Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-02-28

the baker, the grocer and all lines of
legitimate business would feel the in
f1uence of 1t. You cannot both eat
your cherry and have it. You cannot
blow in your weeks wages in these
vile places and have it to pay bills
with or to make further purchases.
Nothing could be palmer than that.
If these vampires that are sucking
the life-blood out of our city would
be removed there would not be a dollar
less spent, but there is good reason to
think there would be very many dol
lars more
One Specific Case.
Let me illustrate the case by a spe-
cific incident, given me by a reliable
party which may be taken as repre-
sentative of its class. A railroad man
earning good wages, ran bill with his
grocer, as many honest laboring men
do. The time came for him to draw
shis months pay and he went to that
grocer and paid small amount Of
that bill The rest he stood off for q
month.
When the next month rolled around
he did not show up at all and was sent
for by the merchant who was carrying
his family. He confessed that the small
payment he made him on that bill was
the only payment he made to any
thing that month. He went to a
gambling house and lost the rest. Next
month he thought perhaps his luck
would turn and he went and played
again, losing all his months earnings
second time. meantime the grocer
had been carrying his family and his
other bills stood unpaid. OF course,
the grocer was compelled to refuse
him further credit and the matter had
to go to the account of profit and
loss. Did that transaction help the
man very much in legitimate business.
Now this thing is going on all the
time. The great bulk of the money
thus expended comes from men who
can i'll afford it and as a consequence
their families are compelled to go with
out the absolute necessaries of life,
much to their discomfort and to the
injury Of trade.
|, Let me give you another case. A
young man earning small wages went
1 W d sSlolulCI VI IllC Slty lnh pouEtI ~
suit of clothes, paying on a twenty
dollar suit five dollars. He was a prom
Using young man and the merchant had
confidence in him. He was dismayed
shortly after to find he was gambler
and was carousing around in a reckless
way. He simply went to him and de-
manded his clothes back. He got
them, but the landladY would not per-
NIT them to leave the house till she
had her room rent. SO the merchant
had to go down in his pocket for five
dollars to pay the rent and got the
clothes which he afterwards sold for
ten dollars.
If that was solitary transaction it
might be overlooked but it is COM
mon occurrence. Let us trace the
course Of a young man as he follows
such a line of action. He comes up
to the end of the first week and has
another five dollars to pay on
that suit of clothes, But he says
to himself that is trifle, perhaps
may have good luck and win enough to
pay the entire amount. So he goes tc
4 to gambling house and tries his luck
Probably he loses. The chances are
very heavy against, him at least. If he
does he becomes discourages and de
pressed. But perhaps he does worse
he wins. He is flushed with the sue
cess and pockets his money. He is
urged by some watchful minion of thu
house to play again, this is his
lucky night, and fortune has turned
] toward him 1t may be he does, ant
loses all. 1t may be he does not, he
! is flushed with his success and re
solves to stop then and there.
Seeing he cannot entice him to play
further the friend who is never fal
away at these times, suggests they gt
out and spent part of it at a worse
resort, and the probabilities are before
/ the night is over the young man hal
dropped the entire amount in another
place of debauch. By this time he i.
! thoroughly Disguised and downcast
and instead of thinking of paying fol
j that suit. he wears it as long as hi
some cheap outfit to cover his shah
biness, but in all the transaction, tn,
merchant has been the loser.
What Becomes Of This Money?
Now what becomes of this money
Oh. we are told it is spent in OF
tumwa. These gamblers spend freely
Do they? That is not the testimony o
those in position to know. Thes
men go off to Hot Springs or SOM
other big resort and act themselves a
the dupes of still sharper men an,
blow this money in and mighty littl
of it comes into the hands of tn
business of Ottumwa.
When we stop to think of tn
amount of money that its thus ak
sorbed from the legitimate channels 0
trade it is startling. For instance, thi
is the gossip you hear on the street
Aman only few short years ago wa
working for big corporation in thi
city on ordinary wages. Since he ha
! entered the gambling business. 1t i
reported that when furry was felt i
bank in our city that he drew GU
$4,000. and rumor says that is onl
, small portion of his wealth. Indee
it is the establishment of many, see
ing the fearful drafts that have bee