Imperial Valley press., 1920-10-05
RAIDS REVEAL
N EX |CAL|
\ ! c 4 I
LIFE
Rafael Silver, Police Com
missioner Makes Discov.
cries in First Step of
Cleanup; Forgotten Mys-
teries to be Brought Out.
Especial to The Press)

tSpeclal ID Ine PreSS)
MEXICALI, Oct. 5.-DiscOvery in
Mexicali's Chinatown" of many
secret passageways, hidden rooms,
opium dens pany feet htlGw the sur
face CT The ground, many of which
resemble the underground city in
San FranciscO's Chinatown before
the fire, has been made by Police
Commissioner Rafael Silver since
the orders Of Gen. Elias Gales and
Governor Manuel Balarezo to thor
cughly cleanup the Northern Dis
trict of Lower California have gone
into effect.
In the numerous raids which have
been coducted by the police commits
soner and his plain clothes aides, has
been found information which it is
believed will solve several battling
mysteries which have remained un-
solved BIZ the local police department.
Recently, within the past week, there
has been a frantic effort on the part
Of some of the big dope peddlers to get
rid CT their stock before the order
cleaning up MeXicali went into effect.
This led one of them to recently con-
clude a deal with rich Chinaman on
one of the street corners of Mexicali.
He was told to deliver the dope at a
certain building.
On arrival at the building he was
escorted to the rear and into what
appeared to be cellar where a door
silently opened and he was told to
gc deeper. This continued two or
three time until he opened another
door and a Chinaman with gun re-
lieved him of his package Of dope,
which he had brought with him. An
other Chinaman then proceeded to con-
duct him on the remainder of his
journey and he woke up the next
morning to find himself on the banks
Of New river, quarter of a mile from
thA spot where he entered the ram
shaclle building.
He found what he considered the
door where he had been led out on
the banks Of the river but a series
Of tightly barred doors prevented him
from returning. Several of these
underground passageways have been
located bv the police commissioner so
cleverly hidden that heretofore the
Police department has been in ignor-
anre or else taken no notice of them.
In the underground caves of some
Of the Mexicali Chinese gambli, @
Joints have been found elaborataly
furnished rooms, heavv with the smoke
of opium. which rivalled any of the old
Chinato in San Francisco or Los
Angeles.
Brought to the sunlight for the first
time in years have been opium pipes
unlaid with pearl, ivory and silver
worth hundreds of dollars each; deli
cate little silver scales used in measur-
ing out the powerful sleep producers
Realistically carved lamps. needles, hy-
pcdermic syringes and all the things
used in opium joints.
Tapestries from the orient which
hrng over the hunks where the opium
victims sleep the sleep of dreamers
valued in the hundreds oil dollars
whose soft seductive colors lulled the
victims to sleep and met their gaze
mon first awakening, have been cruel.
lv torn from their positions and
dragged to the surface of the earth
there to form the center of an inter
esting crowd of curiosity seekers.
Along with the paraphernalia from
The opium dens have been taken. the
vari-colored fan tan boards and tables
roulette wheels, almost buried in the
bowels of the earth, beautifully carved
cubes of ivory used on the gaming
tables, as well as some of the clever
est crooked tables and dice which il
has been the lot of the police commits
sioner of Mexicali to uncover.
Furnished lavishly, almost beyond