Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-08-04

~ as sdiu tHat Sups were round upon them.
They were held on charges OF promoting
policy, and Wednesday gave ball. the first
in 800 and the two last in $500 each.
Getting line on the kosslyn policy shop
by the arrest of these negroes, the war was
carried on in Alexandria county by States
Attorney Crandal Mackey and Sheriff VIM.
H. Pullman. The first move was the send
ind of a "decoy" into the gamblers den,
but he was attacked with a razor by
negresses in the place and incontinently
fed. The next move was made by the shop
itself, which was transferred to a house in
the brush, half a mile up Little river.
southeast of Rosslyn. Friday the sheriff
and MIR. Mackey. with deputy, found the
building and waited there for prospective
players, who walked into the net and were
arrested In one, two, three order about
twenty being captured. The technical
charge of vagrancy was made against the
prisoners, who were chiefly from Washing
ton, and they were permitted to return to
the District on depositing collateral for
their appearance when wanted.
Trials in September.
The Police Court jury to try the hand
book cases was sworn in Wednesday, and
1t is said that the trials will begin early in
September. In the meantime the district
attorney is continuing to gather evidence,
and Prosecuting Attorney Given has al
ready questioned many persons supposed TO
be connected in some way with the gam
blers.
The investigation of the members of the
detective force was a most solemn function.
Maj Sylvester questioned them one by one
and had heart-to-heart talks, with a
stenographer right on the job to take down
every word. Never WAS such a collection
Of spotless goodness gathered together in
one bunch. All the members of the detect
i've force were what Mrs Malaprop called
''parallelograms of virtue 'and their
blameless bearing, emphasized by their ut
ter ignorance Of bookmaking and gambling.
was nothing short of anna zing-causing one
to wonder how such remarkable body of
men came to be on the detective force. 1t
is not known with exactly what degree OF
fearsome awe Commissioner West read the
marvellous array of answers, with a
Never! No, never!" on every other lne
but 1t Is more than whispered that the
phenomenal record Of dizzy impeccability
gave him the impression that possibly, just
here and there. one little error or SO might
the detectives might know bet IL he were
| dragged up to 1t and shown.
Rumors Of transfers in the detective force
| were plenty last week. but there was MOTH
ing doing. Yet 1t is said that this week at
| least one Of the men who answered the
| catechism SO glibly may try swinging a
| club and pace the pavement once more
| However that may be, the men detailed to
| assist the authorities in the forefront of
| the battle have done good work thus far.
| The waking-up process has been effectual.
| Headquarters Men in Line.
Since the headquarters detectives have
been expecting a shakeup they have taken
| an active interest in the crusade against
the handbooks, and the first arrest in the
handbook cases by them since The Stars
crusade was begun was made late yesterday
afternoon, the defendant being Thomas
Lacey. colored, who is the second colored
man to get caught in the dragnet. The
! other colored man who was arrested for
an alleged violation of the handbook law
| was George r. Pearson, or Big" Dick
as he was more Familiarity known. He de-
manded a jury trial last week when he was
arrested by precinct officers.
| Tom Lacey, as the latest defendant in the
handbook cases is known, Is employed as
porter at the Riggs House buffet. He has
worked there during the last three or four
months as a porter, but 1t Is not charged
that he made handbook at his place of
employment. 1t is asserted that he COL
| lected plays from persons within several
| hundred feet of police headquarters. Tom
worked in a restaurant not far from police
headquarters for several years, it is stated,
and he became acquainted with many men,
bers of the detective corps. None Of them,
however, according to their statements,
suspected that he was in the handbook
business until recently, and it was while
Detectives Parham and O'Brien were in
vestigatfng another affair that they came
to suspect that Lacey was a "booky"
| Il never took bet on the horses in my
life." Tom declared when the detectives
told him upon what charge they had ar
rested him.
Was Short Of Funds.
Tom was not as well fixed, financially, as
were most Of the other defendants in the
handbook cases, having but a small amount
Of cash in his possession when he was
searched at the sixth precinct station. No
| friends wearing diamonds hurried to the
police station to ask for information about
| the prisoner, nor did a lawyer appear upon
| the scene with a real estate owner or the
representative of bonding company to pro-
| cure his release. It was alleged that he
was merely runner" and that he had
been doing business on a small scale, and
had no elegantly appointed suite of offices
with several telephones at his command,
the only claim against him being that he
was more on the order Of a curbstone
dealer.
1t is believed by the detectives that by
| the time Tom is brought up for trial they
| will have several women to appear as wit
| nesses against him, there being an allega-
| ton against him that he had collected plays
from such persons no later than yesterday.
The prisoner gave his age as twenty-six
years and his address as 200 l. street
southwest. Still protesting his innocence
! Tom was led back to cell at the sixth
| precinct and locked up. 1t was stated last
night that Tom would probably demand an
early trial, realizing that If he is unable to
| give bond he will have to remain in Jail
until the judges of the Police Court have
finished their vacations. Should he fail to
demand jury trial, as has been done in
! most of the other cases, he will appear
before Judge Mills and take his chances.
Should the women referred to appear
against him and convince the court that he