The thoughts and the justifications flew through Rupert’s head. But surely it would never come to that. Wright had assured him that it was only precautionary. It was unlikely that the newspapers would pay any attention to such things.
Next on Rupert’s agenda would be to persuade the new mayor to give him a seat on the police commission. Then, he could be seen to be visibly campaigning against the social evil. It was an ideal solution. This way, Rupert would rise above the whispered rumors of his connection to vice in the city and at the same time have access to city hall’s most confidential information. Minnie Woods and her sisters in the brothel business deserved to at least know when the raids were coming.
Rupert removed his spectacles and rubbed the ache in his eyes. It was all so dreary to keep it all going.
“Good morning, darling,” Beth sang out as she poked her head into the room. “May I join you for breakfast, Mr. Alderman?”
“Of course, my dear.” Rupert stood to help her take her seat. “Don’t you look as fresh as a daisy on this cold December morning?”
“Well, thank you,” she said, tucking her chin down and fluttering her eyelashes.
“Ah, I see you have something to tell me, Beth.” Rupert couldn’t help but smile at his wife’s transparency.
“Well, if you insist.” She reached into the pocket of her dressing gown. “I have a present for you, Rupert. Close your eyes.”
“Oh, come now, Beth.”
“Oh, please, do play along, or it will spoil my fun,” she pouted. He closed his eyes as Beth placed two tickets on the table. They were theatre tickets for Babes in Toyland at New York’s Majestic Theatre. They were front row center, for January 7, 1904, at eight o’clock. “I so wanted to get tickets for the Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” Beth gushed, “but it will be touring. I hear that Babes in Toyland is equally delightful. Are you pleased, darling?”
“Beth! My goodness, what joke is this? We can’t be in New York on such short notice.”
“Oh, yes we can.” She placed two train tickets in front of him.
“We leave on December twenty-sixth?” He stared at her as he calculated what appointments he would have to reschedule.
“Rupert, dear, I have it all worked out,” she tapped the table. “City Council will be in recess for the Christmas holiday of course. We will have a few days to allow my favorite alderman to relax and enjoy a little time with his wife. Won’t that be grand? I’ve made arrangements for us to stay at the Waldorf Astoria. Henry Flagler and his wife will be available to dine with us on January fifth just before they leave for Palm Beach, and we are all set to leave New York on the ninth for our return to Winnipeg. You see how considerate I was in making the arrangements? What could be better than allowing me to take charge of your social engagements, my darling?” She took his hand.
Rupert looked at the tickets, then raised his eyes to Beth’s fresh, open smile. Honest and true to the end, she was. He knew that she truly did love him, whether he deserved it or not. He was genuinely pleased at such an unexpected gift and made an instant decision to risk the time away.
“Oh, Beth, I am lucky to have you in my life. You have such a wonderful way of pulling me away from the tedious workings of business and politics. I shall be ever so glad to have you whisk me away on holiday.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Raid on the Resorts of Thomas Street
January 9, 1904
Ziporah pounded up the stairs to knock on the door of her brothers’ bedroom. “Isaac! Come quick! You have a visitor waiting for you. His name’s Jim McGraw and he says it’s important.”
“What’s Jim doing here? And on a Saturday night?” Isaac threw his books aside and reached for his boots.
“He didn’t say. He just asked for you. And he was very polite to Mama. He said the chicken soup smelled delicious and I’m sure she’s loading his bowl with matzah balls this very minute. He’s your friend from the paper, isn’t he?”
“The one and only Jim McGraw.” Isaac dashed past his sister and flew down the stairs to the restaurant.
“Hey, Ziggy,” Jim greeted his friend. “Your ma is taking awful good care of me, here. This is one fine place to grab a good meal.”
“Isaac’s friends are welcome anytime.” Mama was blushing at the compliment.
“Just look at all the people in here,” Jim nodded toward the tables that were rapidly filling up.
“We open the restaurant on Saturday night after sundown so the people can come in for a little nosh after the end of the Sabbath, you see,” said Hannah proudly. “We are now calling our restaurant a delicatessen.”
“Well, thank you, ma’am, for the nosh soup. It’s delicious.” Jim stood and tipped his hat as Mama giggled into her hands.
“Did I say it wrong?”
“Close enough,” Isaac told him with a laugh. “What brings you to Selkirk Avenue?”
“I came for you!” Jim announced, his eyes dancing with excitement. “The story of the year is about to break, and I thought you’d want to come and see it for yourself. I’ll tell you about it on the way. Wanna come?”
Isaacs heart leaped. “You bet I do!”
“We have to hurry. Thanks again, Mrs. Zigman.” Jim eased out past the customers who were crowding at the door waiting for a seat.
“Don’t wait up for me, Ma!” Isaac shouted back over his shoulder.
“We have to take the streetcar,” Jim explained as they made their way to Main Street to wait for the southbound car. “Every hack in town is tied up this evening.”
“Where are we going?”
“Thomas Street.”
“What?” Isaac’s eyes flew open. “Oh, you mean, well, I uh … gosh.”
Jim laughed out loud. “No, it’s not anything like you’re thinking, Ziggy. This is an actual news story.” He looked around to be sure that no one was listening. “There is going to be a raid on the brothels tonight. The cops are gonna close ’em down and bring all those women in for a special court session tonight.”
“What?” Isaac could feel his ears turning red.
“It’s going to happen about seven when the night shift coppers come in. Every man on the force will be involved. Nobody knows anythin’ about it.”
“How do you know, then?”
“I can’t tell you who told me. I gave my word. But it’s true, all right. Here’s the deal. The police commission had a special meeting this afternoon, and there was quite a bit of shouting going on. In the end, the order came down to Police Chief John McRae to shut the brothels down and to do it tonight. They’ve got every cab in town on standby to bring in the ladies of the trade. The days of Winnipeg’s segregated red light district are coming to a close tonight, my friend. It’s over.”
“Why’d they pick a weekend night? Are they going to bring in the customers as well?”
“Hell, no!” Jim’s head swiveled at the question. “Can you imagine the ruckus if they ever did that? How many families and businesses would be ruined? No, they would never even fine the customers, let alone arrest them. I’m not saying I agree with it, but the way our city fathers see it, this is one-sided sinning and it’s only the whores that gotta pay up.”
“It doesn’t seem fair.”
“Isaac,” Jim looked at his young friend. “Now I ask you, just what can you show me that’s fair in life? Fair has nothin’ to do with it.”
“So, why did they pick tonight?”
“Because Alderman Willows is out of town. Fact is, despite his going on about the need to clean up the vice in Winnipeg, it’s an open secret that he has a lot of friends on Thomas Street. There’s good reason to believe he’d tip off Minnie Woods and the other keepers and spoil the raid.”
“You mean he’s a customer?”
“I never heard that. I’ve got a list of regular customers with some pretty big names on it, but I’ve never seen him on it. Willows plays cards down there, but I don’t know if he dabbles in the delights, if you catch my meaning. In any case,
he does have some connection to the madams. Maybe he owns houses there. Whatever it is, the members of the police commission don’t trust him to keep his mouth shut. It’s just more likely that this raid will go smoothly without him around.”
Isaac was puzzled. Why hadn’t he heard any of this from his cousin, Maisie, who worked for the alderman? “So, are they going to put all the women in jail?”
“Nope,” said McGraw. “Even if they wanted to, where would they put them? In with men?” He snorted at the thought. “They’ll come before Magistrate Daly tonight. He’s on the police commission, too. He’ll hold a special session at the courthouse once they’ve rounded ’em all up. They’ll all plead guilty and pay some fines and then they’ll be encouraged to leave town.”
“Do you think they will?” Isaac was picturing a line of prostitutes at the train station.
“Naw. I wouldn’t count on seeing them rushin’ to get out of town. One or two might, but the others are just gonna disappear into houses all over the city and start up again. They make a good pile of money in this town. They’ll be harder to get rid of than ants.”
“There’s the streetcar,” said Isaac. “I’m glad you thought to ask me along, Jim. Why did you?”
“You’re smart and you got a nose for news, Ziggy. You might see something that will help me out, so keep your eyes and ears open. A lot is going to happen pretty fast. Now, don’t talk about it anymore ’cause we can’t risk bein’ overheard.”
“Boy, this will be some story for you to write.” The thought of a front seat on history, especially history with such juicy appeal, thrilled seventeen-year-old Isaac to the core.
“Damn straight, Ziggy. And tomorrow being Sunday, with no paper being published, it’ll give me time to write a real humdinger of a tale. I tell ya, Ziggy, we’ll be talking about what we see tonight for the rest of our lives.”
The next night, Isaac volunteered to switch shifts with the compositor so he could personally see to Jim’s story being set properly in the Star.
HARLOTS HEAVED FROM HOUSES OF ILL-FAME
Thomas Street Brothels Closed after Twenty-Two Years of Protected Existence —Eighty-four Arrested in Raid—
Criminal Code to be Strictly Enforced—Painted Women Weep Woefully
in Court
Winnipeg, January 11, 1904—As the sun went down on the prairie on Saturday afternoon, so too came the end of peace in the valley for keepers and inmates of the houses of ill-fame situated in the brothel colony on Thomas Street.
Lights flickered behind red curtains as brightly dressed women painted their faces for customers that they were never to see again in those houses. A well-planned secret raid by the constabulary of Winnipeg brought the swift and shocking end to a twenty-two year history of harlotry on Thomas Street, effectively snuffing out the red light district like a blazing bonfire being extinguished in a drenching downpour.
According to the new police commission, hereafter, the law relating to disorderly houses will be rigidly and entirely enforced. This was decided and unanimously agreed upon Saturday afternoon at a special meeting of the police commission. Immediately afterwards, at five-thirty o’clock, with the echoes of the shouting commissioners still lingering in the air, orders were handed to the Chief of Police to close out the social evil. His instructions were to enforce the law as it is written!
SURPRISE RAID
While the fate of the Luscious Lulus was being decided upon during the heated session of the police commission, on Thomas Street it seemed to be a Saturday afternoon like any other.
The music and loud voices had yet to take over the stillness of the street, as the sleepy inmates of the brothels roused from their slumber. As is their habit on any given day, their late hours preclude any wakeful enjoyment of the early morning light, or even the early afternoon light. On this Saturday, their Chinese houseboys had gone about their normal business, fixing meals and mending costumes.
By the time the ladies were adorned in their finery and ready for their evening visitors, by which is meant, their clientele, there had been not one sign of any unusual activity. A few early gay blades had already made their way to the seat of social evil ahead of the usual Saturday crowd and were chatting and visiting with the prairie nymphs.
Someone sat down at a piano to play a spirited tune as the evening party was warming up. One of the soiled doves stood outside refreshing herself in the brisk evening air. As she looked out across the prairie, a mournful whistle of a passing train sent a chill through her as it signaled a death knell on Thomas Street.
It was the sleigh bells she heard next and indeed there was not just one, but a string of sleighs making its way in a steady advance toward the bawdy houses.
“What’s this?” said the dove as she threw her hand to forehead. “Can this be the end?”
RAIDERS NOT TOLD DESTINATION
The raiders themselves had been kept in strict secret, not being told their destination for fear that the keepers and inmates of the Thomas resorts would be warned and would spirit themselves away under the cover of darkness. One or two officers were seen shaking their heads, saying they were in disagreement with the plan to bust up the brothel district.
“It ain’t fair to suddenly be changing the rules on the dolls, in this way,” one policeman was heard to say. “We just can’t be looking out for all of them if they up and move into town to all kinds of different streets. It ain’t right at all to be doing this with no warning at all.”
Meanwhile, officers had also been posted in livery stables, warned to be ready to stop carriages from leaving, should there be telephone calls for transportation to come fetch the harlots.
Upon arrival, Police Chief John McRae posted guards on the back lane to keep a watchful eye for anyone who might try to leave by the back doors. Then at each house, an officer entered from the front door and shouted out the announcement that “all within, except the customers, are now under arrest!”
It was then that the sporting women shrank back in their colorful evening dresses, shrieking in disbelief as they were gripped by the realization that the iron hand of the law had formed a fist that was about to smash down hard on the Scarlet Sin in Winnipeg!
SPECIAL COURT SESSION SATURDAY NIGHT
In all, eighty women and four men were arrested. The men were all let go. As the police sorted out the criminals and escorted them into the taxis to be transported to the courthouse, there was soon among them a large gathering of onlookers and unsatisfied customers watching the uproar on Thomas Street. With truth, it can be said that a goodly number of them joined in the rumpus with jeering and shouting. It can also be said that there were equal numbers of people yelling in defense of the ladies.
As there were many more arrested ladies to bring into town than there were cabs available, several trips had to be made to transport all of the madams and their girls. Down at the courthouse, it wasn’t long before the onlookers formed a sort of parade, picking up more folks as they went along until the crowd at the court was three and four deep, maybe numbering up to five hundred of these sightseers lining up to get a good look at the fallen women. And look they did, upon the jewelry and fine furs and great hats with jewels and feathers atop golden tresses. With rouged cheeks and bright red lips, the ladies of the evening marched past the gaping onlookers and filed into night court to appear before Magistrate Thomas Daly.
All of the women pleaded guilty except one, a little old gray-haired lady who said her name was Mary Johnson. She cried out loud and was in just a plain awful state. Mrs. Johnson told the court she had been employed as a seamstress and that she had been out there “just to do sewing work for a couple of weeks because she needed the money real bad”. She was presently allowed to leave after the girls vouched for her story.
FORTY DOLLAR FINES FOR FLOOZIES
Having sorted out the affairs of Mrs. Johnson, Magistrate Daly then had to work some to get the crowded courtroom quieted down so he could conduct the business for which they had been
assembled.
“Am I to understand now that you all plead guilty?” Magistrate Daly bawled from the bench, having had all the arrested stand at once and answer to their charges as one.
The answer came in a chorus of affirmation, whereat the Magistrate meted out fines of $40 plus costs to the keepers of the houses, of which there were twelve. Each of the inmates was fined $20 and costs. All were given a stern warning that should they come back to his court the fines would be much worse and that there would be no mercy against the promoters of the scarlet sin. He urged them to get out of town.
CUSTOMERS FIND CLOSED DOORS
Later on Saturday night, Thomas Street was crowded with men who had come by the brothels knowing nothing of the closing. Also in attendance were many other folks who came to watch the hapless would-be patrons as they rang doorbells and knocked on doors and shouted aloud in the street, only to be turned away from the houses where the lights were turned low and the fortunes had turned dark.
As the social evil on Thomas Street has fallen to the law of the land, so too has silence fallen on the thunderous denunciations from the pulpits of Winnipeg against the lack of political will to enforce the Criminal Code of Canada. Sunday morning sermons following the raid brought words of praise for the police action of Saturday night.
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