Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1901-01-10
REGULATION OF GAMBLING.

deal. They naturally desire to know
whether theyare to be rated as criminals.
and then allowed to do business after
committing the additional crime of COR
rupting some of the officials whose duty
it is to suppress gambling. or whe ether
their occupa ton is to be licensed with
certain restrictions. as it was some
years ago, SO they will feel encouraged
to run what they call square" games
and pay a regular amount into the
public treasures. They concede that
gambling is vice and can not be de-
Tended on any moral ground. and the
more intelligent of them do not try to
defend it: but they are right in contend
ing that there are degrees of vice, and
that the public interest is subserved by
its restriction, regulation and taxation
better than by its secret encouragement
through a demoralizng and dsgraceful
practical side of the gambling question
in all the large cities of Montana. From
a moral point of view to license gam
bling is to indorse gambling. 1t is the
taxation of vice. and, being such, is a
con tamina ton. a mockery a reproac h
to civilization Vet if it is not licensed it
tlourshes like a green bay tree and be-
comes infinitely worse in it's character
and effect. as all sorts of skin games
are operated in addition to the COM
paratively aristocratic. and respectable
faro These skin games are always
inhibited under a license law.
Information comes from Helena tina.
bill is to be introduced repeating the
present statute. which makes gambling
a felony. and under which no convic-
tfon has been recorded, and substi.
tuting a law licensing certain games
called square and inhibiting others
classically known skin" under mod
ever is greeted by an uproar of indig-
nant protest from certain church circles
in the capital, more remarkable for the
purity of their motives than the consis-
tency of their attitude. I'VE must no,
license vice" say these excellent citi-
zens. They are right Vice should not
be licensed. Yet is it not better to
license and restrict it than to declare
it felony and then allow it to flourish
and increase and to encourage "skin'
games and the corruption of officials all
over the state, thus supporting greatly
Increased criminal element and doubling
the expense of the courts without rails
ing a dollar TO liqudate them? That is
a question for the legislature to solve.
and which naturally presents itself
when objection is raised to license on
high moral grounds.
With entire respect to the moral sem
timent which opposes the license propo-
sition and insists on retaining the law
when makes gambling a felony, we
would ash what encouragement the
supporters of that law have volunteered
towards its enforcement, say in Helena.
where it IS VIGOROUSLY violated, where
the officials have made no effort to en-
force it, and yet where every church
member any hour of the day or night
could visit a gaming house. obtain his
evidence and swear to a complaint? 1t
is, true that the law charges certain
city or county officers with the duty OF
enforcing its provisions, but when. for
any reason, they neglect to do So it is
within the power of any citizen to begin
action. No one having volunteered to
assume this great moral responsibility
the knights of the green cloth are left
in a condition of extraordinary uncer-
tainty as to whether this legislative as
semby proposes to make them felons,
with long terms in Jail as the certain
result of possible conviction or honor
able BUSINESS men, with special protec-
ton of the law, and entitled to every re-
spect as liberal and patriotic contribu-
tors to the states revenues!
AS the Inter Mountain is published in
place where there is said to be no
gambling whenever the town is on fire
and which is conceded to be the moral
and religious center of Montana, and
as we are far enough from Helena.
which is a center of vice and corrup-
ton, to take dispassionate view of the
situation over there, it may he in order
to offer a suggestion on the subject of
gambling. If the legislature honestly