San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-08-05
OFFICERS FAIL.
To FIND VICE
AFTER SEARCH
Warrants Issued on Places
That Had Been Closed
e for Months.
WRONG NUMBER GIVEN
No Gambling or Liquor
Violations Uncovered by
III, II. Search Warrants.

Out of seven search warrants and
one injunction writ granted by Judge
WV. McCrory OF the Ninety-fourth
District Court. at the request of Dis
trict Attorney ID. A. McAskill, Deputy
Sheriffs +. n. Flores and Charles
Peters, after diligent effort Saturday
afternoon were able to make formal re-
turns upon but two. In both instances
the deputy sheriffs, after thorough
search, failed to find any gambling
paraphernalia or liquor. In the other
cases they were either met by heavily
padlocked doors or the information
that the owners had departed more
than q month ago. One injunction
writ was returned with the informa-
ton that no such number existed as
the one given on the paper.
"A heap of work for nothing" is
the remark said to have been made by
a member of the district attorneys Of
flee who had worked on the docu-
ments for nearly a week, when he
learned that the deputies had made
no large hauls.
Deputies Find Nothing.
The search Warrants were sworn to
by 4. u. Stove, who also is reported
have appeared before the Ninety
Fourth District Court grand jury in
connection with the "elean up cam
paign inaugurated> j by Adjutant Gen
cral 7. u. Barton and the district at
'torney.
Game to hand on this the fourth
day of August, 1923. and executed on
the fourth day of August, 1923, by
searching the within named prem
Uses and finding nothing"
The above is the return made by
Deputy Sheriff Charles Peters on the
back Of two Of the search warrants,
the frs. of the kind issued in Bexar
county. by state courts in many
months. Under authority OF these two
warrants the deputies had visited
"Frenchy's Wildcat Cafe" 645 IL
East Commerce street and the Met
ropolitan Club, corner South Alamo
and East Commerce street.
~ No S6cil Street Number.
I'VE made q thorough search the
deputies reported to Chief Deputy AL
phonse Newton Jr. I'VE found no
gambling paraphernalia whatever, al
though we extended our search even to
the safe. Nor did We find anyone
gambling
At two other places, the deputies
n ..orted. they were met with pad
locked doors and the information that
the former owners had departed many
moons ago. Formal returns had not
been made on the backs of five war
rants. two of which had been issued
fCs the avowed purpose of searching
for liquor.
5. The affidavits on the search war
rants for gambling set ont that at.
Il. Stowe. a reputable. citizen, swears
that gaming, betting and wagering as
prohibited BY law is being conducted"
at the places. Officers. however. fail
cd to find the violations complained
OF or any evidence that they had ex-
listed.
Jfst prior to the issuance of the
search warrants. Judge McCrory had
granted temporary restraining orders
against nine alleged Joints Deputy
Sheriff Tom Donoho, in attempting to
serve one of these writs, reported that
he found no such number on the street,
as was shown on the writ. Other places
were reported to have been closed
when the deputies arrived to serve
their wriis. ~
No Proof of Rampant Vice.
Those at the courthouse who dis.
cuss the invasion of San Antonio by
state rangers and the publicity given
the city by the cleanup campaign in
augurated by the district Attorney
office. point TO the fact that despite
two weeks campaign. only one raid
has been male and That upon an unim-
portant club of the West Side.
Only &c arrests were made and up
to Saturday no indictments had been
returned in any of these cascs, de-
spite the, fact that the grand jury
spent the entire week in investigating
alleged, violations OF the gambling
laws. The adjutant general. so far,
it is claimed, failed to sustain his
claim that vice is rampant in San
Antonio. although it is admitted that
the country at large has been- led TO
believe this report, through the pub
licity which has been given the vice