13. Governor Waites ordered Denver cleaned up following the City Hall War
Once Governor Waites had officers of his liking in Denver’s government, he ordered them to make sweeping changes to the city. Gambling was made illegal, and the gambling halls, the saloons and the backs of barber shops, cigar stores, and other businesses were closed. Bordellos and other places of ill repute were likewise shuttered. As Soapy Smith watched the many businesses which had made his fortune come to an end, he recognized it as an opportunity. He was still a commissioned deputy sheriff and as such, it was his duty to see that the governor’s orders were enforced. But the power of arrest was up to him.
Soapy took part as the officer in charge in several raids as they swept up the city’s gambling institutions, including on his own properties. He let it be known that those leaving the premises peacefully, and leaving behind the money on the gambling tables, would be allowed to go free. He made a similar offer when closing bordellos. The money left behind was quickly in his pockets and those of his men. Most preferred to avoid the problems of legal action, especially those caught in the bordellos who had wives. It was Soapy’s last big score in the city which had made him rich.