Brenham weekly banner. [volume] (Brenham, Tex.) 1877-1907, 1879-09-12
GAMBLING.

IL
and hamlet throughout the
length and breadth of the Uni
ted States, gambling is carried
on to a greater or less extent,
in many, perhaps a large major
ity of the places, gambling is
carried on clandestinely. State
and municipal laws are enacted
against gambling; it is condemn
ed in the pulpit and by the
newspapers; the condemnation
is as general as the gambling,
yet in spite of the law, the pull
pit and the newspaper, gambling
continues to exists. 1t is use
less to say that gambling is
wrong and ought to be suppress
sed; this is universally admitted;
it ought to be suppressed but the
fact stares us in the face that, it
is not suppressed, and if expe-
rience be worth anything it cam
not be suppressed. This point
it is useless to argue for the rea-
son that, if gambling could have
been suppressed it would have
been done long ago. We live
in a practical matter of fact age
and must deal with facts as we
find them and not with abstract
theories. The existence of
gambling is an established and
incontrovertable fact; grand jul
ries indict and courts fine gam
blers; they are arrested and
fined in police and magistrates
courts; yet, gambling goes on
from day to day and year to
year, arrests and fines are impo-
tent to arrest the evil. Gam
ing is an inherent vice with
many of our people, it is not
confined to a class but is COM
mon from the highest to the
lowest. There is hardly first
class hotel in any city in the
United States that has not one
or more rooms sacredly dedica-
ted to and set apart for the
great North American game
known as draw poker; those Of
our readers who have no per-
sonal knowledge of this fascina-
ting game have at least heard
of it. After the fashionable ho-
tells come the regular and irreg-
ular gambling houses. In the
larger towns and cities, games
are divided into two classes,
Square" and "brace." The
square game is played honestly
for the percentage there is in
the game; the brace game is a
swindling one, the more a man
puts down the less he takes up.
In the principal towns in
Texas, Galveston, Houston,
San Antonio, Dallas, Austin,
Denison, Waco and perhaps |
other places, gambling is OPEN
ly and publicly carried on, the
authorities being apparently un-
able to prevent it. If they were
to succeed in preventing public |
gambling, it will be done private
ly and in a worse form than pub
licly. There is but one remedy |
for gambling and that will not
cure it; the remedy is to license |
the gambling houses; prevent
minors from playing and en-
force severe penalties on all |
crooked games. This PROPOSE
ton may be startling to some
persons of nervous sensibility,
but it is the only solution of the
question unless those persons of
nervous sensibility had rather
let gambling go on as it now is.
A DENIsoN He,ala reporter
visited the quarantine station
situated at the site of old Red
River city one mile from Red
river. The building is a one
story frame building of the box
pattern 2Sx2S feet square. All
those coming down the NJ, K.
and T. road without proper doc
uments are made guests of the
state of Texas for three weeks.
The guests at quarantine
rough it" by sleeping on the
floor; they do not go out to
club rooms or saloons and the
is everybody goes
to bed sober. A number of