The Open Town Tug-of-War
Tacoma police chief Maloney moves to shut down poker games even as slot machines proliferate in cigar stands.
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 question as to whether Tacoma is to be a 'closed' or an 'open' town is one hard to answer just now. Last night, slot machines, which have not been allowed in Tacoma for about a year, made their appearance in the saloons and many of the cigar stands, and at several places, it is stated, roulette wheels and faro layouts were put in operation. Right on the heels of this comes the announcement from Chief Maloney that the poker games are to be stopped. When Chief Maloney of the police department was asked what is to be done about the slot machines, he said: 'I don't rightly know yet what will be done. A good many of them are doing business, but we have not decided what action will be taken. There is some question as to whether these cigar machines are violations of law.' 'There is one thing we are going to do, and that is stop the poker games. I have a list of the places where poker is being played, and they will be notified this afternoon not to open tonight. I shall stop every game on the first floor, and I don't think there are any games being operated upstairs.'
“The question as to whether Tacoma is to be a 'closed' or an 'open' town is one hard to answer just now.”
Tacoma's oscillation between 'closed' (strictly moral) and 'open' (wide-open gambling and vice) was a hallmark of the city's early 20th-century political landscape, often tied to which factions were controlling the police department.
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