The San Francisco call., 1895-07-20
"The Calls" Expose of the
Evil Has Stirred the
Authorities.
ATTORNEY DARE'S AMENDMENT
Meanwhile the Five Resorts Ope-
rate Openly and to Crowded
Houses.

uduueQ OI WHICH were recently
exposed in The CALL.
This expose came as great surprise to
most citizens and many of the authori-
ties, who took it for granted that the
operation of the stringent ordinance of
1898, which imposed heavy penalty upon
those who should sell pools on horseraces
or take bets thereon except within the in
closure of racetrack had closed up all
the poolrooms that once fourished to such
disgraceful extent in this City. And it is
true that for several years the law did
prove eficacious. Soon after it's passage
in the spring of 1898 the police made an
arrest. A conviction was secured, and an
appeal, on habeas-corpus proceedings, was
taken to the Supreme Court. 1t was
claimed that the law was unconstitutional
because it was an infringement upon per-
sonal rights and because it did not operate
against all citizens alike, tending to create
a monopoly of the vice to those who
operated within racetrack inclosure.
All these objections had previously been
made to similar ordinances in New York,
Pennsylvania, Illinois and other States,
wherein the municipal legislative bodies of
large cities had enacted similar ordinances
confning the evil of pool-selling to the
racetrack at the time of the race.
And the Supreme Court of California
followed that of Illinois and the other
States in declaring pool-selllng on horse
races an unlawful traffic and affirming the
right of the municipal authorities to pro-
tect the City either by abolishing the evil
entirely or by restricting its practice to
such places as would lessen the vice and
hide it from the public eye to the end that
the young and irresponsible should not
have the temptation ever set before them.
With this decision from the highest
court in the State the poolrooms in this
City were closed, and the booksellers went
TO Oakland. There they fourished for
time until the City Council followed the
example Of the San Francisco Supervisors
and made it an unlawful occupation in
Oakland.
Then both cities were freed from the evil
for year or more, until the first of this year,
when five San Francisco booksellers de-
yised what they considered would be safe
evasion OF the law. They became ostensi-
bly, commission men and messengers and
common carriers of betting money to and
from the racing track.
In reality they became high handed, bra
zen law-breakers. with only the himsiest
kind of pretext to shield them from the
operation of the law. They have estab-
lished fiction to the effect that the money
is given them merely as messengers. There
is not word of truth in this fiction, as
THE CALL has already abundantly proven.
and yet this fiimsy pretext has thus far
operated to screen them from the law. A
number of arrests have been made, but
ony one conviction secured.
II have right to take my friends
money out to the track and place it for
him." say these booksellers. That is their
sole plea.
II know there is not word of truth IN
that plea" said Captain Douglass, in
whose bail;wick four of the five great pool
selling joints are located, "but we have
failed to make the courts and iuries be-
lieve it, and the only way see now is to
amend the law to cover this point"
Sergeant Martin, who has been interested
IN the pool-selling cases in his district,
says that it was proved, in the case against
Harry Corbett, that the pool ticket was
purchased a minute or two before the con-
clusion of the race on which the money
was bet, and yet the jury failed to convict
"Give us one conviction of Corbett and
we'll raid all the places in town and close
them up tight inside of twenty-four
hours" said the Sergeant.
I'VE want an ordinance that will make
it unlawful for one to frequent such re-
sort. That would aid US materially" says
Captain Douglas.
And now, in response to this demand of
the police Prosecuting Attorney, John T.
Dare will frame an amendment to the
ordinance at once and present it to the
Board of Supervisors next Monday after
noon.
''It is a good fight THE CALL is making
against this poolrom evil said Mr.. Dare
yesterday, land since the police declare
themselves powerless to enforce the pres
ent law-though, as / have said, / believe
it would be efficient if the right kind of
evidence were produced-I will not wait
for the end of my vacation, but take hold
at once and try to have the ordinance
amended. Of course, it will rest at last
with the Supervisors. They may or may
not pass the amendment, but if they do
enact the required section then surely
closing up these places at once-that is if
we can get prompt decision from the
Supreme Court.
"Of course, the first poolseller arrested
under the amendment will appeal. There
is hardly any question about that, and
before the City can be entirely rid of the
evil-provided the police proceed only
under the amended form-the Supreme
Court will first have to pass upon the
validity of the law as amended"
Meanwhile these evil resorts continue
to flourish. Poor men and young men,
even boys, crowd into the five resorts and
gamble away all their small earnings or
savings to the enrichment of the following
five firms or individuals:
HARRY E. CORBETT & CO., 80 Ellis
street.
HENRY SCHWARTZ, Pauper alley.
w. L. KENNEDY, 103 Stockton street.
LEVY & CO.. IL Ellis street.
A. B. BROYER, Fourth and Mission
streets.
These five law-breakers are still operat-
ing. They have been operating since the
first of the year, and from all the allega-
~.