The evening world., 1904-05-10
Dlstfct-Attorney Will Amaze
Racing Circles When He Is
Ready to Use His Power Un-
der Gambling Witness Bill.
CAN SUBPOENA DIRECTORS
OF THE WESTERN UNION.
Under Pentaity of Contempt Of
/. Court They Cannot Escape
I Answering Questions Concern
| ing Contracts with PooIrooms

Anticipating the signing OF his gam
hing witness bill by dow. Odell. Dis
rict-Atorney Jerome has for the past
wo weeks been quietly working along
ines that will. when made public. Gre
ate the biggest kind of a surprise IN
racing circles.
Under the provisions OF the new law
he Observation-Disclosures powers TO in
Arrogate witnesses regarding sam
bling. will be unlimited. He can sum
non the proprietor OF a resort. inquire
nto his cliertele and then call the per-
IONS he names as customers n ques.
ton them concerning their play and
the source of tehlr income used In
gambling.
The Distrct-Attorney can subpoena
the directors of the Western Union Tel
egraph Company, place them on the
inquisitorial rack and. II they refuse
to answer. can have them punished for
contempt of court. They cannot es-
cape answering questions gy hiding be-
hind the old law, mad, use sf formerly,
BY refusing to answer for fear 1t might
degrade or incriminate them.'
High Privilege, Big Profits.
IT Is along this particular line the
District-Attorney u his aides have
been working quietly during the past
fortnight. Information has reached the
.)lstrlot-Attorney of just how much BEN
eflt these directors have realized from
The ''racing' department of their big
corporation. He knows that the West
ern Union Telegraph Company pays
sach track Sl.GO each racing day for
che exclusive privilege of sending out
the results over their wires and tho
question he will ask is this:
the Western Union COMPANY ran
anord TO pay this enormous price for
the new what PROFIT do they make
from their speculation?
IN order to hae this question an
swered the District-Attorney can under
me new law subpoena the books of the
western Union Telegraph Company and
the officers and directors OF each rnce
track and members of the Jockey Club,
II Is asserted that this is what Mr,
jerome really intends to do. In order
70 ger at the fountain head Of the pool
room supply he will inquire into the
contracts the Western Union Telegraph
company has with each track and how
Iar each contract goes In allowing the
aissemina tion OF the news.
Dlstriut-Attorney jerome knows that
a certain few men control the output Of
city. '
Have Ironclad Agreements.
These men have ironclad agreements
with the Western Union Telegraph Com
pany land by arrangement dispense the
news either b.. leased telegraph or tele-
ohone wires TO the pool rooms. Ac-
cordinE to the information now In the
possessff1 of the District Attorneys Of
nee there are very few pool-rooms in
town. less fhan n dozen. that have
wires leading direct from the Western
Union building.
h~alf-dozen pool-room-keepers have
instruments In their places. but the
wires are supplied by one or two men,
nut In each case the Western Union
furnishes the operator. the
getting 81 a day for each operator fur
All these facts, as has been said, are
IN the possession Of the District Attor-
ney. and his aides and will be worked
up Into a big sensation.
II Ia probable that before the Dis
trict-Attorney Is finished with this par
noular investigation, a special Grand
Jury will be empanelled to hear tho
evidence and determine who is the real
John Doe of pool-room management.