Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-05-16
BUCKET SHOP BOARDS
Thought by Chief Brown to be but a
Sort of Gambling Device.
HE WANTS THE MATTER SETTLED,
But is Ayerse to Saddling Suit for
Damages on the City.
POOL ROOMS WEREN'T ALLOWED THEM

Chief Brown, OF the Department Of Pub
lie Safety, has declared war on the bucket
shops in this city, but at the very outset
finds himself beset with legal difficulties.
The Chiefs attention was attracted to the
existence of bucket shops short time ago.
when high-kicking market knocked the
bottom out of q couple of Pittsburg insti-
tutions where men who don't know clear
ribs from Texas beef, or No. spring wheat
from timothy seed, could for very few
dollars become for awhile the proud
possessors of an unlimited quantity Of the
food products Of the country. These en-
bryo wheat kings and meat monarchs, with
an occasional oil emperor, would lean back
in chairs, smoke tobies, discuss the proba-
bilities Of q general European war, and
watch a small boy write figures in chalk on
a mammoth blackboard, until their small
margins were either wiped out or the market
came their way and they made turn Of
anywhere from IS to s25.
Chief Brown concluded that this was
simply gambling device, as the men who
bought carload Of wheat or 20 barrels of
mess pork would not know what to do with
it if it was delivered to them. He, there
fore, instructed the officers of the Police
Bureau to look out for these places, and
when found, make a note Of them, together
with the names of the proprietors and the
character Of the frequenters.
NOT CALLED CRIMINAL.
A number of these places were discovered
and the Chief consulted with the City At
torney as to the best means OF stopping the
business. It was then discovered that while
the courts have decided that the bucket
shop business Is unlawful, 1t has not been
declared criminal, and, therefore, there is
no criminal statute under which they can be
proceeded against In summary manner.
For this reason, while the courts have virtu-
ally classed these places with pool rooms,
they cannot be attacked in the same way.
The distinction Is o fine one. The courts
have held that q gambling house Is place
where tools or devices are used for the purpose
of rlsklng money upon uncertain events. A
special enactment was accordingly passed by
the Legislature empowering the Mayors OF
cities to raid gambling houses and to destroy
When the poolroom question came up in this
city the authorities were little slow IN taking
action. They finally decided that the black
ooE .bs In cas-, of PTcs Co. to court as
and were sustained. Then the other rooms
were Immediately closed by the police.
THE QUESTION AT ISSUE.
The question now turns upon whether the
blackboard in bucket shop is gambling de-
vice, as decided in the poolroom cases. Au-
thorities differ on this but it is the most gener-
ally accepted opinion that it Is not, for the
reason that the quotations are presumably cor
rect. and it is not any more . crime to post
them in a bucket shop than on an exchange. or
to publish them in the market columns of .
newspaper.
The matter will not be allowed to rest here,
however, and the City Attorney will shortly
prepare the paper in a test case against one of
the bucket shops, in order to give the Depart
ment of Public Safety an opportunity of discov-
ering its powers in the premises.
Chief Brown Is not willing to take any long
chances in this matter. because it might result
in a heavy loss to the city. such things have
have happened. In 1876 the Mayor of Phiadel-
phia, acting under an ordinance prohibiting
the erection of wooden buildings tore down a
number Of shauties around the Centennial
building. The evicted occupants brought suits
for damages, and won them. the Court holding
that while wooden buildings were unlawful it
was not criminal to live in them. The Chief
proposes to avoid any damage suits.