The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-04-08
THlRbHSEcr1oN.
FRISCO'S JEROME AT WORK.
EHE NEW DISTRICT ATTORNEY
STARTS OUT RAIDING.
N. II. LanEdon Attacks the Twin Vices OF
San FranclsoO-s 900 Saloons I'm the
City, Many Of Them Open All Night
Gambling Made Easy for Everybody,


SAN FRANCISCO, April 2.-San Francisco
has for several years been a wide open
own. Especially has gambling been car
rted on in an open, unblushing way that
resembles the methods Of a small border
TO N, only one remove from semi-bar-
harism. Now appears upon the scene
the now District Attorney, William H.
Iangdon. He has begun by raiding the
gambling lens and he threatens to put an
end to several forms Of very lucrative
graft.
Langdon appears to De imbued with the
idea that there is a field here in San Fran
cisco for a Far Western Jerome, who shall
clean out the corruption that has been built
10 with much care by clever politicians. 1t
is very evident that he has declared war on
Boss Ruef. the Warwick of the Schmitz
administration because one of his first acts
was to put out of business 1000 money slot
machines which the boss had restored to
active service after two years Of retire.
meut.
Tangdon hasn't said much, but he has
ra.dei several Of the largest gambling
houses and he has made the smaller ones
hut their doors, at least temporarily. He
has made saloons, cigar stores, hotels and
other places that were working nickel in the
-lot machines turn them once mere to the
wall. He declares that he will mex go after
the saloons that violate the side entrance
ordinances as we'll as the ordinance that pro-
tides that partitions between rooms shall
not be more than six feet high.
This looks like an army contract, but
the young District Attorney has started
out with so much steam that it seems as
though he may be able to do what he says.
Certainly a glance at local conditions will
show that reform is pretty badly needed.
Gambling and drinking are the two great
vices in San Francisco, and it is difficult to
say which is the more injurious to the
morals and pockets of its victims.
There are 1000 places in San Francisco
where the thirsty soul may get liquor.
Of these. a trife more than half are corner
groceries which keep a bar pen in the
rear Of the store until midnight or later.
These places corrupt their ne~ighborhoods,
for they are the loafing places of working
men who live in small hou ses and who find
the well furnished back room of the grocery
more comfortable than their own HON es,
overrun with children and most of the time
In disorder. These places are also attrao-
tive to the youths of the neighborhood.
who are usually permitted to run at large
after they are IL or Is years old.
The regular saloons are supposed to
close their doors at / A. NJ, but the ordi-
ma nee has become a dead letter. With
the tacit consent of the authorities, about
o~ne-ouarter Of the downtown places are
open all night and the rapid spread of the
automobile habit among the denizens Of
the Tenderloin is responsible for the in
crea SO of saloons in the suburbs, which
are recognized road houses and are resorts
for auto parties.
San Francisco saloons are gorgeously
fitted up and most of them still give a free
lunch at midday and at night, which fur
nishes an ample meal for one who is near
the end of his resources. The saloons
In the wholesale business quarter are very
numerous and they all do a roaring trade.
A representative of u large manufacturing
business in a small Ohio city, who came
here recently, summed up Eastern opinion
Of San Francisco drinking in this way!
4 like the town mighty well and | like
the way business is despatched, but l can't
can't stand the drinking pace that is set.
Whenever I sell goods there must be drinks
on it, and a man who is used to only three
Or four drinks a day can't stand a dozen or
fifteen and keep in shape.
After one day ] became strictly tenn
perance and took mineral water or a cigar.
Even with your cool climate and bracing
air | didn't see how any of the business
men keep sober enough to show up for
dinner with the number of drinks they
take through the day"
California wine. both red and white, is
cheap and good here, but 1t Is not drunk
rs it would be in any Continental city,
simply because the average business or
professional man prefers whiskey or cock
tails, and the term wine, as in most Ameri-
can cities, means champagne. This is a
great pity, as the clarets and sauternes
made by good vineyardists are pure and
wholesome. Most OF them are consume
by foreigners or are shipped to New Or
leans or to Europe, where they are sophis-
ticated and sold as French and German
wines.
The race track, which is open eight
months in the year, is probably responsible
Tor the great increase of gambling in San
Francisco Not only can one bet at the
regular poolrooms. but every cigar stand
and saloon keeps "a small book on the races.
The cigar stands take as low as so cent bets,
and these are surrounded at the noonlunch
hour by gangs Of young clerks and messen-
ger boys, who wager their money on. the
horse that looks good TO them or about
which they have received a tip that 1t Is
sure TO win.
No effort is made by the police to stop
this petty gambling, which trains thousands
IN San Francisco in the most ruinous system
Of betting before they are fairly out OF
knlckerbockers. These cigar stores are not
On side streets or alleys, but they line the
main blocks of Market and Kearney streets.
Gambling on the races is thus made so easy
that the little Office boy can indulge in 1t
with his spare cash or the small sums that
liz pliers IRON his employer.
If you go into large establishments where
many Office boys are kept you will see those
boys passing around sheets Of selections
from professional agencies that pretend to
pick the winners, and many Of those boys
have expert knowledge of the horses that
would do credit to a jockey or a horse owner.
Of course in the endthey always fall behind
and lose their money, for no one can play
the races regularly and win.
Then, if they have taken much money
20 indulge their passion for gambling,
exposure and punishment follow. OF the
scores Of embezzlements and defalcations
Of trusted officials and clerks that occur
here in a year nine out of ten may be traced
directly TO playing the races n the drink
ing and carousing that it stimulates.
In many restaurants and in all saloons,
cigar stands and barber shops are posted the
entries and selections for the races OF the
next day and these are studied by nearly
every patron, thus showing the wide spread
~ the gambling habit among all classes.
he nickel in the slot machines at cigar
stands are constantly in operation, and