The Midnight Poker Raid on Jackson Street
Police break up a late-night game in a saloon, arresting seven men who couldn't afford to bail themselves out.
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.
Ole Peterson, Herman Lindstrom, Fred Haboss, Charles Nelson, John Eden, John Larson, and Gus Anderson were arrested by Lieut. Brennan and Patrolmen Baldus and Sam Corbett last night for playing stud poker in Johnson's saloon, on Jackson Street, between Third and Fourth. None of them was able to furnish bail, and they were all locked up. Peterson was dealing, and the officers came onto them so unexpectedly that not one got away.
“Peterson was dealing, and the officers came onto them so unexpectedly that not one got away.”
This incident highlights the policing of 'vice' and public morality in Seattle's Pioneer Square district during the late 19th century. While gambling laws have shifted, the focus on specific downtown blocks for police 'sweeps' remains a hallmark of Seattle's evolving approach to public disorder.
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