Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1903-05-19
CHICAGO POLICY MAD
GAMBLING CLIQUE TAKING IN
$50, 900 EVERY DAY.
Most of This Sum, it Is Said, Comes
from the Pockets of the Poor-SchooI
Children Playing Betting on the
Preachers Texts.


Policy playing. which is the kinder
earten of the gambling mania, is draw
ing nearly $4,000 every twenty-four
hours from the pockets Of men. women
and children of Chicago, according TO a
correspondent. Politicians aud officials
who are meaibe-s of the gambling clique
are gathering in harvest of dollars and
political influences are protecting the
game. The city is honeycombed with
policy shops, whose source of mainte-
nance is chiefly among the poorest peo-
pie. There are 1,400 of these gambling
places IN Chicago, controlled by syndi-
cate. So extensive nave become the
operations of the syndicate among the
poor and credulous that it is practically
impossible 10 estimate accurately the
number of dens in which it thrives. The
branch offices are bur the principal cen
ters from which the evil throws out its
tentacies. In each of these shops four
or five different books are operated. as
rule, and if the shop has only one book
1t is sure to have several subsidiary denS
within a radius Of half block which
are dependent upon it Tor forwarding the
bets and distributing the returns.
Along Milwaukee avenue. West Mad
ison street, Ogden avenue. Halsted street,
North Clark street. Clybourn avenue.
South State and Dearborn streets and
Armour avenue the s;.ops are almost
countless. They vary in pretension all
the way from whole floor brick front
to ramshackle coal sheds. back alley
coops, and open air loafers' corners. In
some sections of the city, like the black
belt and the Ghetto, almost every kitchen
is policy shop where women policy
writer's can cali and take bets.
One feature of the situation is the
swarming of the policy shops about
schools and churches. The syndicate in
augurated a campaign among the school
children about three years ago, and since
then the mites of the urchins which would
have been expended for candy have been
poured into the Golfers of the policy
graft. One Inspector made an inves-
tigation which revealed a shocking con-
dition of affairs in his district. He
found that every school building had it's
policy complement of half dozen policy
shops.
As soon as the bell for recess rang the
children were accustomed to troop out
to play the gigs" and saddles" Of the
penny lottery. There were even bark
ers" at the doors Of the shops whose
business it was to attract new patrons
among the pupils.
Boys, old men. working women and
even starving people scrape together
daily pittance to stake last hope on
the cast of the policy die. 1t is nc I'M
frk 70 sr,t
tears at the announcement of the draw
ing, and confess that she went hungry
to save her last nickel for the morning
bet.
How Drawings Are Held.
The drawings of each book" are held
twice day. Seventy eight numbers are.
theoretically, held in a wheel Twelve
are withdrawn for each of the morning
drawings. The most simple form of
gambling at policy is a wager on the
first number drawn. As there are rs
numbers the odds against guessing the
first out should be II to l. Instead of
those odds, so to l is paid Twenty
to one is paid that the number cannot be
guessed which will be first out in either
of the morning drawings. The odds
should be SO to l.
Most familiar of the policy plays is
known as gig" The player attempts
to guess three of the u numbers drawn
in the morning or three of the 13 mum
bers drawn in the afternoon.
With negro players 4-11-44 compose
favorite gig" and when the three num-
bers appear, as they do on an average Of
about once a year, the fact is well adj
vertised. The dead gig" to be played
after the death of a relative or some
noted person, is made up of "9-19-29."
The fire gig" is "6-46-69." The "shoe
gig is 1916" The eating gig is
"2-12-21." The straw hat gig which
is played by all policy players on the
appearance of the first straw hat on the
street, is '1-Sr71."
Strange as it sounds policy has caus
ed the greatest revival Of church going
among Chicago colored folk that has been
witnessed in many years of shouting re-
vivals. In onl of the dream books was
thrown out the hint that especially lucky
tips were all numerical utterances of min
listers in their pulpits. If the pastor an
nounces hymn AZ on page 6S play 426S;
if he breaches from John ill, IL, play
3-17. Soon the negroes were focking
to the churches and securing sacred
tips" enough to last them a whole week
Of policy playing.