The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-07

races at New Orleans and East St Louis.
The men who run this book pay even
greater privilege fee than those who have
books solely for the Roby races. The man
agement receive other fees for the refresh
mcnt privileges. The income is certainly
not less than $3.50 day. and VIII probably
exceed this sum. The purses alleged TO be
paid On the races amount TO about Sl,VO
day
the cream of Chicago's population never
rises 10 the surface OF Roby's race-track
gambling den. The coarse face OF the Bill
er-avenue tough leers up prominently pc
side that Of the young clerk, who has taken
a day off on the strength OF sickness in
his family to leave the Office and come to
sprinkled plentifully throughout the mass
of people. and IL was not strange sight
to See men with knife-scars and the scars
of disease on their faces. The tin-horn
gambler was prominent figure. but he did
not come TO lose his money, but rather 10
give some slight acquaintance a random
tip and borrow a dollar or two the
strength of it should the tip win. Two
dollar bets are taken at all the stands,
and majority of the bets are of this class,
few of the well-to-do men sometimes to be
found on the legitimate track being seen
ranted in Keeping his hand on his pocket
book and his pocketbook in his inside pock-
ct, although ii was no uncommon sight TO
see men recklessly flashing rolls of bills
about the stands. 1t has been estimated
conservatively that the average amount
spent by a man in a betting ring, is $40,
and il would be safe to estimate that the
crowd last Tuesday put $4,000 into the
tills of the bookies, not over two-thirds OF
The odds which the bookmakers at Roby
offer make II almost impossible for them
to lose on the day.
THE ALLEGED PURSES.
The first race on Tuesday was for an al
legged purse of $500. 1t was a selling race,
one in which the owner places a price on
his horse and If 1t wins the owner Of
fu tIo1 70
buy the winner at the price named; that is.
unless the owner of the winning horse auc-
tons him off, all the money received above
the selling price marked card going to
the owner of the second horse. With one
exception, the highest price marked for
any of the thirteen horses in the first race
was 500, eight of them being listed at 500.
Even these prices are perhaps hctltfOus,
but they indicate to some extent the worth
lessneSs Of the animals except Tor this
farce.
horse named George H. which was able
than the other old Skates" Seven of the
is over six years old. A strong tip on
Filter" another aged horse. was circu-
lated in the betting ring, and this some
what shifted the betting. In the third race
(selling) the horses were all listed at 800
favorite but the fayorite didn't win. Ordi-
narily at a race track when the gong
sounds announcing that the horses are off
| the betting ring is almost emptied at once
| Here the lack of a scramble at such a
| time was noticeable, and when the horses
came under the wire there was not so much
as one shout. The listlessness of the pro-
| fessional gambler prevailed. 1t was no
more than the turn of a roulette wheel;
no more than the dealing of the cards from
| a faro box. There were curses, but even
| the professional gambler will curse his luck
| After the result of the race is announced
| in stentorian tones TO the men in the ring
a
the next race smiles and rubs his hands
The claim of the Roby Fair Association
| the title under which the management is
Incorporated that a large rumber of men
| is employed as special officers may be true.
their official stars as to keep them ex-
posed to view. One man wearing the uni
form of the Chicago police, with badge
gone, was seen making bets.
| A half dozen or more men are employed
| in the stands where bets made on for
| eign races. They move about Invested of
| their coats and wearing immaculate linen.
sleek contented lot are they. Posted
| conspicuously on the foreign board is this
notice: THE train to the city will not
| leave till the last race at East st. Louis
| is. over" This means that the gamesters
| away until every opportunity has been had
| to pluck them II matters not whsther the
races at Rot} are finished, the men VINO
| pay. the privileges for running. the foreign
| book must have the privilege OF holding the
| crowd till bets can be made on the last
| race at East ST. Louis. This shows that
| Roby is but part Of the big gambling
system maintained throughout the country,
| with three or four race tracks at the
games which people can play at pool rooms
| all over the land where such evils are per-
| m!tted. The pool room run at Indianapolis
| during the Sullivan regime pretended to
send away by wire bets on the different
| races. to evade the law of Indiana.
| A blank order was given a bettor TO sign.
| But the pOOl-room men at Roby resort to
| no sucn trick as this. They violate the
/ law without pretense of Keeping within
| its limits. II is claimed that a great many
petty defalcationS in Chicago the past win
| ter have resulted from losses at this WIN
| ter track. The most glazing example Indi-
| ana has of the danger of this track 70 the
community is that of Cal Armstrong, VINO
| spent good portion of his forty-thousand-
| dollar defalcation at r Jy. Hammond, Ind