Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1883-09-21

be snhs'antiated by actual facts We find in
an exchange, the record of an interview with
a gentleman who has for years been a regular
attendant of the principal horse races in
this country. lie is thoroughly conversant
with ali the ins and outs Of gambling as it is
usually carried on at such places. His circle
of acquaintance 10 wide including many Of
those wh) are accustomed to risk money UNI
der such conditions. The following are
few statements made by him;
at gives me great concern as citizen to
see the stupcndous decentralization that has
been wrought by the race track in recent
yoars-l might say within the last three to
four years. Once the betting was mostly
confined to those people who C uld afford To
pay for their folly-although 1t was us rare
then as now to find u man who could bear II
loss with equanimly-but now, even the la
| borers, walters and others whose wages will
not average more than S12 week are as
steady attendants at the race track and as
persistent bctteis us any others. Perhaps
they are even more daring because their ne.
cessities arc greater"
This of the moral effect of gambling upon
horse races, aud the classes of people who arc
likely to be its most unhappy victims. And
now as to the enormous pecuniary losses sus
aimed by these victims in the aggregate:
"Settipg aside the large amount of profits
that go to the people who are connected il
anyway with the track and who risk nothing
for the most part, how many share in til,
money that IS won? That blackboard viii
give you an idea: 1t shows that there wer,
Loo. ttgly. 81. 4 al gSA
, winners about one in ten. IL gives you alsC
an ideu of the money that has changed hand
here to day; gone from the hands of th,
my into the pockets of the few. At So /
II uckrt there were nearly 100000 change
uwn,rs here, and this is only the Paris Mu
tns. Add to it the amounts from the auc
non sale AID the bookmakcrs uud do yol
think $40, 900 would lie too high IN estimate
No! Wei this is only one OF six races her
! ,-day; and un the next iace, as YOU see b,
the board, there were over 1900 tickets sol,
IN the Paris Mutuals. Six times ~, 900 woult
he S2lD, 1000. Think of that sum iisked II
one afternoon in II game of cha rec, and sa,
) wc'ro not becoming u nation of gamblers
Aud thi H. too, of the fiat pockets it cam
from IN the main. See here the thousand
whose incOmts will not average $50 Il weel
and calculate the deprivation, not to say pr
|
homes. Here gees the money tia. was il
tended to buy the children shoes on Saturda
night, or that was to 90 into the saving
iank on Monday TO add to the store for
rainy day; gone while half dozen horse
swung around the course"
And the worst of it all is that loss doe
not make a man wiser or more cautious
even, set aside its bringing him to his scnst
and causing him 10 give up betting altogethe
On the contrary, it makes him still mol
reckless and eager, until at last he los,
everything and even then he will continr
to bet so long as he can borrow a cent.
In most Of the States, we believe, there
n law against pool selling at horse races b'
: ii Is law which is seldom, or never, enfor'
/ ed. Why would lot the present be goc
, time to resurrect this moldy statute, and S,
if there is any virtue in it g? The race trac
D is to be found almost everywhere nov
throughout the country, and wherever the
are races you will find pool sellers and plcn,
of victims. Recently, it was the brave an
D noble act of one of the governments mo
respected officers 20 assal the gigantic ev
) of lotteries by prohibiting to them Il
c use of the United States mails. The oppos
ton has been intense, and is still raging, b,
there eau he no doubt that the dcalh-blow
D the American lottery system has been dea
by the official ruling OF Postmaster. Gener
Gresham. Now is the time to lop off anot
er branch of the great evil of gambling
Legislation Can do it, hut legislation new
will do it, unless the people themselves, /
demanding the enforcement of the Law
) against pool selling. show that they are ali,
to their danger and their duty.