The San Francisco call., 1913-07-16
BUCK PASSING
CAME IS ON IN
GAMBLING WAR
White, Police Board, Dis
trict Attorney and Card
Sharks All Engaged
in Dodging Issue
ALL FREE TODAY,
FICKERT THINKS
Says Spectacular Raid Was
Foolish and There's No
Evidence to Convict
ALL FREE TODAY,
FICKERT THINKS

The gambling scandal developed
Yesterday into a game Of pass the
buck" the dramatis personae being
Chief of Police White. members Of the
police commission. the district attor
ney and the gamblers themselves.
Chief White has not yet. judging
from his characteristic utterances. dis
covered how he should know any
thing about illegal gambling, and he
makes the assertion that Mrs. Atchity
herself is responsible for her destitute
condition. she having, he said. written
a letter to- Bender of the Phoenix
club giving her consent for her hus-
band. Micrael Atchity to play there.
Police Commissioners Cook and Kuhl
decline to make any official statement
As TO what action. if any. they intend
to take with reference to straighten-
ing out the tangle and fixing the re-
spOnsibility of the conditions that have
SO long existed. They say they can
not speak for the board.
Proprietors OF the gambling clubs
protest that they are strictly within
the law in their operations and put
1t up to the police authorities TO show
the contrary
GAMBLERS GIVE MRS. ATCHITY 800
Mrs Atchity, whose husband lost
$500 in the Waldorf club. is 500 bet
ter off today than she was "a hours
ago. John Barneburg, president of the
Waldorf club, was forced by District
Attorney Fickert to give her that
amount on pain of criminal prosecu-
lon if he refused.
Mrs. Atchity, in response to a sum-
mons, visited the office Of the district
attorney. About the same time Barne-
burg came. reluctantly. in response to
peremptory demand for his presence
Fickert saw the woman first and got
statement from her-about the same
that was published in The Call He
told her that he thought he could
force Barneburg to return her jewelry
that was lost by her husband.
Mrs. Atchity refused to talk to Barne
burg, saying she didn't think she could
get anything out of him. But Fickert
told the proprietor of the gambling
club that unless he returned to Mrs.
Atchity the diamond pin that she de-
clared was her own and that her hus-
band had no right to pledge he would
bring criminal proceedings against him.
Barneburg said he did not have the
womans pin, but that Ferguson, an
attache Of the Waldorf, had it. Fer
guson was sent for and brought the
pin.
WOMAN CHOOSES MONEY TO PIN
Fickert tried to induce the gam
blers to give Mrs. Atchity $3.50 for the
pin. but they refused saying they
would give her the pin or $100, which
ever she preferred. Taking the pin in
one hand and the 500 in the other
Fickert returned to the room where
Mrs Atchity was and offered her her
choice. Being destitute. she accepted
the money and Barneburg and his
companions made .haSty and rather
undignified exit, running like scared
sheep through back. alleys to escape
newspaper photographer.
1t is doubtful if the district attor-
ney viii bring the matter of profess
sional gambling in gamblers clubs to
the attention of the grand jury.
FickeEt said that from the reports
made by the aresting officers, he did
not expect TO get convictions today
against those arrested by the police
in the spectacular raid Of last Saturday
night Nevertheless Judge Crist yes
terday found guilty and fined $50 each
George Roberts and Robert Walsh. ar
rested in a raid on the Fad, one of the
gambling clubs.
NO EVIDENCE, SAYS FICKERT
Fickert charges the police with hav-
ing made arrests without first obtain
ing evidence on which to convict. 1t
is useless he said to send a uniformed
policeman into a gambling den to OBJ
Asked what he himself would do under
similar circumstances, he replied that
before raiding a gambling club, he
would send into it some unknown per-
son to get evidence.
Nor was there any sense in eharg-
ing those arrested with vagrancy. he
said. If man were running a gam
bling house. he should be charged with
so doing; if he We're visiting a place
where gambling was going on. that
should be the charge against him. The
police had bungled the case and the
probable result would be no convic-
tions.
Fickert said that he had talked to
several Of the proprietors and they had
told him that their doors. We're open
and anybody could come in. This. not
withstanding the fact that they say
they are running real social clubs
WHITE PICKS MeNUTT
Fickert and White had a long CON
ference. that ended by their going To
lunch together. Neither divuIged the
subject of the conference But White
addressed a letter to Fickert asking
that Assistant District Attorney Me-
Mutt be assigned to prosecute the
gambling cases now pending in tile
courts.
White said that the reason for his
request was that he was determined
to wage his present campaign against.
gambling to a successful issue and had
acted upon McNutt's advice in the re-
cent raids. Mr.. McNutt he said. was
cognizant of the present policy of the
police department and better results
might be expected through his prose-
cution.
Chief Of Police White yesterday M.
earthed a report made by Patrolman
Maloney, to the effect that he had been
asked by Mrs. Atchity to prevent her
husband from gambling in tile Phoenix
club. Maloney stated that Mrs Atchitv
had made the same request of Pro-
prietor Bender, but had later rescinded
1t in letter to Bender in which she
gave permission for her husband to
play.
Mrs. Atchity will not be here to tes
tify before the grand jury. She said
that she was going to Los Angeles to-
day, with the consent of the district
attorney and the detectives She said
she was through with her husband
Captain Mooney yesterday reiterated
his Intention Of continually raiding the
gambling clubs
Officers from the Bush street station
raided three clubs yesterday afternoon
and last night, arresting the proprietors
and the men found in the place.
At the Rialto club, 562 Golden Gate
avenue, four men were arrested. The
proprietor is Robert McBirnie At the
Half Million club, 467 Hayes street
Walter s. Case, three men were found,