The semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1882-1886, 1885-02-07
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
niseussiOn Of EOrbiS' Anti Gambling
Bill I'm the House.

Discussion Of Forbis' Anti Gambling
Bill In the House.
The Territorial Press Receives aSum'
mary Turning Over.
Surmises Concerning Governor Car.
penter's Nominations.
HELENA, Feb. 4, 1885.
This was a gala day for the House.
the attraction being the consideration
of Forbis' anti-gambling billin Com
mittee of the Whole. The hall was
Grove ed to repletion. The Council
members, q large number of ladies,
aud representatives of the press, were
present. The.lobby was crowded by
interested liste ners. The MINERS
regular correspondent will furnish
an extended synopsis of the debates.
After the disposal Of the bill by the
Committee, recommending that it
pass the House, the impression was
left upon the minds of many that the
measure was directed not 80 much
against the spirit Of gambling as
against a certain class Of gamblers.
The action of the House, by a vote Of
9 to IL, in defeating Mr.. Potts
amendment. which prohibited bet
ting on horse races, elections, and all
other gambling not named in Forbis'
bill, strengthened the impression.
Governor Potts took the grtuud that
if gambling at cards was wrong, 1t
was equally as wrong to gamble in
other ways. He contended that If
the Legislature desired to strike down
gam bling it should, while it 10 about
it, extirpate 1t root and branch, and
not leave even its shadow upon the
land.
In the course ofhis speech in favor
of his bill, Mr.. Fo1bis %contendel that
gambling was q crime only oae de-
gree from murder or robbery, and
tnat the time has now arrived when
the moral sentiment of the Territory
should assert itself and Danish the
demoralizing practice from our midst.
With much ~earnestness, forcible rea-
soning and eloquence, tho gentleman
maint Ained his proposition, but
his ir consistency was apparent
in his declaration that he
had no objection to wealthy men
and those who could afford to lose
their money to gamble, leaving the
inference TO be drawn that gambling
was criminal only when INDUCED in
by poor men. But Governor Potts
couldn't see it in that light. He
maintained that if gambling Vas a
crime the rich who pursued it should
be punished as we'll asthe day laborer.
Hence he introduced his amend
pent to cover all classes of people
and all kinds of gambling. This
was q dose too heroic for q majority
of the supporters of the measure. and
they voted it down. It is out justice to
MI. Forbis, however, 10 soy that he
stated he opposed the amendment
because he thought it would kill the
bill. Messrs. Galloway and Tipel.
who spoke in favor of III. bill
thought otherwise and voted for the
amendment.
The bill will come up In the House
again in its regular order when
other amendments will be offered.
Should it, however, pass the House
in its present shape the Council will
doubtless perfect it with sweeping
measures or adopt a substitute for it.
MI. Forbis' bill will hardly become
a law without considerable prun-
ing.
Several members of the House
took the opportunity the other day
to display a remarkable fund of ig-
norance-using the mildest word at
hand-concerning the practices of
newspaper publishers in the Terri
tory. A bill providing for quarterly
publications of the proceedings of
boards of county commissioners was
under discussion. Messrs. Tirgle,
Forbis, Galloway and Potts took part
In the debt te. As far as Mr.. Tingle
was concerned he seemed to have a
just cause for complaint, but we
failed t, see wherein Messrs. Forbis
and Galloway could feel az
grieved or why the printers
should tie subjected to the
broadsldes directed against them
by these gentlemen. Mr.. Forbis was
particularly severe in his denuncia-
tions of the fraternity, and had he
delivered his speech before a less in.
telligent audierce there might have
been danger that every newspaper
man present would have been Con-
Murpheyed before he could get out of
the hall.
In his reply to these unwarranted
structures upon the printers of the
Territory, Governor Potts said: "He
vas never q convert to the doctrine
of the total ~depravity Of man, but if
any argument were needed to con-
vince him that it was founded in
truth the speeches he had just listened
to were all-sufficient. But he could
not believe that printers were so de-
praved, and thai while he had no
cause to entertain any very great de-
gree of love for the press of the Terri
tory he believed they would size up
as far as honesty In their dealings
va concerned with the average of
men In other OccupatiOns.U The