The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-02-14
s14oo a Week


I whatever hush money was needed to
silence other members of the police
force who might get wise to the pres
! ence of the protected gambling houses.
To get positive evidence of the at
| tempted bribery, Taylor asked for an
| advance fee and a time was appointed
for him to call at the Yuen Chong
| store and receive it from Lee Let In
order that he would have proof that
| this money was actually received in
| this way, Taylor submitted to being
searched by Sergeant Aea, ct the po-
| lice station on the night of Saturday
| last, the search being made in the
presence of an Advertiser reporter, who
| is also a special police officer. This
reporter accompanied Taylor to the
store mentioned and watched the door
until Taylor reappeared. He kept Tay-
| ior in plain view until he Joined him
/ on Nuuanu avenue, accompanying him
| To the police station, where Sergeant
Aea again searched him, finding the
fifty dollars which he had received
from the Chinaman, This money was
! placed in an envelope, initiated by the
Deputy Sheriff, Taylor and the report
er. and placed in the receiving clerks s
safe.
On Monday. Taylor, accompanied by
the same reporter, visited the Chinese
store again, both going in, the object
being to force Lee Let into committing
himself in the presence of witness.
Lee Let, however. was not in, but a
note from him was handed to Taylor.
The note read:
Answer you everything this after
noon p. M 8 o'clock. Monday
The note was signed with the ini-
tial IL
! Taylor and the reporter paid another
y visit to the store yesterday afternoon,
being met at the door by one of the
Chinese clerks, who Informed them that
Lee Let was holding an important
meeting, but wanted particularly to see
| Taylor, asking him to return at 6
O'Clock. This hour was finally changed
| to O'Clock, at which time he and the
| reporter again went to the place, only
/ to find the store shut. Lee Let was
either away arranging for the opening
of his pakapio bank or had smelt rat
and was keeping out of the way. An
/ inquiry at his residence on Vineyard
street failed to bring any Information
as to his whereabouts. the Chinese
there saying that he would probably
| be back around midnight.
Taylor had made up his mind tha,
the business had gone far enough, au-
thorizing the publication of the facts
as given and the further publication of
the statements as dictated by him day
| by day to the stenographer in the Of
| flee of Sheriff Iaukea, copies of which
We're filed with the Sheriff, with the
1 A
of the Advertiser.
Now that the public has an oppor-
tunity of learning plainly what the
gambling situation in Honolulu is, what
sums of money are involved in these
.'smalI' Chinese games, and with what
impudence the chief gamblers propose
to violate the law of the land with the
connivance of bribed officials, it is to
be supposed that the determination of
the police to pursue a relentless cam
paign against the gambling evil will re-
ceive even more than it has the back
ing of all the law-abiding citizens of
the community.
Following are Mr.. Taylor's signed
statements from day to day, which he-l
is ready to put into affidavit form for
the use of the grand jury:
oIA1Gn6NI W a. r. lax LUX.
Taken at Police Station, February 5, |
1907 On Wednesday, January 29th, /
1907, while I was about to enter the |
officer of the Hawaiian Gazette Co, H. |
Nj. Ayres, a reporter for the Advertiser,
spoke to me, saying in substance:
Suppose a hui of Chinese offered you
a certain sum of money to permit them
to run a game of paikau, say for in
stance, for a week; and suppose you /
accepted that offer, would you pinch
them at the end of the week?" / re-
piled, why, certainly, would, just as
much as 1 would at the beginning of
the week"
On Saturday, February 1st. 1907,
went TO the Queens Hospital to see
Ayres who had been taken there fhe
night before at my orders to have some
scalp wounds attended TO, such wounds
having been received by him in Pala-
ma. On the way back to town, Mr..
Ayres accompanied me in a hack. He
the subject of protecting
a gambling game again. He said. You
that matter that / spoke to
you about; we'll that is a go 1 believe.
There is a hui which wants to play
paikau and they came to me instead OF
direct to you (Taylor), because they
thought that they better not go to you
Now this hui is willing to
make an offer. If you want to look up
on it as bribery, there is a chance for
you to make a record for yourself
think that a meeting could be arrang- ,
ed"
1 replied: 'It certainly is good
chance to make a record. You go