Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-15
FORMER BOOKlE
SCORES TRACKS
BROLASKI VIvlDLY P0RTRAYS
POOL ROOM EVILS
SAYS THAT PLAYER BUCKS BIG
PERCENTAGE
Former Promoter of Race Tracks Says
That 10000 Persons Daily Play
the Ponies in New
York
Associated Pressl


a reformed race track gambler, was the
star feature of hearing today before
the state judiciary committee IN sup
port of the Burkett bill to prohibit the
transmission 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 books.
MIR. Brolaski, in most candid and pic
turesque fashion, gave details OF the
gamblers life and showed the poor
chance of returns for money invested
which is given to the gambling pubic.
He was one of the owners OF MeNl-
can track that was regarded as the
basis Of gambling operations III the
United States. and was put out OF
business at the instance OF the state
Ia,aItmcut. through operation with the
Nrvicuu government.
HrulasW IS now seeking to have
trucks i'm which he has no interest uealt
Nith in like manner.
Introducing himself as having been
gambler, a pool room proprietor
boolmaker upon race tracks ana
handbook maker. Brolash said he had
worked in his line in ST. Louis, Chi
cago, Worth Robey, Atlanta, Charles
ton. S. c.; New Orleans, San Fran
cisco. Oakland, Los Angeles, Latonia,
Louisville and Bennings tracks and
had had twenty-one years experience
He roughly estimated that there are
now in the United States between sixty
and seventy pool rooms, and that htty
of these are in New York city.
1900 Books Operating
He calculated that there were in the
United States nearly 1900 hand books,
which, he declared, are the incentive
that make the unsophisticated gamble
on the horses.
He gave at length details Of methods
employed by race track bookmakers'
pool room operators and handbooh
makers. He said that in New YORK
CITY there were at least 100000 hand
book and pool room players, and that
the evil was growing daily.
"I'he play that is handled by the
handbooks and pool rooms said Bro
laski, "Is usually from class or people
that can i'll afford to lose, and their
bets average from so cents up. The
man Of family will take a chance ana
lose his rent money; the clerk VIII take
a chance and lose his board money; the
girl will take a chance and use money
that she should expend on herself IL
IS the greed for money and the gam
bling fever that becomes inoculated
into their systems, and it is growing
all the time"
Brolaski condemned the ticker service
Of the Western Union Telegraph com
many or subleased lines as a great evil
that should he stopped.
TT is the ervice giving the results
and the prices as they fintsh,' he said
Pointing out the poor chance given
the bettor for a return Of any part OF
his wager, the witness said that IN a
nool room the percentage against the
nlaver would run from 25Nto 100 ana 100
ner cent. and in a handbook the per-
centage was from to Is per cent. A
nlayer had that much the worst or II
to start with Brolaski said, and there
was no possible chance to beat the
game.
common sense will tell you that
from per cent up will eat up any
mans capital If taken out six times a
day" he declared. There Is only one
means of putting this evil out of busi-
ness effectually, and that is by the
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 en-
forced after they are passed; also pro-
hibiting the use of the mails to news
papers that publish race track prices
or results"
Cites Instances
He said he could describe to the
committee cases with which he had
nersonal acquaintances where men had
become absconders, drunkards and
thieves on account of the pool room
and hand book evils. He spoke Of the
so-called gamblers war, now in prog
ress in Chicago, caused by pool room
books and hand book factions.
Probably twenty-five dynamite
bombs had been thrown at gambling
houses in the fight between these two
factions, he said.
rev. r. 0. Miller of New York, sec
retary Of the reform bureau, salu that
race tracks had been put out Of busi-
ness in New York under the splendid
leadership of Governor Hughes" but
that all of his efforts and those of the
reform elements would come to naught
unless transmission of information
used by pool rooms and hand books
were stopped
Senator Clark, chairman of the Ju-
dietary committee, asked that an argu-
ment be submitted on the subject OF the
constitutionality of legislation adVo-
Gated. lie Sdiu lllbSl PNCPAS 49,
agreed as to the moral side of the mat
ter, and that there could be no ques-
ton of the right of congress to stop
the transmission of race track news
through the mail, but there might be
question concerning regulation Of tele-
graph and telephone lines to that eX-
tent.
A number of women from New York,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the city
of washington interested in temper
ance and anti-gambling movements
spoke briefly.
Clark Enlightened
After the hearing had concluded,
Chairman Clark, who had never seen
a race and knew nothing of race bet
ting, said:
81 am still in the dark about some
of these matters. [ thought pool
room was a place where yo7 played a
game of billiards. Now, l want to
know just what the operation is in
laying a bet, as you call it."
He addressed this question to Mr..
Brolaski, saying: You are the book
maker and L am the player. What do
do?"
Everybody laughed. but Mr.. BrolasA