The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-15
REFORMED GAMBLER
EXPOSES RACING
Tells Senate Judiciary Commit
tee How BO0kmakers Get
the Money.
NO CHANCE TO BEAT
THE PONIES ON TURF
Constitutionality of Bill to Be
Considered Before 1t Is
Sent TO Senate.

WASH NGTON. Dee, l4.-With
supporting cast Of reformers galore
both men and women, Henry Brolask
of Monrovia. Cal, who professed 10 b'
a reformed race track gambler, was tho
star feature of hearing today betor'
the senate committee in support of the
Burkctt bill to prohibit the transmls
sion 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 -bookmakcrs.
Mr. Brolaski. in most candid and plc'
iurcsque fashion, gave details OF the
gamblers life aud showed tho poor
chance of returns for money invested
which is given 20 the gambling puhiic.
He was one of the owners OF Il McHl-
can track that was regarded as me
basis of gambling operations IN INC
United States, and was put out of busl.
ness at the instance of the department
of state through negotiations with inc
Mexican government
After Race Tracks.
Brolask is now seeking tn have
tracks IN which he has no interest deait
with in like manner.
introducing himself as having been
gambler. poolroom proprietor, oook'
maker upon race tracks and a mana,
bookmakcr, Brolaski said he had worked
in his line in ST. Louis, Chicago, Iort
Worth, Robev. Atlanta. Charleston, \.
c.; New Orleans, San Francisco OAK
land Los Angeles. Latouia, Louisville
and BenniucS tracks. and had had twen-
;v-one wears experience. He roughly
estimated that there are now IN tnc
United States between sixty and seven
~ poolrooms, and that fifty of these are
in New York City.
He calculated that there were IN op-
Grafton nearly 1900 hand books. which,
he declared, arc the incentive that
makes the unsophisticatcd gamble on
The horses. lie gave al length details
of methods employed by race track
hookmakcrs. poolroom operators ana
hand -bookmakcrs. He said that IN New
hand book and poolroom players. ana
that the evil was growing daily.
People Who Bet.
1.-The play that is handled by tue
hand books and poolrooms. sald Bro
Iaski, "'is usually from a class of pco-
ple that can ill-aflord 10 lose. and their
bets average from % cents up. Inc
man of family will take a chance and
lose his rent money: the clerk will take
a chance and lose his board money:
the girl will take n chance and use
money that she should eXpcDd on oer-
self. II is the greed for more money
and the gambling fever that becomes
inoculatcd into their systems, and 1t
IS growing all the time.
Brolaski condemned the ticker SER
vice of the Western Union Telegraph
company or sub.lcascd lines as a great
evil that should be stopped. 1t is
the service giving the results and the
prices as they 6nish,' he said
Pointing out the poor chance given
the bcttor for return of any part or
his wager. the witness said that in a
poolroom the percentage against the
plavcr would run from - to 100 per
cent, and in Il handbook tho percent
age. was from , 20 ID per cent.
No Possible Chance.
\ player had that much the worst of
it 10 start with, Brolaski said, and
there was no possible chance TO beat
the game
"Common sense will icIl you that
from ) per cent up will cat mp any
man. capital if taken out six times
a day he declared.
There is only one means, said Mr.
Brolaski, cot putting this evil out of
business cfiectually and that is by tho
United States government enacting a
law prohibiting the transmission OF
poolroom and racctrack information
over telegraph or telephone wires
either openly or in cipher. and by h3v-
ing those laws enforced after they arc
passed; also prohibiting the use Of the
mails TO newspapers that publish race
track prices or results
He said he could describe 10 the com.
mittee cases with which he had per.
konal acquaintance, whore mon had be-
rome abscondcrs. drunbards aud thieves
au account of the poolroom and hand.
book evils. He spoke of The so.called
gamblers war: now in progress in Chi,
cage. caused by poolrnom books and
hand book factions. Probably twenty
five dynamite bombs have been thrown
et gambling houses in the fight between
these two factions, he said
Cut Out Information.
Rev. O. X. Miller Of New York. Sec
rotary of the reform bureau. said that
race tracks had been put out of busi.
ness in New York under the E'splen-
did leadership Of Governor Hughes, -
but that all of his efforts and those of
the reform elements would come to
naught unless transmission of informa.
lion used by poolrooms and hand books
were stopped.
Senator Clark, chairman of the in.
dietary committee, asked that an ar
eument he submitted on the subject of
tbe consti'ntionality of legislation ad-
yocatcd. He said most pcople uorc
agreed as 10 the moral side of the mat.
ter. and that thero could be no oucs.
tion of the right Of congress 10 stop The
transmission of racing news through tho
mails. but there might be question
concerning regulation of telegraph and
telephone lines TO that extent.
New Jersey, Pennsylvania aud tho CITY
of Washington Interested in temper
ance and anti gambling movements
spoke briefly.
Explains to Nelson.
After the hearing had concluded
Chairman Nelson, who had never seen
n race and knew nothing of race bet.
ting, said: ''T am still in the dark
ABOUT some of these matters. thought
II.