Sunday, August 2, 2015

Governor: "If they want to get rough, that's all right" after Guardsmen shot.

The City of Jackson and the Mississippi National Guard continued the war on the Gold Coast. A soldier was ambushed and shot during a raid while the city declared war on the Gold Coast and began arresting Gold Coast operators found in Jackson for vagrancy.  The stories are posted below from the Jackson Daily News.

The current value of the dollar amounts cited in each story are posted next to that figure in parenthesis.  Apologies are made for the quality of the microfilm. Most of it is readable or can be read if one plays with the zoom function on a computer (much harder on a smartphone).  However, some of it is still just plain unreadable. A synopsis and quotes from each story are posted below, then images of the news story, then another batch of recaps and quotes, then images of the story, and so on.

The Jackson Daily News reported a National Guardsman was ambushed and shot in the hand during a Gold Coast raid on the Gold Cost:


The armed might of the Mississippi National Guard fell heavily upon Rankin County's Gold Coast last night and early today, leaving a trail of wreckage and leading to gunfire which wounded one guardsman.  

Kenneth Causey... was shot through the hand from ambush at the Shady Rest night Club off U.S. Hwy. 49.  His wound was not serious but officers said only a door which lessened the force of the bullet saved Causey from possible serious injury....

The raid was executed simultaneously at all the night spots catching operators and hundreds of merrymakers by complete surprise.  Locking merrymakers inside the establishments, the troopers went to work on whiskey, gambling devices, and other equipment.  Axes fell heavily and liquor spewed across bars and floors.

Magnificent gambling tables, slot machines and other gambling devices were crashed into piles of rubble by the Guardsmen under the blows from the axes. 








 Shooting a soldier or man of the law is never a good idea as the Gold Coast was about to find out for itself.  The Jackson Daily News headline the next day read: "Padlocks eyed in Rankin Raid Wake".
Governor Hugh White said "If they want to get rough, that's all right".  The newspaper reported:

"They were given all the warning anybody could ask, the chief executive added.  He was visibly elated over the raid, which saw several guardsmen destroy hundreds of cases of liquor, nearly 200 slot machines, several expensive bars and other gambling equipment and furniture. 

"I think it was a better raid than the night before" Major Birdsong said....

The guard officer estimated liquor and gambling equipment worth upwards of $30,000 ($503,000) were destroyed on the Sunday night riad.  A huge quantity of liquor and gambling equipment had been previously destroyed Saturday night.

Major Birdsong said the Blue Peacock yielded the largest hand Sunday night when the guardsment unexpectedly uncovered a secret storage room when one of the men pulled a light cord.

A wall suddenly came down before us, the major said, and behind it we found 75 expensive machines and a quantity of liquor.  He said hte slot machines, liquor, and the $1,800 ($30,0000  bar at the Blue Peacock were destroyed.....

Hoo's place yieled 800 pints of expensive liquor, the guard officer reported.... "Mrs. Williams place yielded twenty-five slot machines, he reported....

Raided places included East Jackson Club, The Anchor, Maple Grove Oaks, Owls Nest, Shady Rest, The Spot, Blue Peacock, Woodland Club, Club ROya,, Paddock, Commission, Club 18, which was closed, and a number of smaller places and Negro establishments out on the Fannin highway....." 












The city of Jackson then declared war on the Gold Coast (even though it was in Rankin County) as seen in the February 8, 1939 headline below.  JPD arrested Gold Coast "operator" J.H. Steed for carrying a concealed weapon and vagrancy.  He had a "large pistol" and $7,000 ($117,000)cash on his person when arrested.  Steed confessed to police that he had once served a four year prison sentence in federal prison for violating narcotics laws.   The Jackson Daily News said that Steed was purported to be the operator of several Gold Coast "establishment" such as The Blue Peacock, The Club Royal, and the Maple Grove Club.  Steed live in Jackson while "working" in Rankin County.   The newspaper also reported that

the state law provides persons show not operating a business recognized as legal may be arrested for vagrancy (damn, we can't do that today? Too bad.).  Reports were current that Jackson police have been armed with the names of 20 alleged Gold Coast operators with instructions to arrest them if caught inside the city limits of Jackson.






Earlier posts on the Gold Coast
Gold Coast update: Laurel man shot, club burns, Governor raids again. (1938)
Yankee reporter discovers how dysfunctional Gold Coast is. (1938)
Gold Coast clubs too popular. Big Red burns club. Gov. sends troops again. (1938)
Rankin grand jury moves to shut down the Gold Coast
Rankin Sheriff beaten on Gold Coast 
Rankin Constable killed in Gold Coast shootout (1946) 
Governor sends troops into Rankin County  (1939)

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Do any JJ readers care about these old stories? I know I don't.

JJ reader said...

Very interesting to read posts like this.

When men were men said...

I love these stories.
Keep em' coming.

Anonymous said...

I really dig them! I've lived in Brandon my whole life and have always asked questions about the Gold Coast and was no one had answers. I hope the King Fisher continues providing these stories about Rankin's wild and colorful past. Liquor was still being sold there into the late 60's. I hope JJ will provide the complete history, right up to the point of the last storefront closed.

Anonymous said...

I wonder if there are any photos of those clubs.

Anonymous said...

This headline would be applicable for a story re the current Gov's speech this past Thursday at Neshoba.

Kingfish said...

What do you have against learning some history? The authors of the few books published didn't have access to the local newspapers or didn't cover the Gold Coast in much detail. The book about Red Hydrick is almost embarrassing to read.

Anonymous said...

Do any JJ readers care about these old stories? I know I don't.

Then why did you bother to comment?

Anonymous said...

KF
Where can you read the book about Big Red Hydrick?

When I was a kid I worked as a helper on a milk truck, we would go to the Air-Ways Inn every morning, my boss would sit and have coffee with Red every day.

Kingfish said...

Hinds County library has one. Reference room at Dept. of Archives has another.

Fred Smith of Choctaw Books told me he wanted to reprint it but several family members objected. Apparently some were not comfortable with the whitewash.

Anonymous said...

Great article! Keep them coming.

Cool C said...

I helped clean the old Airways rooms up one summer after it shut down, before it became the women's jail. You talk about a nasty place!

Kingfish said...

Our old sourpuss reader would be amazed the traffic these Gold Coast articles got.



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