The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-02-11
DIR HELENA LETTER.
speech q Hon. ". 0. Speer Against
The Anti. Ganbling Bill.

The Ant. Ganbling Bill.
4. HELENA, Feb. 7, 1885.
The consideration Of Forbis' bill to
suppress gambling was resumed ibis
morning and occupied the attention
of the house throughout the day.
MI. speer rose and said:-1f there
is any gentleman in this house.
from the. author Of the bill to any
one else who intends to support 1t,
who bas anything to say 10 its favor
I should like to hear from him before
making any remarks upon the subject
myself. II not, I will occupy the at
tention of the house for q short time.
Mr.. Forbis said, that the friends OF
the bill had already discussed It fully
and that he would. dislike to bore the
house by repeating what he had SAID
MI. speer then addressed the house
for an hour and q half in opposition
to the bill. It is impossible to give
mora than the merest outline OF his
remarks.
REMARKS OF Mr.. sPEER.
MI. Speaker: It IL unfortunate
that gentlemen, who are here to rep
resent the Territory Of Montana In
the legislature, are 80 modest that, II
they have any reason for the faith
they possess, they are unable to give
1t for the simple reason that 1t will
bore the house. If the gentleman
considers that his, remarks, II they
have been correctly reported, gave
any reason for the passage OF this
bill, then I fail to see 1t, and II he has
no other reasons to give than those,
if he calls those reasons, I think
every man should agree with me that
tht bill stands on a very slim founda"
ton.
. There has been somewhat OF the
pathetic, I suppose from what l can
CLEAN, and there has been somewhat
of the tragic. but I fail to see coming
from q lawyer any argument that
might be expected upon a question
of this character. However the gen.
tleman may think asout it, I beg to
differ with him If he thinks there is
anything he has advanced as to why
this bill should be passed.
The gentleman's position. as l I'M
derstand it, aud his argument In the
committee of the whole, was to the
effect that gambling was but one
step from murder. that 1t was a
crime.
1t Is an unfortunate thing that
there are so many men in this House
that are but one step from murder.
Perhaps If he will recur to his own
history, ifhe has any upon that sub
ject, he may find that sometime in
his younger days before discretion
took possession OF, him, there may
have been q time'when he was but
one step from a murderer.
This is the argument that Is made
here in behalf of this bill, that this is
a crime and one step from murder. 1
undertake to say that q man cannot
70 before an intelligent audience of
lawyers, statesmen, or of intelligent
citizens and successfully make that
argument. I undertake to say that
when q man makes that argument
he places himself IN a very ridicu-
lous light and does not discriminate
between crimes If this be q crime. If
there is so little b murder after
all. then he differs from the
rest Of the civilized world
Perhaps there, may b something in
the early education D. individuals to
give them Impressions. It may be
that the number of qurders that are
committed in our T9rritory by mobs
and all that sort Of thing causes the
gentleman to take the ground that
after all murder is but q small crime.
Now then the gentleman calls this q
crime. Can he find any authority
that says this is q crihe by the coma
mon law doctrine Of the land-the
old common law of England that
grew up a. q natural system of reas-
oning and wass perfect system with
out any legislation whatever The
gentleman may remember that the
common law enforced gambling con-
tracts to a certain extent and recog-
nized this murderous transaction.
They we're 90 far behind the age in
those times that they distinguished
between murder and gambling, that
they made this. great; blunder, or did
not properly appreciate the logic that
is advanced tor the consideration of
this house!
Now l like morality. I have no
objections to men being moral. In
fact l would like all men to be moral.
I should like 1t If no man would
gamble. I should like men to be free
from every other vice. I should like
all this, but I want to tell the gentle
man II we start in to legislate upon
merely moral subjects there is no
telling where We shallstop. It is sim
gsalar that a lawyer should advance
such a theory, when the common law
distinguishes all the way through
between crimes that are evil in them
selves and those which are made 30
eey statute. Does any person