The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1908-11-04
LONDON GAMING DENS
The Way the Police Descend Upon
Them In a Raid.
SKILL, CUNNING AND DARING.
Absolute Secrecy Is Maintained by the
Officials, and the Policemen Are
Kept In the Dark Until the Last
Moment-Getting Into the Club.

ome sensational raids on big gamin /,
learn how these raids are effected.
Ehis is how 1t Is done in London: As
oon as the detectives suspicious have
been confirmed they apply to the com
missioner of police for a warrant to
.nter. The warrant authorizes certain
officers mentioned by name to enter
the club In the name of the king Or
,'inary policemen are not permitted to
carry out raid. but the detectives
can call upon them for assistance ut
the critical moment.
Absolute secrecy is enforced right
up to the moment of entry. There Is
10 excitement at the station on that
day, and the men on duty have no sns-
picion of what is in the wind Plans
of the house are drawn and carefully
studied by the raiding officers. for tile
doorkeeper of the club is prepared NJ
the slightest alarm to send a warning
10 his customers and every vestige ui
! gambling apparatus will mysteriously
disappear and the raid fail. \ careful
! ly planned ruse, therefore. has TO he
evolved which will disarm suspicion.
| During the day body of reserve,
| policemen will receive Il communca-
tlon from the station that they will he
! required TO parade at n certain hour
| and they meet with no idea of what Is
expected of them. They are drawn up
IN line, and after names have been
called over they are dismissed from
the station one by one, with the III
7 junction to be in the immediate neigh
borhood of Il certain street in n couple
of hours and not to get near the spot
before the prearranged moment
The first officer to appear on the
scene is the one in charge Of the raid
He is always disguised and usually
looks like well dressed man about
town. He passes the club carelessly,
but 1t Is sufficient for him to learn
from confederate inside that gaming
has commenced. A policeman then
saunters to the corner of the street
and stays there as though he were on
point" duty. Then, not till then, is
the information of the precise club to
be raided secretly conveyed to the at.
tacking force in their hiding places.
while the club, unconscious of its i'm
pending fate pursues its gambling
The first difficulty to surmount is to
get past the burly doorkeeper. If this
is not successfully done the raid will
end In failure. Presently the sound of
a drunken song Is heard in the dis
tance, and two apparently rough look
ing men come staggering along. AS
they near the entrance to the club they
begin disputing and soon come to
blows. The doorkeeper peeps through
the wicket and orders the men away
One of the men rushes at the wicket
and challenges the doorkeeper to "come
outside like man. and at the same
time shouts out something about the
character of the house. The combat
ants continue fighting. and the officer
Mt the corner comes along and orders
them away. The men return. however.
to "have 1t out with the doorkeeper."
The noise increases, attracting home
dress. who gather round and urge the
men on.
The doorkeeper by this time becomes
alarmed, for the rowdy crowd will
frighten away his clients. Perhaps
Just at this moment member of the
club arrives and seeks admission. The
door is opened with the utmost caution |
to admit him.. Before he has time to
fasten it the two officers hastily secure
the member and rush upstairs. The
two combatants were disguised police
men and the onlookers detectives.
AS soon as an entrance into the club |
has been effected the constable at the |
corner sounds his whistle, and before |
the sound has died away the whole
neighborhood is alive with police If |
the house boasts of a trapdoor on the
roof. the flash of lanterns will be seen
up there. the men having been con-
cealed among the chimney pots since
1t was dark. The front door is secured |
and the police f1tm a guard around
the house, so that escape is impossible. !
Meantime the scene upstairs is one
of the widest excitement The gam
blers, intent on business, had not no.
ticed the scuffle in the passage, and
the first intimation they get of the
state Of affairs is when the door is
thrown open and the officer in charge
calls on them to regard themselves as
his prisoners. Then they realize their
position. The tables are overturned,
and card counters and money roll all
over the floor as the members endeavor
to escape. They make for the street
door, but, baked in this direction, hur-
ry to all parts of the house to hide.
The crestfallen members of the club
are conveyed to the station, each In
the custody Of two officers. Then the
house is searched for the gaming ap-
paratus. Every inch of the place is
examined, for gamblers have remark
able contrivances whereby they can
hide their apparatus in the event of
being raided. Tops of tables are knock
ed of. flooring taken up and walls
searched for secret cupboards. Yards