The herald., 1894-04-08
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THE NICKEL IN THE SLOT.

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The growth OF gambling in America is
something q to bring the blush of shame
to the cheeks of those who boast our
purity and enlightenment as nation.
We had no open-doors gambling in
America until 1861, except in the states
OF California aud Louisiana, in which
states gaming was licensed and the
money so acquired went to the support
of the public schools. But with the out
break of the civil war came plethora of
money, and fortunes were made in a
single day by men who had hitherto
toiled in poverty all their lives This
led to extravagances of every sort. OF
which gambling was the chief. Prior to
1862 pools had been sold on but three
rsce-tracks in all Amsrics-the Metal
rie at New Orleans. the Phsrsslia at
Nstchez, and the Woodlawn al Louisville.
By the opening of 1866 there was to be
found pool auctioneer at every track in
America.
Still the evil WAS restricted to the
tracks themselves until 1890, when q
man named Hackett, who had been q
brace dealer" in San Francisco in the
early fities, opened what he called the
Turf Exchange" on Barclay street in
New York. The walls of this place were
covered with plscsr6s of entries at every
race track in the union and booksellers
sold on every race. About that time the
English system of book k-betting came
into vogue and this gave the pool-room
men great advantage, as it enabled
them to handle six separate meetings"
with one crew of clerks, whereas the
pool-selling system would require three.
In the past eight years pool-roomI
have been opSned in every city in
America, and, in most cases, enormous
profits have been made. The evil
feature of these rooms consists in the
fact that it coats nothing to 20 into one
OF them. II man with So in his pocke.
has to pay 81 to get into racs track,
where he can bet off the other $4, he
thinks twice before doing so, and the
sober second thought saves his money
in most instances. The pool-Eoom, how
ever. is open to all and by the time the
kilograms cease arriving the floor of the
room is covered with torn paste boards
and a couple of hundred angry men
have gone home to their ill.clad wives
and supperless hildren.
The evil grew to such proportions in
the state of New Jersey, which has an
enormous population employed in fact
ories. that local legislation closed the
peol-rooms in ell the larger towns. Then !
the race track keepers came to the res
cue OF the gamblers and aided them by
giving free 4sduaia~ieu ee osiiVO" QUO
North Bergen. This 80 incensed the
gr ocers, butchers and other trsdesmen
that they formed protective union and
bIacklisted every mechanic who attended
the races and did not pay his bills. Last
November they made a dead set at the
legislature and elected representatives
pledged to the closing OF every race track
in the state. The Monmouth course,
which cost the late L. D. Withers over
million dollars, is cosed up like the rest.
Within the past two years new kind
OF gamble has sprung up, known as
the "nickle ia the slot" The devices
for this sort of gaming are manifold and
nearly every saloon and cigar stand has
one or more Of them, The most man
can win with cents is 10 cents, and it
is always five to one that he does not get
two "rAke downs" consecutively. tn Q
city of Los Angeles is full OF them and
they derive a large portion Of their
revenue from players who are in their
homage. Hence the HERALD cslle for
their suppression by the police under an
ordinance to that effect made by the city
ouncil, except in the case OF such
machines as are used for telling ones
bodily weight, or for monographs or
models OF steam boats and locomotion.
One saloon in shis town has three OF
these machines and many OF them have
two. 1t is to be hoped that, as callow
youth and even tender boys are largely
addicted to playing at the slot game,
their total suppression will be thing OF
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