The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-05-30
District Attorney Baker Throws q
Bomb Into Ranks of the
Clothing Dealers
SCHEME A PLAIN LOTTERY
Demands That the Operations of All
Clubs and Similar Schemes Be
Stopped Immediately on
Pain of Prosecution

District Attorney Baker threw a
bombshe1l into the ranks Of some cloth
ing men and suit club gamblers FRI
day, when he sent out an official
notice to all people in the city con-
Quoting the clubs directing that they
stop ali clubs at once. The notice of
the district attorney is direct threat
of prosecution and leaves no chance
for bubble on the part of the dealers.
In his letter to the men the district
attorney declares that he has inves-
tigated the suit club proposition and
that he is convinced that it is lot
terry, as shown in the laws of the state
of Wisconsin. The letter of the dis
trict attorney, which was sent to all
the people in the city having such
clubs in operation is as follows.
Kenosha, Wis, May %, 1907.
MY Dear Complaint has been
made to rae, as district attorney, that
you are conducting what is COM
monty called "Suit Club" which
complaint describes in such manner
that must make the conducting of the
same an offense against the laws Of
the state ofskWisconsin. I think that
the carrying on of 'Suit Club, by
which certain persons pay certain
sum of money with the chance and
expectation of receiving a suit Of
clothes for small sum, like $1.OO, is
conducting lottery as defined by the
statutes of the state of Wisconsin.
The comp1ainants have suggested
criminal prosecution against you and
others who are conducting similar
clubs, but have thought under the
circumstances, which I have investi-
gated, that it would be only fair to
you to give you notice to discontinue
the clubs before such drastic meas
ures as criminal prosecution be in
stituted.
l therefore order that the 'Suit
Clubs" be Immediately discontinued
l am writing a similar letter to all
the persons who are conducting SINH
lar clubs, whose names have been
given to me by the complainant.
Yours very truly,
ROBERT VERNE BAKER,
District Attorney.
The letters reached the men inter-
ested in the first mail Friday morning
and there was rushing of dealers to
lawyers Offices and all sorts of things
were being done to find some way to
get away from the order. Some of
the men receiving the letters were
conducting large number of clubs
and were reaping handsome financial
profits as result of the club system.
| To these men the order of the district
attorney will mean heavy loss, as
all of the clubs will have to be closed
out at once and the dealers will have
to make such settlements as are pos
sible with their customers. Some OF
the clubs have been in operation but
a short time and In such cases the
loss to the dealers will not be so large
as in cases where the clubs have been
in operation for months.
The order of the district attorney
will effect some three thousand people
in the citygwho are now paying their
regular weekly stipend into clubs.
Kenosha is ! club ridden and men,
women and Echildren, bankers, pro-
fessiona1 men, working girls and
lawyers ares uniting alike in paying
into the sclub treasury. 1t is stated
on good authority that the clubs now
ia operation.in the city mum Der thirty.
Of this number twenty-four are suit
clubs operated by the different cloth
| ing houses and for men only. These
clubs demand payments of from TWEEN.
! ty-fve cents to dollar week in &C
cordance to the price of the suits.
The patrons of these clubs include
every class.
Then there fare two women's suit
clubs and while no order has been
directed against the clubs up to this
time it is certain that Attorney Baker
will serve all alike. Then there are
shoe clubsawhich are said to be doing
decidedly thriving business, cigar
clubs in which the prize is boxes OF
cigars, jewelrysclubs and watch clubs
and under the ruling of the district
attorney, all of these fall under che
lottery laws of the state.
1t is claimed that the suit club
proposition promised to make some
of the men wealthy in short order,
and that business was being sc
sta gnateo by the club system, that
the business man that did not have
the clubs was being well nigh
forced out of business. It is admit
ted that the complaints to the district
attorney we're made by the business
men as we'll as by patrons of the
clubs,
Some of the men operating clubs
when seen this morning were in a
fighting mood but most of them &C
| canfad the d;cfafos IF the district a +.