Louisiana capitolian., 1881-08-11

gambling houses q good many thon-
sand dollars a year to keep their bus
mess from being interfered with.
Who received this money! 1t is evil
dent that it did not go into the city
treasury. If the gambling house pro-
prietors were not blackmailed why
did they so readily accept the mayors
proposition to pay SO much a month
to the city? If they had not been
paying blackmailing money they
would hardly have agreed to
pay anything to the city. No new,
stringent laws relative to gambling
had been enacted and they had moth
ing more to fear from Mayor Shaks-
peare's administration than they
had from previous administrations.
The conclusion is almost irresistible
that they accepted the mayors terms
because they found it cheaper to
deal with the city than with black
mailers. How has the mayors plan
worked Apparently very we'll. In a
few months the city has received
$4,000. The number of gambling
houses has been reduced almost one
half and minors are no longer found
in them, Bunko shops and bunko
steerers have disappeared. Stran-
gers visiting the city do not complain
that they have been deceived and
robbed. Which is better, the mayors
plan or the old system9 There can
be no donbt about the answer to this
question. We are opposed to gam
bling houses. We would like to see
the law enforced against them. If
however, they cannot or will not en-
torce the law let us by all means stick
to the plan which the mayor has in
augurated.- N. o. Times.
The City Council of Baton Rouge,
being apprized by the Mayor that the
game of Keno had been going on for
some time, increasing in extent with
each succeeding week-in which MI
nors were participating-came to the
wise conclusion thatit was best bravely
to recognize its existence and to cir
cumscribe it's evil influences, by i'm
posing upon each house where the
game was allowed, a license of fifty
dollars per month, while forbidding
under the penalty of fine and impris-
onment. the admission of minors
within the room where the game was
conducted.
Two houses took out the license and
were both found violating the clause
regarding minors, for which violation
they were each fined S25.
At the end of the first month one of
the houses gave up the business, and
the other did the same at the end of
the second month. Meanwhile minors
were kept out and the game made
thus to die it's natural death.
The Older governments have long
since discovered that so long as the
human family exists it will be aft1ict-
ed with it's inherent vices and frail-
ties. Ministers of the Gospel Moral
lists, may preach as much as they
will, yet they will never accomplish
more than restrain that proper
tion ofbeings whom the Almighty has
endowed with sufficient self control
to resist the temptations which vice
holds out to the gaze of their senses
and passions.
If law is not brave enough to recog-
nize these facts by enacting regula-
tions to mitigate the evils arising from
vice, but instead, attempts to stamp
it out by loudly proclaiming the un-
conditional prohibition of evil prac-
tices, it will compel vice to assume it's
most hideous form and in darkness
and under cover, will whirlpools to
form into whose vortex the
young and inexperienced will be
drawn ere they have had time to be
made acquainted with its baneful
effects.
1t is far better for society, that vice
shall be taxed so that it's haunts may
be accessible to the representatives of
the law, who can then drive away
from its precincts it's unsuspecting
victims.
Why should the haunts of vice that
are given life by protligacy, be exempt