The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1889-01-26

That gambling, especially poker playing,
has been the chief amusement-not to say
busiless-of dozens Of the young men, and
not a few older men of unbemished reputa-
tions; that men make their living, aud not u
poor one, by enticlng suckers" into the
gaming room; that these rooms have been
running for months aud even for years, and
that the police and city authorities have
quietly winked at it all, Is not star chamber
secret.
Who the keepers of the green cloth tables
were has not been SO generally known; but
that they were known to the police is undeni-
able.
The grand jury, however, decided, through :
the agency of what the gamblers call q
"goody. goody man" to investigate the rooms
in this city, and brilliant array of men about
town and number Of nice young men" had
the pleasure this week of sitting in the ques-
ton box ard telling "what / knew about
poker" Upon their revelations the jury re-
turned indictments against Matt White, Felt
II Nertney, william Cunningham and VIM
Miller (colored) for keeding gaming rooms.
The room kept by Matt White is alleged to
be in tie basement Of his hotel in connection
with the saloon; that run by Miller to be his
barber shop, on Main street, which, after
closing hours is run with curtains down, all
corners to enter by the rear door; the room
run by Felt II Nertney to be over the rear OF
their saloon, on LaSalle street. and thar
operated by Cunningham to be in the old
Galloway House building on Columbus street.
That there are young men in this city, max.
Ing good salaries, who spend every dollar they
earn above board and lodging over the cloth,
is not denied. That men have made u com
petence out of the losings of Others is also so
self.eydent as to need no denial Within the
last two weeks two young men have been
ruined and have fled the city in disgrace, by
reason of the green cloth, and were it not for
the sympathy which the FREE TRADER feel.
for their families and friends, 1t could name
them here. That men have failed in business
in this city on account of the game, and that
Others have been driven to the dogs through
the fasciLations Of the game, is the common
knowledge OF all.
Your man of the world, and your police will
say: Whats the use in stopping this thing,
Business men will play poker, and you can't
stop them If you don't allow houses to run
openly, the players will form clubs and play
their poker anyway" Therefore, what's the
use in having laws; men will break them
anyhow, and if You don't let them do it openly,
they will do it privately. Therefore, what's
the use in having police. The police have
winked at poker rooms and if Won won't let
them do it publicly, they will do it when you
are not looking.
The FREE TRADER is not ''howing re-
former" nor does it believe that poker play
ing among professionals can be wiped out by
closing the rooms. But there is one thing
that can be done, and that is the closing of
the open house way of doing business that
has become the rule in Ottawa Young men
boys, from eighteen, sometimes younger, to
twenty one, are not given to playing poker,
of some inducement is not held out to them.
This iRducement is offered by the open house,
made donbly attractive by assurances of
privacy" There is but little use in trying
to reform the old players, but doing away
with the gamblers and gambling houses will
save the young men. The police, and they
only, are responsible for this wide open play
ing. The FREE TRADER is not unjust or
foolish enough to say that they are able to
stop parlor playing or club playing but it does
believe that if due diligence had been dis
played these houses would never have been
allowed to run at all. Let the tigers claws be
olippad