Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1881-04-08
a Good Thing to Do.

s'r:rgea: act has just been soi
IN Olo. prohibiting all iornis vi gan
bl,rc. especially that known Us pool
sellinc." The main Object oi the
s,o,,,l, ia 70 prev>,: betting on horse
races ara other contests between ami
mals : layn, AZ. upon the result Of
elecl.u,s. Tine keeping of regular gam
blipQ l., us $ Was lro.IiUi'ei 10y pytyi-
ous Ia. Niicn proved f. tie too i'll
definite t. cAcck tn" growing tcudehcy
towurd5 This form Of vice
II is .e ding to pass n law and quite
another +, enforce il. ~ il.s been dis
covered il this State \ i.w Has passed
against ,A,ol selling hy tie New York
I,ecisl4ture in 1871, but book making
was immediately substituted for it In
MOL selling, We believe that the better
huys ticket Oh his favOrite horse, at
certain odds against TIE rest Of the
"feld;" in book making he makes his
bet Oh similar principle through the
book-maker. These two ways are es
teerlel by the sporting fraternity as the
fairest and least risky methods Of gam
bling now in vogue. Tie great evil Of
both is the opportunity they offer t"
people Of small means to gamble
Clerks are led through the favOcitc
"Pali.. Mutual" pools to risk their
small savings in this way, mere boys
buy pool tickets, and even women do
not hesitate to stake their pln-mnuey"
ON fav0yito horse or oGrsmau. Ii is u
great educating iL1idelce, an influence
for bIi only.
The question is sometimes asked.
"Why should the State exert itself to
suppress gambling?' 1t is not con
demncd III the Scriptures. either directly
or indirectly, and why should it be re
pardcd AZ immoral Tue uniform
tendenc., of gambling is towards great
laxity OF public morals. those who
once engage IN it axe fascinated By its
chances, na1 though they may begin III
a small way, they seldom fail to
take large and desperate risks i'll the
end. Tho result il ruin, distress to
their families, and loss Of capacity to do
honest work. Drunkenness, licentious
ness and dishonesty are the uniform
companions Of gambling. Half tho
cases OF embezzieme1t that occur are
due to this cause; ayoung man loses
more thnn he can afford, borrows u
little from his employer lust for
once" loses, "borrows again, and so
on unit, the crash comes. 1t is evident
enoGrh that SO potent u source of dan
ger, so constant breeder o. moral ma
laria, cannot be ignored by the State.
Whatecer tends to Cause crime and lax
morals is public danger, which must
be abated.
Comparatively few people are tempt
ed to visit gambling den, but many
are tempted to risk little now and
then on pools or books. Whether it is
sn election, II boat race. football mstch
or what not, opportunities to gamble
are held ont on every side, and it needs
some resolution. backed by real princi
pie, to resist them. For this reason
these forms of gambling ought to be
most rigidly prohibited and suppressed.
1t is complained that the "sports will
be ruined if such policy is pursued.
This il confession that the "sports y
exist not for themselves but as q means
of gambling, which admission clearly
proves that they can be spared with
great profit. All but gamblers will
look on their decay with great com
placencv. if this is the real state of the
case. New York Chronicle.