Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-12-15
Reformed Bookmakef Testifies
Before Senate Committee In
vestigating Interstate Traffic
in Racing Information.
ALL CLASSES OF PEOPLE
MUlCTEO BY HANDBOOKS
Fifteen Hundred in Operation
All Over Country All BusiIy
Robbing Clerk, Working Man
and Servant Girl,


lBy Morning Journal Special Ieased WireI
Washington. Dee. 1i.--With n sup
porting cast Of rcformcrs galore, both
men and women, Henry Brolaski OF
Monrovia, Cal, who professed to be
a reformed race track gambler. was
the star feature of hearing today
before the senate judiciary commit
tee in support OF the Burlsett bin to
prohibit the transmission of race track
betting odds over telegraph or tele-
phone lines He told how the public
Is mulcted by bookmakers at race
tracks by pool rooms and by hand
bookmal6crs.
MI irolaski, in most candid and
picturesque fashion, gave details of
the gamblers life ana showed the
poor chance of returns for money in
vested which Is given to the gambling
public, lie was one of the owner, OF
Mexican track that was regarded
as the basis OF gambling operations
in the United states and was put out
of business at the instance of the de-
partmeut of state, through co-opera-
tlon with the Mexican government.
Brolaski is now seeking to have tracks
in which he has no interest dealt
with IN liise maJneg
Introducing himself as having been
gambler, pool room proprietor.
boolmaker on race tracks and a hand
boobmaker Brolaski said he had
worked In this line in st, Louis. Chi
cugo, ATLANTA, Charleston 5. c. New
orleans, san Francisco Oakland. Los
Angeles. Latonia, Louisville and Ben.
nings tracks and had had twenty-one
years experience. He roughly esq
United states between sixty and sew
enty pool rooms ana that fifty Of
these were in New York city.
,1c calculated that there were la
operation nearly l500 handbooks.
which, he declared. are the incentive
that make the unsophsticated gamble
on horses. lie gave at length the ,c.
tails of the methods employed by race
track bookmalers, pool room oper-
ltors and handbook makers. He said
that in New York city there were at
least l00, ,000 handbook and pool room
players ana that the evil was growing 4
lall.
The play that is handled by tbs Il
and pool rooms" sald Mr. H
Iirolash. rs usually from a ct lss of
people that can not afford 10 lose.
lnd their bets average from ffty
cents up. The man of family VIII
AXE chance and lose his rent
money. the clerk viii take a chanca
ana lose his board money; the girl
viii take chance and lose moncy
hat she should have expended on her
'elf II is the greed for more money
md the gambling fever that becomes
into their systems, ana it
s growing all the time
Brolaski condemned the ticker SER
ice of the Western Union Telegraph
ompany or sub-lcascd lines as gre 4
vil that should be stopped.
1T is the service giving the results
nj the prices as they finish" he said.
Pointing out tho poor chance given
he bcttor for a return of any part uf
lis wager, the witness said that in
'ool room the percentage against thr
layer would run from ? to l50 per
ent and In handbook the pcrocnt-
&c was from five to fifteen per cent.
\ player had that much the worst
# II to start with. he said. and there
vas no possible chance to beat the
anne
Common sense will tell you that
rom five per cent up viii eat up any
lan's capital if taken out six times
ay" no declared.
There Is only one MEANS" said Mr.
.rolaski, "of putting this evil out of
usincss cffectually and that is by the
nited States government enacting a
wv prohibiting the transmission of
ool room and race track information
yer telegraph or telephone wires.
thcr openly or in cipher, and by
aving those laws enforced after
,ssed also prohibiting the use OF the
laiis to newspapers that publish race
'ack prices or results"
He said he could describe to the
immittee cases with which he had
srsonal acquaintance where men had
ecome absconders. drpnkards and
licves ON account of the pool room
nd handbook evils. He spoke of the
'-called gamblers war now in prog
'ss in Chicago, caused by pool room
loks and handbook factions. Prob
bly, twenty-five dynamite bombs had
zen thrown at gambling houses in
lc tight between these two factions.
c said.
Rev. .. X. Miller OF New York. sec
,tary. Of the reform bureau. said that
ace tracks had been put out of the