The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-02-16
THEY DON'T CARE A SNAP
Gamblers Would MOI Kick If the Bill
Did Pass.
THERE'S NO MONEY IN 1T
Public Sentiment Has Been Gradu-
ally Killing the Business for
Years at Any Rate and This
Is Only a Case of Hurry.

BUTTE, Feb. l5.-News of the sudden,
and very unexpected action of the state
senate, i'll passing bill prohibiting faro
gambling caused no small amount of
comment in town to-day. There has been
gambling in Butte ever since Tom Porter
and Enos Sheldon used the top of the big
Butte for a table and played poker for the
future city of Butte. What the city would
be- without gambling no ono can tell, for
IT is an untried experiment. Some pre-
dict most dire consequences, others say it
will make no difference to the town either
way, while others say the stopping of
gambling will be a boon. There is diff
ference of opinion just as there is in Butte
over everything that comes up, even over
matters of the most vital Importance to
the city itself.
The proposition to move gambling of
all kinds up stairs had been acquiesced in
by the gambling fraternity of this city.
No objection was made to that PROPOSE
ton. The gamblers were willing to move
up stairs, and the only parties to whom
such change would make any particular
difference would be the buns and check
thieves, who, in case the bill passed.
would be thrown down n whole flight of
stairs instead of reaching the street on a
level This change was rather expected,
bat few, if any, anticipated SO radical n
change the stopping of all gambling.
This is supposed to include the society la
dies of Butte who may choose to play high
five or whist for prizes.
Sudden andtunexpected rs the passage
of the bill by the senate is, and great as
The general talk around, the gamblers of
Butte profess to take very little interest
III the matter and declare that none of
them will go over to Helena to make a
~ m "a Inyr 4 ha hnn mir
OH the streets of Butte to-day that the ac-
ton of the legislature, thus far. is only in
the nature of a threat and some of the
members of the legislature want Ito be
influenced" If there is anything in this
report at all il may be doubted inasmuch
MS no names are given Herewith. At any
rate the gamblers of Butte declare en-
pnatically that they will not spend a cent
to save the bill.
George Kimball, one of the propretors
of the Combination, said this evening:
There is no money in faro any more and
there has been no money for three or four
years. We always do we'll in coming out
even. Our expenses are $3.50 per day, and
the profits of gambling have to keep
fair to pay that amount of expense every
day.
Gambling is on the decline in Montana
and without legislation it would only be
short time, at the present rate of decline,
when it would die a natural death. In
houses, and now there is only one, and
am not sure that is running at present.
AT Bozeman there used to be three or four
faro resorts, and now there are none. In
Dillon there were three or four, and now
there are none.
I'm all these places faro died natural
death. With all the games there used to
be in Butte, there are only three houses
running now, the Combination, the Ava
Ion and the board of trade. These do
business used to be. The Combination
alone pays $1,000 taxes each year, and all
we can do is to meet our taxes of 5000
and our expenses of $3.50 per day. We
are scarcely doing that, and we expect
faro to gradually die IN Butte, as it has in
several other cities in Montana. If the
Legislature wants to cut us off little
sooner | don't believe there is a gambler
that will make any big kick. For my part
/ would not give a five-cent beer to pre-
vent the bill from passing the house."
Mayor Dugan, when seen by STAND
ARD reporter this afternoon, did not think
that the bill prohibiting gambling is a
good thing. 1t could be enforced in n
good many parts of Montana, but he did
not believe 1t could be fully enforced, as
yet, in Butte. Faro would be played on
the quiet. the result would be more vic
Tins by cheating, and the city's detective
force would have TO be largely increased
10 try to keep the secret gambling places
at present conducted, openly. cause
tho police very little trouble. The mo-
meut gambling is abolished the detective
force would have TO he increased if the
law is to be enforced, and there is no use
passing il unless it is TO be enforced. The
taxpayers of Butte would find the
cost of running the police force in
creased and would also find it
necessary TO get along without the license
the gambling houses pay. People who
play faro are, in nearly all cases, men
who paw no taxes, and in most cases are
unmarried men. In playing faro they in |
directly pay taxes. With the passage of |
the proposed bill, the mayor said, this |
share of taxation would be showed on the |
taxpayers who already pay more than
their share, and at the same time gamb- |
Ing could not be entirely stopped. AS in |
all cities it would be conducted on the |
quiet. if not openly. He favored moving |
the gambling rooms to second stories,
where they would still be open to the pub |
lie and official scrutiny, and yet not be so |
near the street as TO entice men to gamble |
who would not think of doing SO but for |
the proximity of the faro tables to the |
streets.
butte from the gambling houses from |
May, 1892. to May, 1893, was 1921 40. |
From May. 1898. to May, 1894, it was |
S9.7s9 40. The falling off in receipts was |
due TO the closing up of one or two gam |
Cling houses and the diminishing of the |
num9cr of tables in those still running. |
This year the revenue from this source |
will be little more reduced, as the num- |
her of gambling houses has now been re-
duced TO three.
In addition to the city licenses the gam
bling houses pay a license to the state
and the revenue from faro is greater than
from any other source except saloons.