The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-11
.RANCH{R LOST HIS WAO
The CRATER Made a Haul of
About $500.
GAMBLING is GOING ON
The New County officers Have a Big
Work on Their Hands-There Is
No Excuse for Them to Neglect
Their Sworn Duty.

committed by one of the most notori-
Gus grafters in the state. Last Satuc-
day a prominent rancher from Flint
Creek valley came to town with large
roll of bills-he claimed about $500.
After a few social drinks with some
friends he fell in with the CRATER, who
makes it her business to hang around
the gambling houses watching for easy
game. About II O'Clock the sheriff
was notified by the victim that he had
been robbed and that his whole wad
was gone. The woman was immedi-
ed wallet containing about S75 which
she claims was found in her house aft
err the rancher had left and that the
SIS was all it contained when found.
Her defense to the action which is
brought against her. so it is stated by
her friends and who will undoubtedly
swear to it. is that the rancher played
against a faro bank and lost his mon
ey before he fell in with her.
Whether such is the case or
not, this will bring to the at
tention of the officers a fact of
which every one but they are aware
of, and that is that gambling is going
on in the city. All public officers at
one time. or another find themselves
face to face with a condition of affairs
which, try as they WILL like Banquo's
ghost, will not down. And this is The
case, no matter how important Or in
significant, when measured by a COM
parative scale according to importance
or salary. the office may be. The aew
set of officers upon whom falls the
ministerial duties of Granite county
seem to be more unfortunate in this
respect than generally falls to the lot
of officers. That the outgoing officers
also tolerated it. if they did so, is of
course no defense for the new. The
fact is that gambling is now going on
in the city and going on so openly that
there can be no excuse for any one
interested enough to inquire, not to
know it. The stock arguments that
gambling is permitted in Butte and
other large cities, then why not here"
If you do not permit it here, those
who will gamble anyway, and there
are plenty of such, will go to such
larger cities and thus take much mon
ey out of local circulation" is not a
defense or even an excuse for those
officers, for they are sworn to enforce
the laws and not to sit in judgment
on them and give their opinion as to
whether they are good laws or bad.
There is no question that many of our
citizens. and many of this number are
good citizens too, are in favor of per-
hitting gambling, but it is more than
questionable whether those favoring
gambling are a majority or even a
minority of respectful numbers of the
| community, and whether they are or
not is not for the officers to decide. If
it is an inheritance to these officers
| from the last administration, the
| quicker they go to work and get rid
of it the more apt are people to be
lieve that they will make better Off
GERS than the others, as was persist
emily claimed for them in
ante-election arguments. Or il
| they believe that another cleo
ton is so far off and that there
will be plenty of time to square them
selves with the voters, they are apt
to find it a plant easily rooted at at its
early stages, but after it has vegetat-
ed some time ito have sent it's roots sc
strongly in so many directions tina,
even the most drastic measures Wi
not avail. And though they might de-
lude themselves with the hope that
something might turn up to relieve
| them of the unpleasant duty of putting
themselves on record, such as that the
| legislature might repeal the present
laws and license gambling on the sec
ond floor, they will with very little eff
fort find plenty of people who are OBJ
jecting most strenuously to the gam
blers bOldness and to the persistency
with which the law is evaded.
There are some people in thu
city so unreasonable as to scot
at the ordinance passed SOM
time ago by the city coun
Gil in its wisdom and thriftiness where
by gambling is made a misdemeano
if carried on within the city limits am
punishable by a fine of from $40 t
SIS, and under which it virtually Ii
censes the practice by having the chic
of police collect a fine from ever
house in which gambling is allowed
1t might be presumed that section /
of senate bill No. so had some bearin
on the case. The provisions of tina
section are as follows: Every stat,
county, city, town or township office
or other person who shall ask for, re
ceive or collect any money or othe
valuable consideration, either for bi
own or for the public use, for and wit
the understanding that he aid, exemr
or otherwise assist any person froI
arrest or conviction for a violation c
section l of this act, or who shall il
sue, deliver or cause to be deliVere
or given to any person or persons an
license, permit or other privilege civ
ing or pretending to give any author
ity or right to any person or person
to carry on, conduct, open or caus
: to be opened, any game or game
| which are forbidden by section l {
: this act and such officer or officer
who shall vote for the passage of an
: ordinance or bylaw giving, grantin
, or pretending to give or grant to ar
person or persons any authority {
2 | privilege to open, carry on, condut
Y any game or games prohibited by sal
. section l of this act, is guilty of
, felony" While not objecting to Il
S gambling itself, for many people al
inclined to look upon that as il!
l tax on suckers. they do neverthele:
object to the stamp of people it brint
: to town and who live off of it. Whetl
er the defense the woman will set L
. is true or not in this particular cas-
K has no bearing on the fact that
e gambling was not tolerated in Il
= town people of her ilk would not
e here and such things would not hd1
S pen. There is no doubt that the graf
I'll In vic -