police
Superintendent j. e.. Doyle was one of
the most spectacular ever pulled off by
the police. The move had been planned
for many days, but not until early last
evening did the event begin to take
definite shape. The roll call room at
headquarters was crowded with patrol
men, while the detectives room was
filled with mysterious whispering plain
clothes men who also took a hand In
the game.
Policemen In Shadows.
After the regular roll call policemen
| L IT, :. IL
all directions from the courthouse. No
two men could be seen together and to
the ordinary person there was nothing
doing. Then they came together in
front of the several gambling resorts,
and each squad was divided in order to
man both front and rear entrances.
/ Sledge hammers in hand, the sergeants
looked at their watches, gave the signal
and the front and back doors of every
den were broken in. In some of the
places the pine doors gave away easily,
while in others the policemen. were
breathless after welding the hammers.
Had bomb exploded in the midst of
the players more havoc could not have
been created. Chairs were overturned,
cards and chips thrown from the win
dows, while the frightened sports
crawled under tables and ran for stair
ways, only to find them blocked.
The First Call.
The first call for the wagon was at
415 Hennepin avenue. Here the off,
GERS found the doors locked and barred.
/ The command to open was not obeyed
and the heavy sledge in the hands of
Sergeant James McElligot soon tore the
(. great door to splinters. Poker tables,
money and chips werethrewn about in
confusion, but, seeing that the police
were masters of the situation, the play
ers Gained down and finally smiled.
They were marched down the front
stairs under a heavy guard and taken
to Central station, where there was
much stammering and confusion in
thinking up fictitious names and occu.
pations.
Scarcely had the wagon left when =
tall, well-dressed man who had seen the
officers enter the place at % Sixth
street s dashed up the stairs to give a
Z timely warning, but, seeing an officer
at the top of the stairs, he stumbled
back to the street and escaped.
"superba'' outdone.
At % Sixth, street s there was sur
prise for the officers and Superba'
and similar magic spectacles were put
to the bad by the wonderful disappear
ance of all gambling paraphernalia, in
Guiding roulette and faro layouts. Great
trap-doors had been built in the floor
and by the clever manipulation of lev
ers and buttons the tables dropped into
the floor as smoothly and mysteriously
as the magician IS fairy. just as the Of
fcers entered the tables and other out
fits tipped and swayed and the place re-
sembled a room in an enchanted castle.
Before the officers were fairly inside,
! Continued on Page s, 4th Column.