The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1914-02-05
DEFENSE SCORES
IN ST. PAUL GRAFT
THE STATEMENT MADE BY FOR.
MER REsORT-kEEPER is
SEIZED UPON,
PROTECTION PRICES VARY
Witness Says Ida Dorsey Paid $4,000
fer Resort PriviIeges-Others
Swear They Paid as Low
as $500.

as $500.
st. Paul, Feb. 2.-Between Willie
Wolff, Ida Dorsey and Rose Brown,
the crowd that thronged Judge Morri.
sons court room, where the st. Paul
graft cases are being tried, revelled in
sordid details of st. Paul's underworld
and it's alleged contributions to the po-
lice for protection. Witnesses were
called and recalled by the state and
little was left undone in an effort to
connect up Michael Flanagan, former
chief of police, and Fred Turner, for
mer detective, with the various pay
| ments.
Defense Seizes Statement.
The one sensation which was eager
ly grasped by the defense was a state
ment by Ida Dorsey of Minneapolis
who it is said paid $4,000 for the priv.
| lege of opening a resort in st. Paul, to
| the effect that Flanagan had told her
| that if she gave up cent of graft
money she would not be permitted to
conduct her business. Later, however.
| she said she paid $4,000 to Wolff which
! she understood was for protection
purposes.
| The Dorsey woman said she lived ia
Minneapolis and up to four years ago
conducted a resort there. Last year
she had her house in st. Paul. Tell.
/ ing of her efforts to break into the St.
Paul underworld, the Dorsey woman
said she first visited Chief Flanagan
II went to see if he had any objec.
tons to my coming to st. Paul." said
the witness. HE told me to come
back. In a couple of days l returned.
He said he had no objections so long
as l conducted my place properly. 1t
is always customary when a woman is
going to open house to see either
the chief of police or the mayor.
II saw Turner next" continued the
witness. Il first talked to him over
the telephone and then he came down
and visited with me. Our conversa-
ton then had to do with the register
ing of inmates of resorts, which was
then in vogue in st. Paul"
Saw Others Also.
She was asked if she had talked to
any one else about opening her house,
To this she made answer that she
had seen Wolff, Clifford and Burke.
Clifford, she said, introduced her to
Burke, and told her she would have
to talk to Burke about opening. Wolff
and she, the witness related, had a
clash and she told him that she could
not do business with him. The clash
came over a demand on the part of
Wolff that she buy the Harvard house
which was priced at $4,000.
II talked about the Mitchell house
them" said the witness. Burke told
me it would cost me $4,000. Of this,
$1,000 was for furniture and $4,000 for
coming in. She said this was for her
and VOLTS protection. | told her l
did not want to come in and be closed.
She told me it would never be closed
under the Hill in her day or mine.
saw Flanagan then and he told me if
paid cent of graft money | could not
open.
II told the others about this and
they said they would fix it. l paid the
money when Wolff said he was the
WAo1O IuAAl6' l1ul NC cllcO LOlu Inc
would be protected. Clifford was
friend of mine and she said it was all
right. I paid the $4,000 so l would
not be molested."
During the taking of the testimony
it came out that McElwee and Payte,
attorneys for Flanagan and Turner.
were her legal advisers when she was
IN trouble.
Diamonds In Her Teeth.
Mamie Lacey, a colored woman
from Minneapolis, was called as the
witness. Her appearance created
mild sensation. She wore half dozen
big diamond rings and had two huge
gems in her ears. She was stylishly
dressed. Besides this display of dia.
monds on her hands and in her ears,
she had two diamonds set in her front
teeth which sparkled brightly as she
spoke.
The witness said she lived in Min.
neapolis and that up to three years
ago she had conducted a rooming
house and resort there. Later, when
driven out by the reform wave, she
went to st. Paul and opened up a
house on Eagle street For this priv.
ilege she said she paid $500 to Nina
Clifford.