The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1916-09-04
Sheriff and Other Officials Pull
OF Numerous Raids on
Blind Tigers.
ROOF GARDEN OF
PLAZA HOTEL VISITED
Policeman Often Found in
Such Places; Much Booze
Gonfiscated;; Number of Men
Arrested.

| v. Coffin. county sheriff. and his dep
uties, Claude NJ Worley, special In
vestigator for the Criminal Court. and
constables and the police. have been
rooms and roof gardens and gambling
houses. Few arrests were made. but
much liquor was confiscated.
The police did the unexpected and
| raided a gambling game. This raid is
said to have been the outgrowth Of
the activity of the grand jury in sum-
moning before 1t policemen who are
generally reported to have failed to
detect open gambling and the opera
ton of resorts
The grand Jury's efforts recently
stopped the wide-open gambling In
gam bling houses frequented by white
men. and 1t is said the Jury has fol-
| lowed this effort with another direct
ed toward wide-open gambling houses
| frequented by colored men, which
have operated without police .nt.r-
ference In a district north OF Indiana
Avenue. The police have asserted
Indiana Avenue district. while II was
known that this was only a subter-
| fuge and that gambling fiourished in
the district to the north.
Sheriff Coffin raided two alleged
blind tigers One was that kept by
May Quinn. Forty sixth and Sangster
Avenue Bottled beer and whiskey
were found and confiscated. Another
place was a construction camp north
west of the city. where two foreign
ers were arrested.
Roof Garden Raitlesi
The Criminal Court investigator
raided the Plaza Hotel roof garden
Much liquor was confiscated there
Arrests Were not made. but the grard
! jury will be asked to return indict-
ments. The police walked by the no.
torious Plaza roof garden and raid
! ed an alleged gambling game in the
Elite Cafe, In Indiana Avenue. the
scene of recent police operations as a
part of political war between
Samuel V. Perrott chief of police and
the Glenn brothers, Democratic poll
ticians of the west end
| CONSERVATION took the place af
gaiety among the revelers at the Plaza
roof garden when Morley and a squad
of constabes obtained evidence OF al
legged liquor law violations
The evidence. which Morley SAYS
will be submitted to the grand ialy,
! consisted OF large quantity OF beer.
wines and whiskey behind 4 service
bar in the south end of the roof gar
den. and the admission from a num-
Der OF walters that drinks were being
served.
The Plaza roof garden has been
| operated by Mickey Dugan. Demo :
cratic machine politician. Dugan. II
is said. owns the lease The police
! have apparently been friendly toward
the place during Dugans regime as
owner, and some policemen are sail
to have spent large part of their
! time there when not on duty
! Until few weeks ago the Plaza
roof garden was permitted to operate,
without molestation by the police.
until the early hours OF the morning.
At one time early one morning. some
beer bottles and dishes were thrown
from a window of the roof garden to
the sidewalk and almost struck a
pedestrian. The police emergency
squad went to the place and reporte
later that an investigation was made.
| However. no arrests followed.
Up to Grand Jury.
| Recently the management OF the
roof garden began closing the place
at midnight and each night about the
! closing hour a police sergeant visited
the building and remained there until
all of the jewellers had left Shortly
| before the sergeant began making his
nightly visits to the place a number
OF policemen were summoned to ap-
pear before the grand jury 1t was
limited at the time that the summon
ing had something to do with gamb-
ling. reports OF which are said to have
been brought to the attention OF the
grand Jurors. The nightly presence
Of the police sergeant at the Plaza
caused some persons to remark that
it also may have had something to do
with alleged liquor violations.
When the constables arrived at the
place about 10 o'clock, about 100 mer
and women, most Of them drinking
were seated at the tables. Ten wait
ets were busy going to and from the
service barroom. Charles (Stormy)
Hill. who Is said to be the manager
Of the place. was the master Of cere.
? fncnies
The sudden appearance OF the con-
stables almost caused a stampede
Men and women rushed toward the
doorway in an attempt to escape.
Some Of the women Morley said, told
him they were married and were there
without tho consent Of their husbands
They begged to be permitted to 60.
Some of the mon did likewise. Quiet
. was restored when Woriey announced
! that no arrests would be made.
t Dugan. the proprietor. was not al
|, the roof garden at the time OF the
raid Employees told Morley he mo-
tored to Terre Haute to spend the day
and had not returned Worley said
a warrant would be filed against Du-
gan. charging him with the unlawful
sale OF Intoxicating liquor, and he
added that he left word for Dugan to
appear in the court OF Louis A. Kiefer,
Justice Of the peace, for a hearing.
While the constables took the names
OF the walters and patrons, worley in
spected the little enclosed room at
the south end OF the roof garden. He
said he found a man, who gave his
name as william Whitney standing
behind an improvised bar filling or
, ders for drinks Five large Ice boxes,
each about six feet long and two feet
wide. were filled with bottled beer. A
cabinet nearby contained a number
of bottles Of cordials, wines and wills.
key. Worley said.
A few hours after the raid on the
construction camp the sheriff and his
mon dropped in at the RED Onion
and found a man. who gave his name
as John Long. seated at a table in
the dining room drinking a bottle OF
beer
| where did you get THAR" Comm
said he inquired, as ne picked up the
bottle.
1 ."Oh 1ust brought u aton~ -s<,,