The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1916-03-02
SAYS DEWCESFLOURISH HERE
Outsiders Anxious to Get Foothold for
Old Form Of Gambling Slip in Gum
Machines in Many Saloons Will
Be Taken if Found in Operation.

The slot machine is active in Keno
sha again and on Saturday afternoon
the district attorney issued new
& Get Outn order. 1t was not one
which had a lot of consideration for
the owners of the machines either.
The order to the sheriff and the chief
of police was to grab the machines
and arrest every man who was permit
ting them to operate. 1t is probable
that lot Of them will be under the
counter or up in the attic before the
lay is half over and that few Of them
will be found when the officials make
heir rounds.
The new style of "gum machine
las hit Kenosha. They have been in
tailed in number of saloons and the
oells on them were ringing merrily for
;everal days Of last week. The music
o. these bells is now tangled and out
of tune and confscation is to be the
rule wherever the machines are found.
Of course they were brought into Ke-
losha from the outside and some of
the saloon men who allowed them to
be put into their places were informed
chat one "high in officialsscirclesv had
given the word that they would not be
molested. just who this "high in Of
fetal circles was is not /. given out.
Usually with the election in sight this
privilege has been handed out in order
to line up lot of fellows for one can
didate or another, but the district at
torney does not appear to have the
interest in the election that some of the
fellows have and he declares that a slot
machine in operation just before cleo
ton is just as much a violation Of the
law as it is to have them working in
the middle of the summer.
Thus far the complaints against the
installation Of the machines have all
come from the city and so far as is
known no effort has been made to put
the machines into operation out in the
rural districts of the county. The men
who come from other cities to sell slot
machines and to lease them to Kenosha
saloons are very jealous of each other
and they insist that every one be
treated alike in the matter. The dis
trict attorney admits that he has had
frantic appeals made to him for
privileges to put in machines. The men
who made the appeals have insisted
that they were entirely lawful ma
chimes. The district attorney has in
formed such men that If they were
within the law he need not be consult
ed but it is noticed that when he
refused to give his consent the CLAW
full machines - were not put in opera
men have insisted that the machines
are simply "selling devices but this
defense of the slot machines is as old
as the machines themselves and it is
lot expected to get any consideration
from the officials when the raids are
made. Some of the saloon men have
already slipped the machines under the
bar, but they have been given to I'M
derstand that the law provides that
machines found on premises may be
confscated. A lot Of packages which
looked like slot machines were shipped
out Of Kenosha during the past few
days. Just how the ''high oficial'' is
going to square himself is not appar-
ent One thing is certain and that is
that the slot machines are not going
TO stage a comeback in Kenosha.
Just why the slot machine men
should become so active Just before the
city election is not apparent, but some
people have suggested that some of the
politically inclined are of the opinion
that favors to these outsiders at this
time will probably get them into bet
ter standing with some of the saloon
men. The better saloon men of the
city have refused to have anything to
do with the SLOT machine agents and
have refused to have the machines in
stalled under any kind of an agree
ment. These men insist that they are
il the saloon business and not conduct
ing gambling houses.