The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-06-02
noes 1T PAW

One Of the great spectacles of Deco
ration day was the tremendous crowd
which attended the horse races at the
fair grounds. The crowd was estimated
at 1900; the number of booknakers was
fifteen. The reports say the bookmak-
ers were rushed with business, and eye
witnesses declare a surprisingly large
number of women gambled on the re-
suits. Just how much money was
taken in by the betting ring is not
known, but a modest calculation would
put 1t at about the price of a hrst-class
schooIhouse.
Possibly this sort of thing may be
profitable to the community; it may
bring money in" as its friends declare:
it may contribute to the welfare of the
community. and it certainly does "ad-
vertlse Salt Lake" as some Of the en-
thusiasts say. though the value Of the
advertising is open to debate. There is
scarcely another state in the country
that will tolerate such a game; there
are only one or two places east Of the
Missouri where any sort of open gam
bling on races IS permitted; and there
isn't a place in the whole wide country
today that would tolerate the wide-open
jobbery, the shameless crookedneSs that
has characterized some days of this
meeting.
A curious state Of affairs has devel-
oped from the discussion ~ this sub
JeCt. Among other things, il appears
that Utah has no general law under
which gambling can be prosecuted,
certainly no specific statute against
pool selling or bookmaking OF any sort
Nor is this an inadvertence. because a
law was suggested at the last session
of the legislature, when some mysteri-
Gus influence interfered and chloro-
be guessed it couldn't have been any
body but those interested in the gam
bling game directly or indirectly. No
one suspects the good people of the
state Of killing such legislation; the
business men wouldn't have opposed it.
and the inference is very plain that the
opposition came from an interested
source.
Nice situation, isn't it? Utah, the
state of conservative morality, Of ex-
ceedingly rigid notions as to vice, Of
traditional hatred for the wiles of the
wicked, is practically alone in inviting
outlaws from other states to be guests
of the state under official auspices
and no law by which a disinterested
citizen can step in and stop the game.
Waving any thought of the influence
upon the young and the weak from
such program, putting the question:
solely on the sordid commercial basis. |
does any sensible business man think |
the racing game is paying Salt Lake? |
Doesn't every merchant in the city
know by this time that nearly every
dollar gambled at the track is a loss to /
the commercial community? Isn't il
an expensive luxury to pay thousands /
of dollars daily 70 the gamblers for the /
sake Of advertising Salt Lake as a /
haven for a game that has been driven /
out Of all the other western states?
If there are any consoling answers to /
these questions, The Herald would like /
10 have them and print them. aTean- /
while the state of Utah by its officials /
is answerable 10 the people who believe 4
with The Herald that no commonwealth /
can afford to be in partnership with /
gambling, particularly when the gam
bling is on the deadfaH pattern.