Gambling Dens Raided After Backroom Deal Goes Public
Mayor Ronald's 'reform administration' is forced to shut down four gambling houses after a secret protection scheme becomes a public scandal.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Chief of Police Jackson raided the four gambling dens which opened on Tuesday at 8:30 o'clock last night. The gamblers knew the raid was coming and had no hard feeling toward the 'reform administration' for performing what to it was an unpleasant duty, as they knew the publication of the Mullen & Way deal would force such a result. The houses were open early in the morning yesterday, and the men who had secured the 'protection' of the Mullen & Way combine were making hay while the sun was still shining. At 8:30 last night, Chief Jackson sent out four patrols of men, one going to each of the four gambling houses. At the Horseshoe, Mullen & Way's own place, they found the games had just closed. Two men who had been dealing were arrested. At the People's, two games were running and two men were taken. When the officers reached the Butler rooms, the games were closed, but two men were arrested. At the M. N., a crap and faro games were running and three men were taken. It is now understood that public gambling will not be allowed for the present. It is thought that Mullen & Way will reopen their 'key' house in the Owens building, where they conducted their games during former periods while public gambling was under a ban by the 'reform administration.'
“The gamblers knew the raid was coming, and had no hard feeling toward the 'reform administration' for performing what to it was an unpleasant duty.”
Political corruption involving 'pay-to-play' schemes and selective enforcement is a timeless staple of Seattle civic life. This 1892 report highlights the tension between a public facade of reform and the reality of a machine-controlled vice economy, a dynamic that persisted in the city for decades.
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