The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-17
S TURNED TO COUNCIL.
,,o., WHO THINK 1T COULD SUP
svrss THE GAMBLING EVIL.

4 ,,.cistratc's views on the Subject.
,,,,. Vnvor and Aldermen Granted
nil Right and Power to Abate
a ,.,isonces That Tend TO Corrupt
mr. Debase the Public MOraIs-The
n ,,cistrate Believes That If Blame
20 ne Melted Out, 1t should Not
II no confined solely to the Courts.
n ,o rxnInins How Council Could
II Proceed.
Il ,r,a silence Of the City Council on the
II ,ise, of gambling has attracted the
III ...,tfon Of number of people, who do
. ~ believe that all the blame for the fail
. 80 10 stamp out this acknowledged and
"a .,,,s+ omnipresent evil should be as
Fl rIad 10 the courts and their officers. II
II ,,ouebt by many that the city gov
II rrrept should take its share of what
II 80. inflammation is caused by long en-
|7rrapee of the presence of the vice.
Ii festiee of the peace said that 1t is
/ ,nnIy within the power of Council to act
as,rively in suppresslng the evil, and
Il ,r there is no reason why it should
~ L N-A+A-@NN 49,
L hat the city could proceed against the
Rambling houses and policy lotteries, with
Ii heir agencies, on the ground that they
+. r, uuisances, tending to corrupt or de-
h. The manners or morals of the peo-
-. He called attention, in this connec-
|,ion to Section SO of MacDonelrs Code
of savannah. which is as follows:
II THE said Mayor and aldermen shall
|4bave power, by ordinance, resolution or
Horde of Council, to cause to be abated
3vjrhfn the jurisdictional limits of said
8ctv which jurisdictional limits shall ex-
'&tend one mile beyond the present corpor-
Itate limits, or any future extension of the
Hsame. any nuisance which may tend great
|4ly to corrupt the manners or morals Of
1.-The people, or any considerable part there
5of whether the nuisance be such a COM
sm5n law, or by statute Of this state or
bv ordinance of said city passed in con-
formity with law, and TO enforce the or
der for the abatement and removal OF
such nuisance by the marshal and other
civil force of said city; and to compel
payment of the costs and expenses OF
Il such abatement, or removal, by the per-
Il son or persons responsible for the exist
ence of the nuisance, or owning or con~
trolling the property adjudged to be a
nuisance, by means OF execution, for the
same or otherwise, as the said Mayor and
+ aldermen shall ordain." The rest of the
section has reference to the establishment
of quarantine or sanitary regulations.
n My attention was called to this mat
ter % said the magistrate, after the section
had been read by another magistrate, who
called upon me to act with him in abet-
n ing this very nuisance. A grocer in Yam
"A acraw, whose place of business was sur
"A rounded by the branch offices of policy
lotteries, had complained to him of this
state of affairs and had besought him to
devise some scheme by which the evil
could be remedied.
The grocer said that the people living
m the neighborhood, white and black,
had gone half wild on the subject Of pol
ley and that it had become a mania. He
odd that even the little children would
pass his store with dimes and nickels
lutched in their tiny fingers for the pur-
chase of policy tickets and that almost
everybody was a player. The practice
had demoralized the community and in
terfered with his business, the money
that should have been devoted to the pay
ment of accounts due him and other
radesmen was diverted to the pockets OF
the gamblers. The existence of the policy
doris, had attracted other undesirable and
dsorderly characters, and he had waXed
weary OF the whole outfit. He wanted il
~ Stopped, so far as he and his neighbor-
hood were concerned, at least.
The other magistrate thought that any
NJ two of US, sitting together, had power
FL under the general law of the state tc
n aoate a nuisance and proposed proceed
81 ins in this manner. Upon investigation
called his attention to the fact thai
81 this power was, by special act, confded
q 10 the City Council and that in my opin
lon it did not longer reside in the magis
"a rates. He finally agreed that this was
r the course that ought to be pursued, anC
advised the grocer to make application
to Council 1 don't know whether he die
it or not.
n However, ii seems plain to me that thi:
the course that ought TO be followed
Inc Mayor and aldermen are, or ought K
he, the conservators of the public peace
aud morality. This is a subject to which
hey could well afford to turn their atten
4 ton, and they have the legal power an,
a light to deal with it effectively. Whethe
lie proprietors of these places could b.
u punished under this procedure o rnot, tn
gambling rooms could be ban,shed from
tae city. Others could not be started with
out the knowledge of the police, and can
rot imagine a more effective method o
suppressing the evil"
Inc magistrate said that the grocer witt
hid been alluded to swore out warrant
against the writer's of policy lotteries il
lamacraw and that a number of them ha'
oeen arrested. They had given bond an
NE warrants and bonds turned over t.
me City Court This was some two o
'aIee months ago. 1t is learned, on goo
. authority, that only a few weeks ag
n Judge Nathans issued warrants agains
n number of The policy writers and tina
tnese also were turned over to the CIT
Court
mere may yet be some very importan
4 'uhng on the subject of the power of tn
a courts 10 give an alternative sentence il
H mlsdemeanor case. Mr.. j. r. Saussy
\ Dr., in speaking of the matter quotes III
code 20 the effect that in inhieting tn
sentence the court Is restricted to one o
more OF three classes of punishment. !
4 Vdn impose a fine, or IL can sentence t
jan OF TO the chain-gang, any one o
more of these. The law does not give tn
court the right to make the sentence /
'he alternative. The direct question ha
not been before our Supreme Court Their
EE