The Mayor’s Gambit: Humes Defers to Council as Seattle Sweeps Away Its Gambling dens

ALL GAMBLING MUST CRASH IN SEATTLE. LOTTERY GAMES OF ALL DESCRIPTIONS MUST BE CLOSED. SALOONS IN THE BUSINESS DISTRICT MUST PUT UP THEIR SHUTTERS.

Such, in brief, are the orders of the City Council given last night. It must not be inferred that such radical steps were taken without friction. The municipal machine creaked in every joint and the bearings became red-hot before it finally got a decided move on its behalf and ground out its grist of ordinances and orders.

Councilman Hill nearly is both feet by crushing between the upper and nether millstone, while Navin stood by making faces at him. Incidentally, it may be said that there was no coalition in the hostile Republican and Populist ranks. Reform turned bold and round, while other members left themselves together to break a few cogs in the wheels and paralyze the machine.

The saloon redistricting ordinance came up for consideration in council. There was an acrimonious debate over the amended ordinance presented by Crabbton. It stipulated that all saloons doing business on Second and Third avenues, excepting the Butler Hotel bar, should be closed, but provided that saloons on James Street between First and Third should be tolerated, also all saloons on Pike from the waterfront to Fifth Avenue, except those within seventy-five feet of any corner of Pike and Second Avenue.

After a heated argument in which Gill asked to have as an amendment prohibiting the Butler Hotel bar, and Castleman accused him of insincerity, a vote was taken which resulted 7 to 4 in favor of the Ordinance. Those who secured its final passage were Crawford, Crabbton, Hill, James, Mildon, Navin, and Taylor. The votes against it were cast by Castleman, Diller, Gill, McArdle, Rude, and Rinchart.

The result was a surprise to the opponents of the ordinance, and Rude at once took an aggressive attitude. "Mr. President! As it seems that the council has decided that decent saloons shall not be allowed to do business on Second avenue though the lowest dives are licensed below Yesler way? I would like to make a motion that the chief of police instructs to close all Chinese, lottery and gambling games forthwith as in open violation of the law."

Then there was trouble. Castleman who had also opposed the restrictions in the ordinance just passed, sprang to his feet and offered a written resolution, which he said he had been making for six months, to propose ordering the chief of police to "stop all lottery, bunko and skin games," and to do so within twenty-four hours. Navin moved that all gambling games be mentioned in the resolution.

The sequel to the matter was that the Judiciary committee was instructed to prepare a sweeping report against gambling, to present to council next Monday night. But Gill raised an objection. He wanted immediate action, and on his motion the chief of police was instructed to act within twenty-four hours, the vote being unanimous.

Mayor Humes Tell The Star What He Will Do. "Mayor Humes, what do you propose to do?" was the question put squarely to his honor by a Star reporter this morning. "About what?" "About the twenty-four hour gentling order." "The solution has not yet come to me from council, and I know nothing of it officially. You may state, however, that I regard the councilmen as the representatives of the people of the city, and if the people, through their representatives, ask to have gambling places closed, or anything else done, I shall put no obstacles in the way. You must know that I have never given the gambling places any permits, nor have I ever said one word in favor of a disregard of law." "Will you instruct the chief of police to enforce the anti-gambling laws?" "I shall see the acting chief today and instruct him that wherever he finds the laws are being violated in this city, he shall promptly arrest the offenders. That is sufficient, isn't it?" "Then it may be inferred that the gambling places will be closed?" "I shall instruct the chief to enforce the laws in Seattle. You can make your own conclusions." "The gambling houses will be closed then tonight?" "You will not be far wrong in stating that. The councilmen represent the people."

As for the saloon redistricting ordinance passed by the council, there are three courses open: First, Mayor Humes can sign the ordinance closing the saloons; second, he can let it go for ten days without taking the matter up, and in that case, it will become a law without his signature; third, under a ruling of the corporation counsel, even if the ordinance does become a law, a majority of the council can grant a temporary license to the included saloons if the ordinance goes into effect ten days later.

Regarding the gambling houses, the following is a list of its principal ones in the city and their locations: Han Kee—Third lotteries, Wo Chung building. C. T. Woo & Co., hop, Chinese lottery, 109 Washington St. Wm. Gray, Chinese lottery, Third Ave. De Arroyo, California club, 109 Second Avenue South. G. Brown, lottery, Clancy building. P. Kennedy, Horace Club, Occidental Terrace. John Willis, 615 Washington Street. John Considine, owl, Second Avenue South and Washington Street.