The reformer was here then as now and tried to reform every one else but
himself, just as they do now and with about the same success. The town
was "wide open" to the horror of some and an effort was made at
intervals to put a stop to the open gambling house. One Grand Jury
falling under the influence of the "up-lifters" brought out indictments
against about thirty members of a whist club that played whist in the
rear of a saloon owned and managed by Henry Byrne. (His widow, Maggie,
lives here still.) The club was composed of the business men of the
city; not one of whom ever entered the wide open gambling houses. Having
no business, they played whist. The stakes were a bottle of beer--if any
one wanted the beer. A dozen or more indictments were found against each
member. The District Attorney was a Dallas lawyer. The fee in each case
was ten dollars. A pretty good sum for one term of Court. The juries
were compelled to find verdicts of guilty and assessed the fine at from
1/37 of a cent up to one cent. But it carried the costs. The county paid
many hundreds of dollars for the fun and the district attorney gathered
many thousands. He was not a candidate for re-election.