New-York tribune., 1910-10-24
NEAR RAID IN CHINATOWN
Correspondents, Reporters and
Camera Men Scare Summers.
CAPTAIN HOOGINS SLEEPS
Police in General Absent from
What Promised To Be Great
Spectacular Affair.

Chinatown was raided last night China
town knows IT. because ninety reporters.
thirty photographers and three special cor
respondents practically doubled its Sunday
night population. Moreover. 1t was said
at Police Headquarters early I'm the even
ing, on the very highest authority, that
Chinatown was to be raiGed. All the slum-
ming parties were TO be turned out and
sightseeing automobiles were to be sent
back TO Broadway and 42d street. with the
curiosity of their occupants for glimpse
of the wicked life OF Chinatown. made TO
order for their benefit. unsatisfed. Every
white man. woman and child who couldn't I
prove enough of a legal residence In the
Chinese quarter to have passed the scrutiny
of those who stop illegal registration was
to have been summari1y elected.
/ All this came from an authority so high
that when the newspapers got the tip there
was excitement almost as great as IL war
had broken out II was to be the greatest
and most spectacular raid In the history OF
the Police Department.
CAPTAIN "'Bill'' Hodgins of the Elizabeth
street station, who sits on the lid or China
town, moved his massive body from that
uneasy resting place early in the evening
He went to Police Headquarters and had
a long conference with Clement j. Driscoll,
Mayor Gaynor's newly appointed First Dep
uty Police Commissioner. Then he went
back to Chinatown
At midnight, at which witching hour the
raids were to begin. the war correspond
ents, forming in three divisions. with
corps Of photographers at the head OF each.
thrown out i'm skirnishing order, moved
upon Chinatown. Scouts were thrown out
to look for 'Bil1' Hodgins. Tney looked
for him in all the well known dens of vice,
where the desperate characters Of the dis
trict try to keep awake long enough each
night to impress uptown visitors with their
desperation; but they couldn't find him.
Finally cub reporter, who had got in be-
cause his Office was shOrthanded. thought
of going to the Elizabeth street station to
hunt for the captain. And there he found
hin-or. rather heard him-snoring loudly
as he slept the sleep of the Just.
BY that time It was 1926 o'clock this
morning. The war correspondents. sur
prised, but not discouraged. continued their
search for the raid Finally three police
men appeared. They had been attracted
to the scene by news of the presence of a
large and somewhat disorderIy Summing
party.
Ihe summing party and the police force
converged upon one another, each hoping
for something TO do. They were working
at cross purposes. however. The police
found the Summers were newsgatherers
and the newsgatherers found that the only
object of interest to the raiders was their
own party.
The veterans of Moukden and San Juan
began to think that report Of what was
to happen had been slightly exaggerated.
They watched the seven occupants of
sightseeing automobile go the usual rounds
with none to say them nay. and the only
symptom of raid that presented itself to
their alert eyes was a passage at arms be-
tween the driver of a red taxicab and
plainclothes man from Headquarters. The
plainclothes man told the chauffeur to move
on. and the chauffeur, after some expostu-
lation. drove around the block Two pounds
of fashlight powder was used ffttingly 70
portray that incident.
The war correspondents then gathered in
impromptu convention in Pell street and
passed resolutions indicative of their warm
admiration and esteem for the new admin
istration Of the Police Department.