Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-11-01

of the Robb's Express company stor-
age house in this city. Detached por-
tons of gambling outfit were found.
These were destroyed in the county
jail yard upon an order of County
Judge r. w. Olmsted. As Sheriff Kit
tilsen stood in Judge Olmsteds court
he made the following statement-a1
the time looking in the direction OF the
Roessler storage house, on Fifteenth
street, opposite the court house: Il
wish I had known about the removal
of that gambling outfit from that place
the other day, and l want to say to
you il would never have been hauled
to Davenport 1t would have gone the
same direction as we are sending this
one"
Did Not Deputies Know:
Does Sheriff Kittilsen believe for
moment that Deputies Bruner, Miller
and Carnes did not know of the move
ments of the Billberg-McBride layout
that was removed from the ROessler
storage house in broad daylight? Does
he imagine that they could not have
posted him. had they been so dis
posed of an opportune time to seize
the fixtures and destroy them? Have
you ever heard of one of these depu-
ties assisting in a raid upon a gam
bling house? Yet they have known
from the day they became officially at
tached to the sheriff's Office every
movement of the professional gambler
in Rock Island They knew and now
know the gamblers personally. They
are their friends.
Where the Betrayal Came In,
Is it not possible that when The
Argus repeatedly pointed out through
its columns to Sheriff Kittilsen THAI
public gambling was rampant in Rock
Island that his chief aids, the men to
whom he probably personally charged
the policing of the city in behalf Of
his Office. told nm that it was all
newspaper talk, and an attempt 10 dis
credit his administration? The Argus,
from the day Sheriff c1ittilsen took up
the duties of his office, has sought to
aid rather than hinder him. All ii
ever asked of him was that there at
least be an effort to suppress lawless
ness.
The gambling houses of Rock Island
nightly were crowded with men and
boys, and Bruner. Miller and Carnes
knew it. They were on the ground.
DID they keep their chief informed?
Plenty of Them Here.
Rock Island was infested by some
of the noted gamblers of the west
many of whom operated with crooked
devices. Deputy Sheriffs Bruner, Mil
Ter and Carnes can recognize a crook
ed gambling device when they see one
AT least Bruner served as lecturer at
the court house when the roulette
wheel was on exhibition there, and
took pains TO point out TO the uniniria-
ted the mechanism that was employed
to fleece the victims without giving
them any show whatever for their
money. One of the wheels seized in
the raid that was conducted by Sheriff
KittiIsen two years ago was found to
be crooked. However, there was no
report of it until the discovery was
made during the operation Of destruC-
ton at the court yard. In that raid il
was said $4,000 worth of gaming fiXt-
Ures were burned. Did the gamblers
shorn of their paraphernalia, leave
Rock Island? You know they did not.
They remained, in the face of an inter
view given out by Sheriff Kittilsen
that he was amazed at the extent that
gambling had heen carried on in this
city and that he would see to it that
it was stopped.
Whiting Sin,Diy waiting.
Who told the gamblers to stay in
Rock Island-and in spite of the fact
that they were warned by the sheriff
that they would no longer be toler-
ated?
Do you believe that a gambler would
remain in a city when he knew that he
was not wanted and that the authori-
ties meant to enforce the laws against
him? When the order was issued in
DavenpOr few years ago that the
gambler had to quit, he submitted
gracefully, and he has never since at
tempted to engage in his crooked traf-
fic there His next move was to Rock
Island, and here he came, bag and bag
gage, and here he and his following
have been since, although temporarily
the working tools are back in storage
in Davenport
And Working, Too.
The gambler is taking an active part
in the county election. He has come
to regard himself as a permanent fixt-
ure here. Somebody has encouraged
him to believe that he has the same
rights as a taxpayer and home owner,
and he has. dear reader, under the law
as executed by the sheriff's forces.
The gambler takes chances, except
when he is operating his own maChin-
cry. He is taking a chance on the
election this month. He has been in
vited by somebody to stick around
At any rate. he is with us, and he's
going to stand his ground until the
votes are counted
If Os Bruner is elected sheriff, have
you any good reason to believe that
gambling will not resume in Rock Is
land and with greater freedom. if such