Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-09
HUGHES FIGHT ON
THE RACE TRACKS
continued from First Page


themselves. and brOadcasting 1t ove" the
state. The figures they set forth in their
documents are interesting. \ canvass mas
been made of the state prisons and reS
formatory institutions. and it has been
:ound that nearly as many OF the prison
ers attribute their downfall to IA passion
for betting on the horses as to an appe-
tite for whisky. These statistics are pre-
sented. There is a list. too. of default
ers who have begun their thievery owing
to their hankering tn put the booknak-
ers into the bread line. The danger is
pointed out Of having from 1'.Npo to %
U0D SO-called racing REGULARS lounginS
around any one community throughout
the year. producing nothing. preying upon
the credulOus. and most OF them I'm a
perpetual state of impecunioslt! that
prompts them to take any kind or "A
chance To get hold of race-gambling
money. even 10 the pitch wheh theE IL
grab a piece of eas-pipe and try Ia hit
some moneyed-Iookins person behind the
ear with til" same. Pretty nleaty sad
ing. this stuff issued by the anti-racihs
civic associations, and nary a sophis'rH
III any OF II.
It's all straight. bedrock facts about
What the racing cancer is doing TO the
leading city in the western hemisphere
and this literature is of Il character mat
is bound TO make the agricultural fox
much attention they may have given 10
the pamphlets tossed their way by the
stampeded turf authorities.
The New York Poolrooms.
One Of the stock arguments of the race
track people is that If the tracks are
closed on account % the legislative eiimi-
nation of the gambling feature. the pool
rooms o: New York will have fun swing
and will 20 right on corrupting the pOpu-
lace by laying odds against races run out
side Of the stale. Reading this. one Won
ders II absolutely none of those Jockey
Club people possesses even SOupcon OF
a sense of humor. The spectacle afforded
by the Jockey club. the manipulation OF
the racing irust-One of the biggest OF
American trusts-attemptinS to pose as a
sort Of cOnservatOr OF the morals or inns
pOpulace ought to make the Iamented
Criah Heep bob from his tomb. hold both
hands up to the zenith, and squeak Not
guilty
Everybody whose business requires him
to keep in touch with this sort of thing
knows that the pOolrOOms of New York
have been in a mora OF less buffaloed state
.or several years. Absolutely not one of
them in greater New York is run on the
wjde-open plan any more. 1t rs about as
hard these days for a man who doesn I
know the ropes TO get into New YORK
poolroom as it would be for the writer
hereof to penetrate to the palace of the
grand llhama Of Thibet.
The pikers, the 'riff-raff of walters and
Irostlers and hangers-on who used TO make
the air Of New York pOorOoms far from
fragrant are wholly and absolutely shut
out of the undercOyer poOlrOOms OF New
York that are in operation today. On.y
customers with money Ia blow at the
brides are admitted to the rooms. and. in
most of them no bet lower than $40 is ac-
cepted Why, when the pOOlrOOms were
wide Open a hot-dOper of pOolrOOm
piker. with run 81 luck could fizz-sie
around poolroom for a fortnight and
orget all about his job and his duty to So
ciety with ID $40 note. and now Ia little
out in the-snOw music. there. prOfessor)
they can't make no bet iess'n ten beans,
an what d'youse t'ink o dat. hey?