The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-09-13
About the Pool Rooms.

About the Pool Rooms.
The special feature of Judge Knapps
charge on Tuesday was his instructions to
the grand jurors concerning the pool rooms
in this county. His views were perfectly
correct, looking at the law from his side;
and with him we regret that he should be
called upon SO frequently to lecture the
rand juries summoned before him upon
their obvious neglect of duty. But does
not this fact suggest that there must be
another side to this matter; that perhaps
our laws are not founded in common
sense and common honesty, and that that
may be the reason why our grand juries
are in some respects remiss? If one looks
over the list of any grand jury ever select
ed in this county he will find that it en-
braces the names of respectable and law
abiding citizens. Grand jurors are men
who usually perform their duties in all
other walks of life-why, are they at times
neglectful of their duties in the grand jury
room? Simply because their common sense
tells them that some of the things the law
asks them to do are both ridiculous and
dishonest, and an instructive love of fair
play, which is part of all human nature,
prompts them to ignore the law and re-
pudiate its requirements. 1t is of course a
legal axiom that all laws should be enforc-
ed to the end that bad ones may be made
obnoxious and their repeal secured. But
you can not make the great bulk of man
kind work that way. They prefer making
the law dead letter. This pool room law
is a case in point. The New Jersey. law is
so framed that pools may be legally sold on
any and all race tracks in the State.
But when pools are sold anywhere
but on race track the transaction
at once becomes illegal Now where is the
common sense or common justice in this
If there is a crime involved, it is the selling
of pools. But the New Jersey law locates
the crime in the place of sale and not in
the act. The obvious injustice of such a
law as this naturally excites disgust, and
ninety-nine men out of every hundred. in
the grand jury room or out of it, will at
once refegate such a law to the domain of
sheoE The object of the Law is said to be
to protect, the unwary lest misguided youth
should become infatuated with gambling
and be led into embezzlement or theft in
order to crafty this propensity. But that
is only in Jersey City or Hoboken. When
the youth in question get on to the rae Q
track they are no longer protected by the
law, but must look out for themselves land
SO must the employers whose money they
might steal to gamble with. 1t is matter
fact that men who Professionally buypools
are fools, because if q hundred men start in
with hundred dollars each and every man
buys dollar ticket, it is4ohly question of
time when the pool seller ewilla have
every dollar of their money, because he
will take five dollars from every pool as his
percentage, which gives him sure thing
on the ultimate scoop" The proper way
to deal with gambling is to bring it within
the domain of the law by license system
and then compel every dealer to run a
"square game" In this way the callow
youth who rob their employers may be got
at and excluded. AS it is now they are
only got at when their robberies have been
accomplished and the money squandered.
Law has ever been powerless to suppress
gambling. It probably ever will be. Men
Lave gambled since the world was made.
They even threw dice for the Saviour's
clothing at the crucifxion. They have
been at it ever since and there is no let up
in the game to-day. 1t isIstill running des-
pite the fact that we have had almost law
enough on the subject to hang every man
who ever looked at card The moral is
obvious but the country solons who annually
gather at State capitals must do something,
and perhaps it is easier for them to make
fools of thems elves than to act wisely.
IT. {caa,,,o 10 ~ ,,-otk-, 49, L.