The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1908-02-17
ANTI GAMBLING MOVE
MAKES FOR UNEASINESS
Losing Arizona Fight Still Fresh in the Minds of
Knights of the Green Cloth Beginning at Reno
Has Same Ear Marks as Ball Opener at Tucson

Are the gamblers facing the be-
ginning of a fight to the finish for
existence In Nevada, is a question
which has recently occasioned no lit
along the spinal cord in local gamb-
ling circles.
Occasion for tie attention the mat
ter is claiming is found in agitation
which was recently begun at Reno,
on the second lap as 1t were, for they
had a go at the proposition up there
once before. This last attack on the
gentlemen of the green cloth has in
a few weeks mustered a following
which at least has sufficient strength
to make much noise and is loud in
its declarations that they have things
coming their way on the double
quick and for keeps.
Matters have progressed to the
point where an ordinance has been
framed for presentation to the coun-
ell with appeal to that body to adopt
the same In event the council ae-
cedes to the demands made it will
be optional with the people of Reno
whether gambling continues or not,
for provisions for vote on the sub
ject are made As side issue along
the line OF publication which has
been brought into popular discussion
the council has awakened to the fact
that wine rooms ATTACHED to saloons
in the town are vicious and have an
ordinance up now which will pro-
hibit women from entering saloons
or rooms attached thereto.
ut may be some time before
gambling is ruled out of order and
made a penitentiary offense in Ne
vada," said a well known gambler
yesterday, but 1t looks as If 1t
would be only question of time.
Sounds to me the same as the noise
that got to blowing around down at
Tucson four or five years ago. They
started in down there by ruling the
women out of the saloons. Then
they got up mighty pow-wow about
gambling and the first thing the boys
knew in that good old gambling mec-
ca was that city ordinance had been
passed forbidding games. The
gamblers got together all over the
territory and Clipped In to knock out
that ordinance. They refused to rec
ognize it, went to Jail, started suits
to overthrow it and carried the law
ing up to the highest court they could
get in the territory, but to no use.
Meantime the territory Weakened up
to what was going on and even in
he. In a. mn WhaFa
never known anything but license to
do as they pleased, the anti-gambling
talk commenced getting in its work.
Then the anti-gambling bill came up
in the legislature and was knocked
out. 1t didn't bother the ants bit.
They just kept right along and the
next legislature had membership
that passed the bill. The people saw
to it that the anti-gambling candi-
dates got ON the ticket. They were
mostly of the same old crowd that
had been in the previous Legislature,
but they had good strong hunch
that the majority vote was against
gambling and they performed the
way the wind told them was proper.
Gambling shut up tight after that
bill was passed
I'VE knew there was no use con-
testing it and darn sight less use
in going to prison about 1t, so we
just folded our tents like good citi-
zens and dropped out. Most of the
population of the territory was in
the vacuation. Lots of us came up
here to Nevada. Some of the boys
went on north, good many of them
to San Francisco and some east, but
we all left except few who decided
to turn over new leaf and go to
work in the mines. They are still
there. The point is, however, that
they knocked out gambling in Ari-
IONA. They did it in New Mexico
and now it looks as if it was Ne
vada's turn.
They claim in Arizona, and
guess they are right as far as that
goes, that there has been a great
deal less crime and that bank de-
posits have grown a whole lot larger
with the number of depositors pref
ty near doubled since gambling went
out. This is particularly true in the
mining camps. The saloon keepers
say they are making more money
than they did when they had gamb-
ling games going, for the reason that
instead of spending their time and
money at the tables their patrons
now spend ii at the bar. The money
goes Just the same, though they say
that there is not as much drunken
ness as when the boys used TO sit
around the tables and order drinks
every time they made little touch.
As for my part | am for the law and
for obedience to the will of the ma
jority. If they say gambling must
stop, why stop she does with me.
Most all the boys are that way They
are pretty near all honest men.
would a good deal rather trust my
self and my money among them than
! would among a good many church
folks who make parade of praying
on Sundays and spend the balance of
the week figuring how to skin some
poor devil out of everything from
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