Bismarck daily tribune., 1908-10-22
GAMING DENS
The Way the Police Descend Upon
Them In a Raid.

ass tuEtii III ndius
SKILL, CUNNING AND DARING.
Absolute Secrecy ls Maintained by the
Officials, and the Policemen Are
9 Kept In the Dark Until the Last
Moment- Getting Into the Club. 's
The police have recently carried out
some sational raids on big gaming
clubs, and 1t may be interesting to
learn how these raids are effected.
This is how it Is done in London: AS
soon as the detectives suspicious have
been confirmed they apply to the conn
missioner Of police for q warrant to
enter. The warrant authorizes certain
officers mentioned by name to enter
the club in the name of the king. Or
dinary policemen are not permitted to
carry out a raid, but the detectives
can call upon them for assistance at
the critical moment. \
Absolute secrecy is enforced right
up to the moment Of entry. There is
no excitement at the. station on that
day, and the men on duty have no sus-'
picion Of what is in, the wind. Plans
OF the house are drawn and carefully
studied by the raiding officers, for the
doorkeeperE of the club Is prepared at
!. the slightest alarm to send a warning
to his customers, and every vestige of
gambling apparatus. will mysteriously
disappear and the raid fail. A careful
ly planned ruse, therefore, has to be
evolved which will disarm suspicion. !.
During the day q body of PRESERVE"
policemen will receive a Gcommunica-
ton from the station that they will be
! required to parade at certain hour,
and they meet wit ith 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 In
junction to he in the immediate neigh
borhood of a certain street in 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,
1 but it is sufficient for him to learn
4 from a confederate inside that gaming
has commenced. A policeman then
I saunters to the corner Of the street
4 and stays there as though he were on
i point" duty. Then, not till then, II
7 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 te
i get past the burly doorkeeper. aH this
Is not successfully done4 the raid viii
: end In failure Presently the sound d
drunken song is heard in the. dis
tance, and two apparently rough look
ing men come staggering along. Al
they near the entrance to the club they
! begin disputing and soon come t.
blows The doorkeepef peeps through
the wicket and orders the men away
One Of the men rushes at the wicke
and challenges the doorkeeper to "com,
outside like man" and at the same
time shouts out something about thu
character of the house. The combat
{ ants continue fighting, and the office
at the corner comes along and orders
them away. The men return, however
to "have 1t out with the doorkeeper.'
. The noise increases, attracting home
ward bound gentlemen in evening
dress, who gather round and urge til,
men on. T. T. y, SjlfS4 4. 11 :
) The doorkeeper BY this time becomel
alarmed, for the rowdy crowd viii
frighten away, his clients Perhap
Just at this moment a member OF tn,
Il club arrives and seeks admission. Th
door is opened with the utmost caution
Ito admit him. Before he has time t.
fastenit the. two officers hastily secur
| the member and rush upstairs. Th'
two combatants were disguised police
men and the onlookers detectives. 10
AS soon as an entrance into the clul
has been effected the constable at tn
corner sounds his whistle, and befor
> the sound has died away the who'll
: neighborhood is alive with police.
: the house boasts of q trapdoor ON tn
roof. the fash Of lanterns viii be seel
up there the men having been con
!, cealed among the chimney pots sine
! It was dark. The front door % secured
and the police form a guard areunt
! the house. so that escape is impossible
. Meantime the scene upstairs is on
] Of the widest excitement. The gam
!, blers. intent on business, had not no
, ticed the scufBa In the passage, ant
Z the first intimation they get Of th,
J. state Of affairs is when the door 4
a thrown open and the officer In charg
calls on them to regard themselves a
4 hfs prisoners. Then they realize thei
position. The tables are overturned
Z and card counters and money roll al
over the floor as the members endeavo
II to escape. They make for the stree
4 door, but baked In this direction. hur
. ny to all parts Of the house to hide.