The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-03-15
THE GAMBLING BILL,

The suppression Of gambling is one Of the
most difIisu problems with which the soca
moralst and legislator have ever been con,
fronted. Heretofore. with the exception d
one sbort-lived and ill-considered experiment
the policy In this State has been to treat thu
vice az q felony punishable with imprison
ment and heavy penalties. To this end innu
merable statutes have been devised, under
which convictions have been found impossi
BILE, and which. without any practical results
have only succeeded in making gambling 4
crime by a pleasing fiction Of the law Al
first both the keepers and players were sub
jected to indictment aud criminal prosenu
ton, but. it being found that this arrange
ment only served to erect about the only pos
sible witnesses legal bar to testifying In be
half Of the State, the law was changed SO as
TO make the keeping Of gambling houses only
a felony. This policy was as ineffective as
the other, as between the dealers and play.
ers there seemed to exist sort Of nobieaat
obligs, which proved az eifect,al in suppress.
ing evidence as did the legal exception 81
determination.
Then came the experiment Of licensing
gambling houses, which, from the vicious
character of the law itself, resulted in an
universal profligacy and shameless 1ehauell-
cry that compelled the immediate abandon
ment of the project.
Despite the failure Of this experiment. we
are firmly Of the opinion that the only prac-
tical way Of dealing with the question Is the
license system. Gambling 10 one of those
social evils, resulting from an inherent pas
Yf,, ind 1,
cannot he entirely suppressed. Since it Is
impracticabe to make Of vice SO
universal and practicable n crime az has
been shown by all previous expert
pnce. common sense would seem to s,,r@
gest the abandonment of that policy. and the
adoption OF some system Of legal supervision
and restraint by which the vice maybe in a
measure controlled and directed, in order
that the evils springing out Of II may do as
little harm to society as possible. The only
way In which this can be done Is by licensing
gamblng-houses. The two leading ideas Of
this system are first. the supervision or re-
straint by law of a vice that cannot be utterly
suppressed because Of its unveraality and
second, the derivation from it of a revenue to
the State. Any law for this purpose must be
constructed on these fundamental principles,
to be either justified in morality or efficient
In Its operations. So much by way of preface
to the consideration of bill now pending in
the House, the purpose Of which Is to license
houses. This bill has already re-
ceived the Endorsement of the Judiciary Com
'nittee. and now stands fair chance of be-
coming law; yet. in our opinion. the whole
theory Of the bill is vicious and its practical
operation will result precisely as the former
experiment did. The provisions Of tho
bill are "a follows. to wit. ANY porson
association OF corporation keeping
house must pay license
'f $4,000, but under this license two
houses may be established in the city of
lomieil Of the person association or corpora
ion taking out the license, and one in any
own or villageo Of the State. on paying town
AK not to exceed $4,000. and to be EXEMPT
rom parish taxation. Practically. this il
nothing else than the farming out of the right
q gamble as source of revenue This bill con-
aims neither Of the leading ideas which con
titute the true theory of such lepisla
ion. 1t provides for no supervision what. |
ver over gambling houses. and affords no |
estraint whatever to the vice. while the |
eyenue the State will derive from the IL |
enses amounts to almost nothing It is sim |
ly Legislation in the interest of gambling as
II Investment, and treats the vice. which IL |
ow crime. as a legitimate industry and |
ource of wealth. The tendency Of the bill Is
ot to restrain the vice at all. but to build IN
ne or, perhaps. two great. wealthy and in
ucntial corporations. with branches in every
own and village in the State. whose capacity
y evil will, IN few years, exceed even that
the Lottery Company, while they will OBJ
sin an influence that will defy all efforts to
holiah them.
There will be one, and certainly not exceed
" two licenses taken out in New rarleans.
nd under these branch houses will be oper
ted throughout tho State without YIELD
lg another cent of revenue to the State. No
IAN IN Shreveport will pay this enormous
cense when he can make better terms with
he person or association holding tho license
this city; Outside Of New Orleans. then.
,e entire revenue from this source will be
'aped by the gamblers themselves. and not by
le State. Ii these licenses were fixed Mt a
mailer sum. say $4,000 in New Orleans, and
1000 at all other points in the State from
tch house that is opened the revenues of
lie State would be doubled. while some meas
re OF restraint would be placed upon an evil
hich 1t is wisdom to tolerate only because
has been found impossible to entirely
'ppress it. BY such policy as this there
ould be, perhaps, twenty houses established
'roughout the State, each paying a license,
hile under the system contemp plated in the
II the license Of $4,000 would only serve to
cate monopoly and protect single
operation in system Of operations that
ould be source of incalculable revenue.
I'd universal Generalization as well. This
Il is calculated to induce the investment Of
0nnN by canitaliSiS in an entnrr,lisn f,storod | !,