The evening times., 1895-10-26

\ With WashmgtOn's constantly changin
4 population, the result of changes in admin
! istratioDS, there are many who are NJ
: familiar with the events of five or si
years ago. But il does not take "a Ion
memory TO recall the time when thcr
WIS regular beehive Of pool rooms an
: other FORMS Of betting AT the head O
; seventh street, just outside the .ity lin
its.
They drew much custom from Dcpart
Dlcnt clerks. Betting there became s.
general that soon after O'Clock Il reg
uiar line or hacks, coupcs and other We
hicles started toward the resort, to sa,
nothing OF the numbers who used tn
street ears. Sunday came 10 be the big
gest day OF the week in the dens, with al
forms OF carousal. G
Finally the crowd became So bold ant
careless that they gathered in the reaI
OF the little Gurlcy Chapel, and with theii
oaths and songs interrupted the Sunday
school and other services. This aroused
the Indignation OF the attendants upon
worship there, and a crusade was begun
against the gang.
Christian sentiment was awakened all
over Washington and a great petition, in
the preparation of which ministers and
religious leaders OF all denominations par
ticipated, was taken to Congress asking
for a law to break up the iniquitous pra ctices
and places.
HIS BOLD ANNOUNCEMENT.
The jockey club had Just then bought over
500 acres near Benning and lid out Il mile
| track. Seuator Blackburn met the demand
of the petition with n bold announcement
that no bill could pass the Senate that did
| not provide for continuance OF racing
| atthistrack. The first proposal wa agai inst
all pool selling, and would have killed the
Benning enterprise dead as IT now is.
1 ..l
it could not in any way pass the Senate.
Already the long session Of the Fifty first
| Congress was drawing to a close. Ir any
| thing was to be done there must be no
prolonged fight in the Senate.
The promoters OF the legislation We're not
disposed to attack the Jockey Club cspc
cially. a good many very reputable Wash
| inston men were financially Interested in
it. 1t was only desired to break up the
crying evil that had sprung up on Seventh
street and was disturbing the whole neigh
borhood including the religious services.
A compromise was agreed upon by which
i clause was inserted excepting in so many
words a race track Of Il given length and
with given accompanimcnts, all of which
were present at the Eenninc's course. This
WAS passed without opposition andtl.r mat
ter was considered settled. The operators
of houses ON seventh street cleared out,
and il was at that time first that many
But the reform met opposition in an un-
expected quarter. The Presbyterian elder
who then occupied the White House OBJ
jected TO the bill and vetoed it after Con-
gress had adjourned. His reason was that
il was class legislation; that it purportcd
to suppress pooling, while il actually, by Its
excepting clause, lcgaliZcd II Tor special
concern
REOPENED THEIR PLACES.
The crowd that had moved out of the
Seventh street uens heard this with rcjoc
ing. >Tney came back practically in u body
and with banners flying all along the line
of their procession. Their places were re-
opened, and betting on races everywhere, |
on prize fights, dog fights and every sort OF |
sporting event was more Tree and III |
larger proportions than ever. All told |
the resorts were handling money ut the rate |
of five to ten millions a year.
When Congress came back the clamor |
for legislation was renewed. The first an !
swer was, We have done all we can for
you" But the public would not accept
this. Find out what the gentleman at
the other end OF the Avenue viii approve"
was the next word, then Wen try TO pass
it,"
Senator Blackburn, however, was still
TO be dealt with. II was necessary to in
sert the milelimit clause. which, little
more general, still permitted the pooLsell-
ing al Bennings. This passed, and to the
surprise of some, received the Presidents
signature without CULVER. 1t did every
thing he had complained of in the other bill,
but in another way. The Seventh street
resorts were closed.
Then came A. a. Birncy as the peoples
in criminal prosecutions.
He insisted that laws against gaming must
be enforced. The act of 1888, he thought,
was effective to pool selling. 1t contained
ss.,,, 60 ttr
I3irney won several fights involving the old
aw. A last stand was made in the Fred
Miller case, and Henry l., Davis argued T
leenly and persistently, but Judge Cole
'irst, and finally the Court of Appeals, last
spring decided foreNir. Birney.
This fall the Conoyer case for promoting !
,olicy was fought over again. and Conover
vas finally convicted.
THE LAST RESORT.
Almost the only public refuge for men
Who enjoy the gambling fever was the
ticker" offices. or these there are very
many in the city. They are located in pre-.
entious offices in the best quarters and in
ack rooms up stairs, with hardly business
nough to keep the telegraph operator from
tarviug. Some of them have no operator,
ut their pa irons donot know Indifference. ! :
They can be found on F, between Thir-
zenith and Fifteenth; on Fifteenth, be- -
Neeu tHe avenue tlHu Oh between |
inth and Eleventh; on Seventh between ;,
avenue and I; on +, between +
iXth and Tenth. This does not mean that y
ley are in every house, or even every block,
these Ioca lities, but it means that q
rOkers' offices, some of which may come :,
ithin the District attorneys interpreta. :
on OF the law of 1888 against gaming
re to be found in the limits named.
The total amount of money diverted
ON the homes of clerks and from the Ordi-
lry channels OF trade by the ticker" 4
'fices is said to be very large something =
ke $6O, 900 month.
Under the law the owners of buildings
&c liable TO fine OF imprisonment If they
,rmit gaming on their premises. The r
,nalty is one year in Jail or $EC0 fine.
OF only the Or ner, but the tenant who &
blets it Is in danger OF prosecution.
csc facts have already created quite +
stir among property owners. If Mr..
lrnitzkl should be convicted the dis r,
rbance will amount almost to panic.
The penalty for Mr.. Kurnitzki, as for d
hers who may be convicted of gaming,
five years in prison. II
low Shall We Educate Our Y Outh?" n,
Hon. John NJ. Langston will lecture at
e Metropolitan Baptist Church, on r al
rect between Twelfth and Thirteenth.
evening. October 30 His sub
t will be How shall we educate our
uth?" An address by Cornelius j. Jones. al
Greenville, Miss. will also be delivered.
Sued the Bene ficiar ries