Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-15
PLACE PRICE ON
OFFICFR'C HFAD
CHINESE WOULD MURDER SER
GEANT SEBASTIAN
LATTER LOCKS DOWN LID ON
OPIUM DENS
Two Attempts Made to XIII official
Head of Chinatown Squad Be-
cause of Suppression
of Evil There

Because he put the lid on China
town and closed it down so tightly that
not even an odor of burning isyen shee'
could escape from beneath the cover,
Sergeant c. e. Sebastian, in charge
Of the police Chinatown squad, has had
a price put on his head.
Two attempts on his life already
have been made and beyond question
the Chinese highbinders who have been
set on his trail will continue their
quest until they are landed In the
prison or the morgue or have slain
the officer
More than a year ago when Ser
geant Sebastian was placed in charge
of Chinatown his only instruction from
Chief of Police Edward Kern was to
stop gambling and immortality IN every
form in the district.
So we'll did the officer perform his
duty that today there is not gambling
house in the Chinese section and there
are but few opium joints left, and these
are booked for raiding.
When the war against the Chinese
lawbreakers began the yellow men
watched the initial moves with COM
placency. 1t was only what they ex-
pected and 1t was what they had ex-
perienced for years.
was usual beginning
Each new officer placed in Chinatown
usually began his work by raiding a
few fan tan games and closing a few
opium dens.
| Then the spirit of reform got. tired
and laid down and went to sleep IL
| Ferguson alley, and, according to the
! Chinese, it was gold@l weights which
kept the officers eyes shut.
This, Of course, may have beer
slander, pure and simple, yet the fact
remained that only spasmodic efforts
were made to kill off Chinatown vice
When Sergeant Sebastian took
charge, however, the Chinese were soon
informed that the morality wave was
| a serious one. He closed gambling
houses and other dense of vice, and
after they had been closed week or
more the proprietors came around with
a roll of bills, and rendering the money
with a smile said: "We open up tomol-
| low allie light; you takee this"
But the sergeant failed to see the
roll of bills and didn't 'takee" it. The
Chinese walked away confused and
afterward told their compatriots that
the new policeman was a high-priced
man.
Bribery failing, the Chinese tried pol
itics, and every string known to the
willy celestial was pulled for all it
was worth.
But Raids Continue
This failed also, and raid after raid
was made until Chinatown was as clean
as a whistle.
Then the gamblers and dive keepers
called in the highbinders. They were
informed that Sebastian's scalp was
worth $1,000, and a set of shrewd pro-
fessional killers were put on, the job
of getting rid of the police officer, who
for the first time in the history of Los
Angeles had closed Chinatown.
A week followed the issuance of the
| decree and an effort was made to get
| the sergeant by poisoning the glass of
milk which he usually drank with his
midnight lunch.
A favorite cat got the milk in ad-
vance and was dead when the sergeant
came to eat his luncheon. Monday
night a bullet was fired suspiciously
close to his head but the marksman-
| ship was bad and he reported for duty
promptly last night.
! To protect Sergeant Sebastian and
Patrolman Willette, who also has been
| threatened, Chief of Police Kern has
detailed a number of special officers
| to Chinatown with instructions to run
down and arrest the would-be. as
| sassins.