The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-08-29
FINES PAID BY GAMBLERS.
THEY ARE HIGHER NOW THAN FOR
TWENTY YEARS.

port This statement. Maue Dy an
officer of the COurt-WhiIe the
Heaviest Fines Imposed by Judge
TOmpLins Averaged Only About
$500 and Those Imposed by Judge
Adams About 1919, Those Judge
FaIIigant Has Inflicted Average an
Even 81 ,GOO-How the system Orig
mated and Grew.
An officer of the Superior Court has late
ly been running through the records in
regard to fines imposed upon gamblers for
the past twenty years, during the periods
W hen Judge Tompkns, Judge Adamas and
Judge Fanigant have successfully occu-
pied the bench.
As a result of these Investigations he
finds that the fines imposed
upon these vioIators of the
law have been much greater dur
! ing Judge Fallgants terms of office than
at any prior time during The period nam
ed, and that in the majority of instances
they have exceeded those imposed by his
| predecessors by 100 per cent Judge Falli-
CANT has sentenced principals, convicted
OF the offense of being concerned in the
of $1,000 or serve twelve months on the
! ohain-gang and this sentence has been va
| ried in but very few instances
| The truth ana force of the statement
may be better understood by comparison
/ Of figures. Taking the eleven highest fines
| imposed by Judge Tompkns for this Of
| Tense during his terms upon the bench
| and adding their amounts together. the
result is $3.50; a similar procedure in re-
! gard to the fines imposed by Judge Adj
ans, taking the same number will show
! that they amounted to $i150; eleven of
| the highest fines imposed by Judge Falli-
| CANT show, when added together, total
| of $1,000
It is contended by the court officer re-
! ferred TO that this shows that the punish
| ment for keeping gaming houses in Sayan-
! nan has steadily increased with the acces.
| sions of The respective judges who have
occupied the bench within the last quarter
| of a century. 1t is a further fact that
| prior to that time they were rarely fined
al all or punished in any other manner.
! and that they pursued their illegal calling
| in peace and quiet and without bringing
| down upon themselves the worth of the
law and the punishment of the courts
Nor can it be said that in the cases of
the gamblers brought before Judge Fall
= 4
ing circumstance of a first offense That
they were even then old Offenders is PROV
| ed by the regularity with which they were
| brought before the court but the largest
| fine ever imposed by Judge Tompl5ins for
this offense was $500 and the largest i'm
posed by Judge Adams was $500 Their
fines ranged from 800 10 the amounts
named.
In looking over the records of the court,
the reader is struck by the appearance of
many familiar names whose owners are
| shown to have been fined with more or
less frequency by Judge Adams, and who
even now bob up occasionally in the Sill
peror and City Courts. But even in the
long ago these We're old offenders, nor can
it be reasonably thought that few years
more gambling. or the imposition Of a few
more fines, could have rendered them
more incorrigible than they were in these
earlier days.
According to the officer of the court al
ready quoted, the custom of filming gam
blers began with the repeal of the law by
which the insolvent costs of the officers
of the court were paid by the county and
under VIII ch all fines ana forfeitures went
into the county treasury. Under that sys-
tenn he said the gamblers were rarely
molested and in the few instances wheS
they were indicted tried and found guilty
got off with Very light punishments.
Since the enac ment Of the present law
only small proportion of the insolVentS
| costs of the court officers are paid by The
county, and they are compelled to look tC
the fines and forfeitures for the balance
Without The fines imposed upon the gam
b7ers, these officials would be compelled
TO do much work for which they would
receive no remuneration and the inso1ven
costs account would be indebted to then
yearly in an amount ranging from $200G
to $4,000, aud in some cases even exceed
ing the latter sum. 1t is somewhat on th'
, principle that the laborer is worthy O
his hire" that the filming of gamblers hal
grown into favor ard been continued as {
custom. It is undoubtedly true that unde
Judge Faliisant the fines imposed have
been heavier, and the alternative terms o
Imprisonment longer than had previously
been the case.
Even as the matter now stands the cour
officers are never paid their insolven
costs bills IN full, and the county is nov
and has been indebted TO every one o
them in a very large amount. II woul(
] seem that when the law allows these cost
TO them they should be paid in some man
, ner.
The arguments and statements of fact
given above are those of the officer, VIII
looked up the Information and explainet
! its meaning They convey his conception
! of what ought TO be thought about tn
matter, and are intended to combat enc
refute the idea that gamblers are at pres
! ent let off with the same or tighter pun
ishments than those inflicted in the past
His Investigations and conclusions there
from certainly show that the contrary Il
the case, nor, as has been stated Is th
force OF this diminished by the fact tina
those fined are appreciably older offender
, than they were when other judges occu
pied the bench and dispensed justice, TEN
, pered with mercy.
Indeed, with two or three exceptions tn
oil nfn -.f s1f
, have sought green fields and pasture
new and disappeared from the scenes o
their former triumphs. Some of then
have turned from their evil ways and nov
pursue the straight and narrow path tina
> leads to Righteousness, their old place
. around the green table being taken b,
younger but not better, men.
He LauguiShcs behind Prison Bars
Very recently poor misguided boy from
Southwest Georgia attempted TO pass .
Isl D