Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1895-06-22

fortyseven of the code of Virginia or by the
General Assembly of Virginia, and driving
clubs or driving parks heretofore chartered
u der chapter forty-seven Of the code oe Vir
gnia or by the General Assembly of Virginia
any money, thing or consideration of value
offered for the purpose of being bet or wager
ed upon the speed or endurance ofany animal
or beast; or to occupy any place or building
or part thereof, other than that owned or con
troled by agricultural associations, county OF
city fairs heretofore chartered under chapter
f1rty.seve1 of the code of Virginia or by the
General Assembly of Virginia, driving clubs
or driving parks heretofore chartered under
chapter torty-seven Of the code of Virginia OF
by the General Assembly Of Virginia, with
books. p,p=rs appa ratus or paraphernalia fol
the purpose of receiving or pretending to re-
csive, or for recording or registering, or fol-
forwarding or pretending or attempting to
forward in any manner whatever any money
| thing or consideration of value, bet OF
wa cred, or to be bet or wagered by
any person, or TO receive or offer to re.
C i've any money. thing or consideration OF
value, bet or TO be bet, contrary to the provi.
sinns of this act or to aid or assist or abet at
any race track or place other than the grounds
of an agricultural association, driving club
| or driving park heretofore chartered under
| chapt forty.seven of the code Of Virginia OF
| by the General Assembly Of Virginia, in
any mauner, in any of the acts forbidden by
| this statute.
Will some one of the people who
have been talking and writing about an
act they have never seen, read nor
digested, please run their eyes over the
above and explain what justification it
furnishes for the remarkable editorial
referred to? Will they especially show
wherein and how it permits, protects or
fosters the games Of crap, roulette and
sweat. or even foreign books, and also
by virtue of which Of its expressions it
operates to continue state of affairs
covering faro, keno, policy and the
other gambling devices of a like char
acter practiced at the resorts on the
west or south bank of the Potomac in
Alexandria county?
The history of the attempt on my part
to break up lawlessEess in Alexandria
county, I will endeavor to give as brief
ly as possible.
became member of the Senate of
Virginia in December, 1891, and at that
time the condition of affairs at Jackson
City aud other points northward
and westward along the Virginia
shore was so Objectionable so
far as gambling resorts were
concerned, that / determined to
secure reformation if possible. The
result of my efforts was the passage of
an act which will be found on page 626
of the acts of fassembly 1912, approved
February %, 1892; and its effect was to
close the pool rooms for over a year
thereafter.
1t can hardly be that newspaper
readers in this part OF the common
wealth have forgotten the bitter and
protracted fight which was made in the
committee for Courts of Justice of the
House of Delegates, and on the floor of
the House itself, against the passage of
this act The act was of the most COM
prehensive character, and in my judg-
ment should have been sustained by The
courts. 1t was rendered nugatory, how
ever, by decision, on April 20, 1898,
of the Court of Appeals Of Virginia in
the case of Lascallet, reported in S9th
Virginia Reports, page SIS, in which
it appears that police stupidity was
easily outwitted by a booksellers in
genuity. The pool-seller put up job
and the police fell into the trap. Three
of the judges of the Court of Appeals,
viz, Lewis, Lacey and Richardson, held
practically that the pool-seller had
made successful coup, and two of the
same court, Fauntleroy and Hinton j.
j., disagreed with them.
AS result of this decision the pool
rooms throughout Virginia, in which
books were made upon foreign races,
re-opened on the commission" plan,
which seems to have originated in the
fertile brain of Mr.. Lascallet, and was
considered by the majority of the
Court of Appeals as not violation of
the spirit of the act nor of its letter, al
though l am utterly at loss to con-
ceive how such conclusion could have
been reached. Other lawyers, posi-
bly,, have been just as much puzzled to
know how or by what process of ratio
cination appellate courts sometimes
reach their conclusions.
The Legislature did not assemble
again until the winter of 1898 94 when
for the second time l set about prepar-
ing a bill to meet the situation. The
result was the measure found in the
acts of 1S93-94, p GAG, et seq. 1t is not
''Mushbach bill" 1t was a compro-
mise of all of the conflicting views en-
tertained Throughout the common
wealth. 1t permitted horse racing and
the consequent betting (without which
races could not be conducted. accord
ing to the experience of mankind),
only on the grounds owned or con-
trolled by agricultural fair associations,
driving clubs and driving parks there
tofore chartered under the laws of Vir-
ginia, the idea being that such a privi-
lege would not be abused. 1t never
entered into the mind of any Of its
supporters that it would be abused.
The act itself is unobjectionable. 1t
passed the scrutiny of the Senate COM
mittee for courts of justice, composed
of the lawyers of that body, and also of
subcommittee of that body, received
the unanimous vote of the Senate, was
passed by the unanimous action of the
House of Delegates, and was signed by
the governor with full knowledge of
its provisions.
Among the men who sat in judg
ment on it in the Senate were such law
yers as Jones, of Highland; Little, of
Fredericksburg: Sands, Of Henrico;
Flood, of ofAppomattox; Walton, ofShen-
andoah; Hay, of Madison; McIlwaine,
of Petersburg; Tredway, of Pittsyl-
vania. Buchanan. of Washington, and