Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-07
ISL WIDE-OPEn TOWN
Gambling Hells Permitted in
= Albuquerque.
ACTION BY DEADWOOD
CONCLUDED THAT MORALITY
PAID BErTER THAN VICE.
characteristics Of the Metropolis Of
New Nexico-Enterprise Of the
Commercial Club.
ACTION By DEADWooD
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.

Record-Herald
ALBUQUERQUE, N NJ. July %. 1905.
Albuquerque Is fine town scusin' the
dust. There Is great activity In real estate
after II o'clock every morning. when the
wind comes up and blows across the
mesas. 1t is an aimabie and kindly wind.
cool and refreshing. and a blessing which
cannot be overestimated. But 1t has its
drawbacks. 1t stirs up the top soil and
throws 1t Into your face, eyes and nostrtls.
The dust settles on the membranes of your
throat and makes you very thirsty. / sup
pose that Is one reason why there are so
many saloons In Albuquerque. The most
conspicuous and expensive locations In the
business district seem to be occupied for
that kind of business and by gambling
dens.
r During the past four or five years there
has been remarkable moral reform
throughout the western country, particular
ly in Texas and the northwestern states,
which are getting to be as strict-as plri-
tanical-as some people call 1t, as New Eng
land: but down this way everything re-
mains wide open. and the wages of the
workingmen. the miners, sheepherders. rail-
road hands, clerks and bookkeepers are
lost over the gambling tables instead Of be-
ing deposited in savings banks. The city
officials permit 1t. The most conspicuous
places upon the principal street of Albu-
querque are gambling hells. with big cleo
trio signs and wide-Open doors. and every
body who has penny. young or old, drunk
sober. is allowed to play. There Is no
restriction whatever. A stack Of faro chips
can be purchased at any hour-day or night
as easily as a newspaper or cigar.
A Wide-open Town.
looked in at three or four of the prin-
cipal "hells." They were filled with men Of
all ages and all conditions in life. sitting
b. -.ltl IoS-
coats of, steaming with perspiration and
excitement One would think that the mer-
chants and other business men OF AIbu-
queraue would stop this. because it. de-
prives them of legitimate trade. without
regard to the moral question involved and
the temptation OF dishonest employees. 1t
Is simple business proposition. Most of
the money that Is now lost in those gamb-
ling hells would otherwise be expended for
food and clothing or deposited in the banks.
The keeper Of one Of them, am told. ranks
among the richest men in the town and Is
one Of the largest real estate holders.
This problem has been perplexing other
towns besides Albuquerque, and In Texas
and the northwestern states. as have said.
the people have at last come to the conclu-
sion that wide OPEN towns do not pay.
met a gentleman from Deadwood the
other day who told me that all the gam
bling dens have been shut up, and that
now, after thirty years of unrestricted
play. Deadwood Is closed town. Not even
a slot machine nor one of those automatic
games that you can see In every bar room
and cigar store down here Is allowed. and
the police are watching hotels for private
games of poker.
Action Taken by Deadwood.
For quarter of a century Deadwood has
had the largest and best-conducted public
gambling rooms in the country. 1t has
been a small Monte Carlo. Every game
was wide open, and there were eight or
ten houses patronized by different classes
of people. which paid licenses to the city.
The municipal government was practically
supported by the gamblers and the saloons,
the revenue from these sources being be-
tween $12, and $4,000 year. My friend
tells me that between seventy and eighty
professional gamblers were employed in
these establishments to run the games
and that the combined pay rolls amounted to
between $4,000 and $4,000 month. But
now everything is closed tight up, and 1t
was done by a committee of citizens who
came to the conclusion that gambling was
a bad thing for the town. For long time
the contrary opinion prevailed. 1t was
believed to be a good thing to have the
gambling houses OPEN People thought it
made things lively and attracted money
they tell you in Albuquerque. You hear
the same tale in every other wide open
town. At Muskogee l. T.. several people
asserted that the prohibition regulations
were killing that city. The people of
Deadwood, however. came to different
conclusion, and now the merchants eXpec..
that much of the money which has gone
over the gambling tables will so over their
counters instead.
Many of the people of Albuquerque
Go not like the name of their town. 1t il
awkward and foreign, and they often set
letters from people in the east which show
an amazing amount OF ignorance and wound
their vanity. Men of intelligence and I'd
ucation write to the banks, newsp apes aid
officials out here. inquiring what language
is spoken in Albuquerque and what kind OF
money Is used; what customs dues are
charged and whether the laws are sufficient
for the safety of life and property. The
inhabitants would like to change the name
of the territory. too. That Is one of the
greatest inducements for joint statehood
with Arizona. Then everybody would know
that this is a part Of America. and Albu-
uuerque would not object to having the cap
itatl Of the new state located here. 1t Is
already the metropolis of New Mexico. and
probably has a larger population than any
other city in the two territories.
City Of Albuquerque.
According to the census of 1900 there were
only 6326 here at that time; but 1t Is
claimed that the enumeration was imper-
feet; that Incompetent men were employed
to do the counting, and that at least one
third of the population was missed. There
are two towns-old Albuquerque (Which
dates back to the time of the Spanish
cupation, and Is entirely mexican. with the
exception of a few saloonkeepers and la
borers) has about 1000 persons New AL
buquerQue Is an entirely modern and up
to-date town. The business blocks and res
licences are fine can be found in any
city of its size in the world. and it has all
of the novelties and improvements. The
population, according to the school census
is now about 12,000-all Americans except
few rich Mexicans and the usual proper
ton of laborers and domestic servants. The
secretary of the chamber of commerce es-
timated the present population of the two
cities at about 1900.
Albuquerque spreads out over a good deal
OF ground, but you can get about easily by
means Of trolley cars. There Is neat,
modern school house in every ward and one
of the most artistic high school buildings
in the country. While 1t is not pious
town by any means, there are twelve
churches Of which the most imposing is a
Jewish synagogue. The Jewish community
is unusually large and rich and controls the
dc no fo