The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1884-04-10
Gambling.

Inc pIOpOolllOu 10 6SLdDllou llcES III y
Austin such an institution as the :,
White Elephant at San Antonio, natu- =
ally awakens interest among the peo- =.
lie, and THE STATESMAN, as one OF
he people, will discuss it in all sin ,
,erity and fairness, and without the !
east desire to be unfair or unjust to
my man OF class of men. In the first
place we presume that it is unneces-
,ary to set up the claim that gambling
Is wrong, morally or legally. The
goes without saying. The
habit is growing in this
and the means by which it
not only lives but grows and increases,
must be looked into very closely by
every citizen having at heart the good
of the community in which he lives,
The gambling instinct is found in all !
parts of the world, and affecting all
ranks and conditions of men. While
this is true it is also true that men
will be found to cater to the taste.
Whenever demand exists there will
be also an effort to supply it, and gen
orally in the case of gambling, the
supply of facilities are even in excess
of the demand. Particularly is this
the case in the west. Here where the
lines of moral restraint are relaxed
by reason of the nature of business,
the newness of the country, and the
lightness with which restraint rests
upon the people, or rather the inslg-
nifcant weight of responsibility, OF
course we have gambling in some Of
its many taking and seductive phases
in every town and village in the land.
In dealing with the question broadly
and from the sole stand, point of the
best good of the entire community, no
narrow or prejudiced or jaundlced
view must be taken, or unfair policy
prevail.
The universally of the habit lnd1-
Gates plainly to the thoughtful the
difficulties which are scattered thlckly
IN the pathway of those who would
deal with the evil. 1t underlays and
peryades all classes to such an extent
that reform, either legal or moral, Is
met at every turn by the armed and
determined champions and defenders
of this habit. These are wealthy and
oftentimes respectable and OF worth
and weight in the community in every
other way. These are not the men
who nightly hang over the green
cloth and toy with the ivories. These
are not the men who go about the
hotels and places of public resort, the
"maisons de joie," and rope the be-
fuddled priests of pleasure to the
skinning trap. No, indeed. They are
the men who sell the costly
goods to these people, who en-
Joy their political favor and
friendship, and who inhabit senate
chambers and legislative halls, who
climb to the benches of our courts
and who control and conduct the bus,
business of the state. IT. is q
humiliating thing to do to admit
that tbs is true, and yet how woe
fully true it is, every honest observer
knows.
] Now we would see the establish
ment of such place as the White
Elephant here with sincere regre1
and lively apprehensions, but we art
more profoundly alarmed that thes'
keen observers, these watchtul ant
wary business men trading in tn
baser passions of men-see enough OF
business promise of this sort in Aus
tin to make them willing to risk the
enormous expenditure necessary t.
put tn fell enterprise on foot. To US
his is the alarming feature in thu
case. We would see every known pc
tent legal obstruction placed in thu
way of the enterprise, and to this enc
urge upon the officers of the law to bt
rigid in discountenanc1ng in every
way such energies. 1t has grown tt
be trlte and common saying that al
places of vim and pith in the west en-
courage the building up of gambling
houses and sporting enterprises gen
orally. The truth is that these art
established over the bitter protests Of
all the better, more law-abiding anc
moral forces of the country. Mora
worth and principle is the same in the
west that it is in the east, only
sometimes the bad influences FREEDOM
mate to such an extent in the forma
tive stages that the condition is fixed
and remains fixture long after the
influences opposed become stronger
than the supporters. Then commences
the fight between the brave assaulting
column, which fights a foe securely
entrenched and fortified behind the al
most impregnaOle breastworks and
Notifications of veteran habit and
custom.
We contend that one-half the effort
to keep out the evil which would be
necessary to grapple with it when
once established, would be better
would be safer and by far more effec-
tive and economical in every way
Men are debauched, ruined, murdered
or rendered utterly wretched by these
establishments. The finer and more
gorgeous these palaces of sin, the
more mischievous and destructive
they become. We sincerely trust that
the city council and the leading bust
ness men and property holders of Aus
tin will set their faces, as THE STATES
MAN does, steadily against the estab-
lishment, here of the proposed gor-
geous gambling hell. Let US do one
bit of earnest, faithful work for the
youth of Austin, and those who are
sent here from other places to attend
our colleges and universities.
The County Conventions.