The Washington herald., 1920-05-05
ny RAYMOND G. CARROLL.

Kansas City No. May 4.-East-
ern style. Northern vIgor. Western
zip and Southern hospitality-you
will find 1t all in Kansas City, the
last "wide-open town" Gambling
houses, handbooks, policy writer's.
lpickpoekets. and political bosses;
professional bondsmen, never-close
movies and day-breaking cabarets;
six shooters and the many other
outlaw refuge earmarks of a from
tier metropolis, they are all hero
and going at full blast. If you want
to understand United States Senator
Jim" Reed. you simply have gotta
know X. c.
Something happens every minute.
The dead ones" are in the cemc-
teries. not walking the sidewalk.
There is no alfalfa fringe along the
curbing. In the upstairs Of life you
are gravely informed that Kansas
City Is the clearing house" for a
vast agricultural region. q rich oil
and mineral territory and an en-
pire Of pork and beef; but l say it
is more than that. 1t is a mans town
that defies discipline and won't shut
down.
There is q snap and swing about
this place that stirs ones jaded
nerves and rec tails those palmy. gun
toting, reporting days in Chicago,
Denver and St Louis OF twenty
years ago.
Gets "Tempting" Drink.
My train got in late from the
grapejuice atmosphere of Lincoln,
Neb. To my intense surprise, al
though 1t was after theater-closing
time, the streets were crowded.
Kansas City has a trick of catching
the imagination of the stranger. The
well-lighted thoroughfares Of the
business section are intimately mar
row and its buildings tall and
caressing.
Turn in? Nothing to itw chorused
several old friends whom ! encoun-
tered in the gilded rotunda of one
OF the city's eighty-six hotels, off
which, in a mammoth cabaret. the
Central American band was loudly
jazzing to q table capacity.
SO we wandered out. A tempting
drink with a real kick in 1t was
offered in a public place.
If you want to see John Barley
corn dying like u gladiator buy a
railroad ticket for Kansas City. The
old boy. though groggy and bleed
ing, still hangs to the ropes and re-
fuses to take the count. A saloon
keeper was pointed out who sold
beer and liquor openly over his 200
foot bar in Grand avenue until
March Is. He closed down only
when his stock ran out.
In a gambling resort that was
entered, one of the many operating.
there was not even O. lookout" on
the door. All of US had to go into
a fanningroom" to be frisked for
concealed weapons because, the pro-
prietor apologetically told US, we
were new faces to him, and recently
there had been several inside hold
ups in the gambling belt. The
play" was ,avy, real money IN
sight, and through the series of
rooms blackjack, faro, craps, poker
and roulette was going on.
After spending a half hour in the
ellis Theater, where a 'whirly-
gtrly" show was running, and taking
a brief peep into the thronged idle
Hour" picture show, / gave up the
study of Kansas City after dark, for
the gray dawn of the mornings after
was mounting the skyline.
There is No sermon attached to
this portrait of actual conditions,
but some attention must be paid to
the governing political methods, for
Kansas City is accredited every
where to be banner Democratic
city. Recently the town underwent
q bitter election contest In which
the reform elements led by the Star
went down In defeat before the re-
united Democratic factions of "rab-
bits" and .eoats.' &
Tho First ward Is filled\with cheap
lodging hotels. flop houses" they
ara called. Gangsters operating
with drawn "automaticsv in the
river wards pleaded with reporters
to put their names in the news
pauaru kEo that tna aho.aasrs ..r<,,.ia