Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1909-12-15
EXPOSES WAYS
Of GAMBLERS
Public Has Absolutely No
Chance in Running up
Against Game
MATTER or COMMON SENSE
Those Who Lose are Generally
People Who Can Least
Afford 1t.

Washington. Dec. 14.-Henry Bro
lasld of Monrovia, Cal, a reformed
race track gambler was the star fea-
ture of a hearing before the Senate
Judiciary committee in support OF
the Burkett bill to prohibit the trans
mission OF race track betting odds
over telegraph or telephone lines. He
told how the public is mulcted by
bOokmakers at race tracks, by pool
rooms and by hand bookmakers.
Mr.. Brolaski, in most candid and
picturesque fashion, gave details Of
the gamblers life and showed the
poor chance Of returns for money in
vested which is given to the gambling
public. He was one of the owners of
a Mexican track at Tia Juaua, that
was regarded as the basis of gamb-
ling operations in the United States
and was put out of business at the
instance OF the department of state,
through cooperation with the Mexican
government. Brolaski is now seeking
" liz w II flNNo III AllGH Ilt mas llO
interest dealt with in like manner
Introducing himself as having been
a gambler, pool room proprietor,
bookmaker on race tracks and hand
boOkmaker, Brolaski said he had
worked in this line in St. Louis, Chi
cagO, Atlanta, Charleston, S. c.. New
Orleans. San Francisco Oakland, Los
Angeles, Latonia, Louisville and Ben
nings tracks and had had twenty-one
years experience. He roughly esti,
mated that there were now in the
United States between sixty and sew
enty pool rooms. and that fifty of
these were in New York city.
He calculated that there were IN
operation nearly 1900 handbooks,
which, he declared, are the incentive
that make the unsophisticatei gam
Bile on horses. He gave at length the
| details of the methods employed by
! race track bookmakars, uoal room
operators and handbook makers. He
said that in New York city there were
at least 100000 handbook and pool
room players and that the evil was
growing daily.
Common sense will tell you that
from five per cent up will eat up any
mans capital if taken out six times
day" he declared
There is only one MEANS" said Mr.
prp1ncI,i nf ,,11ttinfY nx-i1 pf
business effectually and that is by the
United States government enacting a
law prohibiting the transmission of
pool room and race track information
over telegraph or telephone wires,
either openly or in cipher, and by
having those laws enforced after
passed; also prohibiting the use Of
mails to newspapers that publish race
track prices or results"
| He said he could describe to the
committee cases with which he had
personal acquaintance where men had
become absconders, drunkards and
| thieves on account of the pool room
and handbook eXils. He spoke of the
so-called gamblers war now in prog
| ress in Chicago, caused by pool rooY
| books and handbook factions. Prob
ably twenty-five dynamite bombs had
been thrown at gambling houses in
| the fight between these two factions,
he said.
The play that is handled by the
handbooks and pool rooms" said Mr..
| Brolaski, lis usually from a class of
people chat cannot afford to lose,
and their bets average from fifty
cents up. The man of family will
take a chance, and lose his rent
money; the clerk will take chance
and lose his board money; the girl
will take a chance and lose money
that she should have expended on her
self 1t is the greed for more money
and the gambling fever that becomes
| innoculated into their systems, and it
is growing all the time"