Tacoma’s Blindfolded Taxman
An investigation reveals how police collect secret 'fines' from gamblers and slot machine operators, turning the city into a partner in its own vice.
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.
The peculiar methods used by the police department in arriving at the city's share of the gamblers' and slot machine men's profits are causing much comment. According to The Times' discoveries, based upon a partial count of the money-paying slot machines in the business district of Tacoma, the city is not getting much more than one-half of the money which it is supposed to get. The Times found 90 money-paying slot machines, while reporters undoubtedly missed others in back rooms and obscure places. The city apparently received less than $900 from these machines, while the general supposition has been that these machines were netting the city $10 apiece each month. The trade slot machines have each been paying a monthly 'fine' recorded in books at city hall, but payments on money machines are lumped together with no definite records. The same mysterious system is followed in collecting 'fines' from gambling houses. Nobody can find out what the actual assessments are; cash bail is taken by the chief of police from each gambler, who is allowed to register under an assumed name. The bail is always forfeited. Because the city is assisting to evade and nullify laws, it is in a position of being forced to take its share of the plunder blindfolded, unable to complain if the police pocket the difference.
“The game must be played with a mask and dark lantern to be effective.”
This investigative report highlights the historical 'wide-open town' era where police effectively operated a protection racket. The dynamic of the city relying on 'fines' from illicit activity to pad the budget mirrors modern civic debates over the ethics of municipal reliance on regressive fines and forfeitures.
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