The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-03-16
Eight Places Visited il
Week and Addresses of
Six Others Secured
From PLAYERS.
NOTWITHSTANDING many re-
cent raids by the police, the
Al apprehension of proprietors
q and the resulting $40 fine and

day in jail, imposed by Justice
Crutchfield under an ordinance which
would permit maximum fine of $500
and prison term Of twelve months,
the policy shop business in Richmond
is still considered lucrative. still af-
fords to many a negro an easy means
of living. and, incidentally, is still u
good investment for those white men
who are back of the game.
Only an initiated few know the cx-
tent of the traffic, and realize how
profitable 1t is both to the white in
vcstors and to the negro managers and
their runners, Shops are open every
day, and every morning and every af-
ternoon one may see-if he be FORUM
ate enough to get inside-negro la
borers, crap shooters. cocaine sellers
and every class of criminal known to
the police come In to lay down their
nickels, dimes, or 1t may be more,
reaching for the winning numbers,
which are practically never returned.
One man is known to have played the
has cost him 1915. and he has never
Won a cent. Hundreds of others gam
BILE regularly, always hoping for a
lucky turn of the wheel of fortune that
may bring them $40 or SEQ. At. rare
intervals some lucky man sees his
numbers chalked up on the black
broad, rakes in his money and gives
new life to those who are still among
the always hopeful
King Of the Policy Shops.
There sre in Richmond now probably
twenty or twenty-five shops, all of
them operating every day. Fourteen
porter of The Times Dispatch. and
q nF ha ha1 ct
by the same reporter who played in
less than week nine times-twice in
ono place. But he got nothing for his
pains or his money save a much desired
glimpse OF that phase of negro life
rarely seen by white man. He saw
the eaSer-eycd players come in with
their lonely nickels-dimes We're very
few-and lay them on the table for a
ticket. which never brought anything
in. lie saw those same negroes re-
turn after nightfall and scan with
| hopeful eye the boards on which the
numbers were traced IN chalk He
| heard them damn the game and curse
/ their folly. though 1t was only nickel
/ lost. Bat 1t Is n nickel every day, and
often the last cents the player has.
IStill the negro is a born gambler, and
| L it came to pinch he would cast
Ioff his last shred OF clothing in a
/ throw for luck,
The larger games-that is, the larger
lhooks--are financed by prominent white
/ linen, one or two of whom are known
and liked for their kindly disposition
and their affahillty. The biggest pol
Icy iinanc!er, the king OF them all. is
one of the best known men In Rich
lmond. man who consorts with the
idlgnitaries Of the State and the officials
4 of tho city.
| Centrally Located.
A few Of his friends are we'll &C.
| quainted With the fact that he Is back
| Of a business which is in fragrant VIC.
lation of tho law; some officials MAY
know H. but he is so firmly and safely
| shielded behind his writcrs--those who
manage the shops and keep the books
that no one could touch him, even II
4 they would, When the writer's are
caught and fined, and jailed, pertains
4 II matters little, for tho owner OF the
i business pays the fine, and the shops
are too profitable to be given up O,
1 account OF so small fee as that I'm.
Iposed by the Police Court Justice. Tho
risk of capture and fine Is taken int,
! account and placed on the debit sidt
OF the books, and at the end OF tn;
!. month, or the year handsome sur
!. plus Is shown, The writer's are pait
generally by commission, and the,
make enough to live on. Runners ar,
Iemp!oyed, and there Is, of course, ,