The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-09-11

where the parties are held to bail waiting
| the acton of the Grand Jury, they are
of the ordinary character and need no
special attention from the Court
'One of the greatest difficulties under
which we labor is in the direction of that
which we commonly speak of as vices,
but which are made by the legislature, in
| many cases, crimial, and that class of
offences against the law needs great at
tention by the Grand Jury. fragrant
offences where persons are directly in
| terested, friends and others, where they
have been robbed or injured are apt to be
| attended to and they see to it that the
| law is enforced. but in these offences
| against the law which do not affect in
| dividuals, but the community at large
| there is more apt to be laxity unless the
| Grand Jury observes it's oath and does it's
duty and the matter becomes after
| while a very serious evil 1t is particu-
larly so in this county resulting from our
nearness to the great city of New York
and the overflow which comes here. When
in New York City they determine to
| suppress an evil, and do SO, then the
wrongdoers come across the river and try
to carry on the practices here which are
permitted for a moment. For example,
| have observed, and al lof you have 1
think, since the repeal in New York of
| a statute that permitted prize fighting
| those interested in that matter are con-
| templating coming across The river. Well.
| it is just as illegal here, and the law is
| very stringent. and 1 will read it to you
| that they may know the courts will not
/ <t,o+ H. 4,
| Illegal in our neighboring city. Section Al
| of the Crimes Act provides that ANY per-
| son who shall be engaged in any fight
| or combat, with fists, with or without
| gloves, whether such fight or combat be
| for money or any other valuable thing.
or for any benefit for any other person,
| or merely to test the skill OF bodily
powers of the pugilists or combatants
and every person who shall aid, assist or
abet in any such fight or combat; or any
person who shall be present at any such
| fight or combat, whether coming from a
| foreign State or not, for the purpose of
witnessing the same. shall be guilty of a
misdenleanor.' No language could be
more explicit
| The principal offences that we have to
| deal with have been in connection with
that inveterate passion of human kind
| gambling, in some of its various forms
The business of policy lottery. SO called.
| is expressly condemned in a distinct sec
ton of the Crimes Act, and has fiourished
| here in the past. 1t has been suppressed.
but now and then crops up again, and
| needs constant vigilance It is more com
| mon in outlying portions of the county.
| where the police administration is lax. in
efficient, or worse, and it should be
stopped. 1t affects the class that needs
our protection most. Nearly every man
on this Grand Jury has known, as we all
| have known, some good mechanic who
| has never been able to get ahead in the
world and to take good care of his family.
and who in his old age has nothing be-
| cause he has been a victim of this vice
1t has peculiar temptations for people
who are the least able to stand the loss.
and any community that tolerates it is
reprehensible. 1t all rests, of course with
the Grand Jury
| There Is fashion in vice as in any,
thing else, and one of the latest fashions
| is a mechandieal design, an invention of
modern times, commonly spoken of as a
| slot machine, a machine adapted to
gambling, on which you place money on a
| certain color and expect to win but of
course in the long run it is loss to the
entire body of people who meddle with it.
| One who has in his house or place of bust
ness these machines where people COM
monty ply for money is able to divide very
handsome profits with the owners of the
| machine, and generally those who lose
| their money are those prone to spend too
much of their hard earned wages in con-
VITALITY for these machines are generally
placed in saloons, or other public houses
| to the pecuniary advantage of the proprie-
| tor. Now the law has made 1t the duty
of the public prosecutor to seize and de-
stroy these machines If he can find them,
and the prosecutor informs me that he
found on storage large number of these
machines in certain part of the county
and has seized them. This shows that
there was a concerted plan to use them.
Others are in use. The mere having one
of these machines is not the offense. but
| the continued use of them makes the
place in which they are used,
what is called in law q COM
mon gambling house. or dis
Iorderly house and that ds the form of in
dictment that You should find. One who
keeps in his place one Of these machines.
and u Is commonly used there for
gambling purposess y the keeper Of = dis