The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1903-04-14
Who Had Influenced Councilmen to Vote for
the New Ordinance.
WHICH |NC|TES WIDE OPEN POLICY
Placing Nominal Fine for Gamblmg-The Mayors Veto
Overrdden by Unanimous Woodlands an Instrustve
Moral Lecture tc me "Good Citizens"

To the City Council of the City of
kalispell Gentlemen herewith re-
turn ordinance No. 131, being an ordi-
nance concerning gambling, with my
action indorsed thereon. My objec-
ton to this ordinance is that the
minimum penalty, five dollars, is so
low as to render the entire ordinance
nugatory, SO far as it's purpose to
prevent gambling is concerned With
cut questioning or criticising the mo-
tlves of the council in passing this
ordinance, have no hesitancy in say
ing that it's object and purpose is so
imperfectly yelled that wayfaring
nan, though a fool, may readily
grasp the fact that it is a license
measure parading under false col
Ors. To make it possible for the
police judge to impose a fine as low
as five dollars in a gambling case is,
in effect, to make it possible for the
gambling games to run wide open in
the city in spite of the most deter
mined efforts on the part of the ex-
ecutive department and the police.
fine of five dollars, even if imposed
every day of the year would have the
effect of stopping single gambling
game under the conditions which now
exist in this city, with railroad con-
struction being carried on in the
county and the consequent influx of
floating, and to some extent, ire
In
At this of all times in the history
of the city it is important that the
police be not hampered by ineffective
and inadequate penal ordinances. In
cidental to the construction of the
northern branch of the Great North
ern railroad, it is but fair to assume
a large number Of thugs, strong-arm
men and criminals of different class
es will gather in the most populous
city in the vicinity of such construc-
ton. By reason of these facts the
work of the police will be more than
doubled. adding largely to the ex
rense of maintaining that depart
ment-to say nothing of the addi-
tional menace to life, person and
property by reason Of the influx of
these undesirable classes of people.
Hence. it is important that no step
be taken and no legislation adopted
that will carry with it the impression
that Kalispell is to be a "wide-open
town" in any sense of the word. The
gambling house is, from it's very ma
ture, the logical roundup ground"
of this class of people. In fact as
a rule, it is the penchant for placing
their last dollar on the high card
tfat has made criminals of them,
1t is not the purpose of this mes
sage to discuss the evils of gambling
in the abstract. That topic has long
ceased to be one upon which men of
intelligence could come together and
discuss in good fatn with any SEM
hlance of logic or reason on the side
O the advocate of gambling. The
records of the police courts, the
bankruptcy courts, the divorce
courts, the orphans courts and the
courts of inquest as well as the asy-
lums for the insane, and the prisons
o. the country bear perpetual and
damning testimony against the in
stitution.
But l do take occasion to discuss
the local and to me very anomalous
situation in this city. It is because
OF this situation that | can not see
my way clear to crticise the coun-
Gil for passing this ordinance. l do
not believe that a single member of
this council voted for the ordinance
because he thought that gambling
was a harmless pastime, nor do
think single member voted for the
ordinance at the solicitation of any
man who has been conducting or
who contemplates conducting a gam
bling game.
On the contrary this legislation
vas inspired by class of people
who are most deeply interested in
the welfare and good order of the
city and who should be the last to
encourage any legislative or execu-
tive policy that might possibly afford
pretext or excuse for lawlessness.
refer to tnau class of business men
Who believe that the prosperity of
the town depends upon the so-called
"wide-open policy; who argue that