The San Francisco call., 1910-09-21
SLOT MACHINES TO
come BY DEGREES
Supervisors Police Committee
Hear All Parties and Will
Submit Ordinance

1t is proposed to bring back slot
machines by easy stages. Supervisors
Herget, Deasy and Knowles of the po-
lice committee gave a hearing to all
parties yesterday. Chairman Herget
closed the meeting with happy new
year to all and said the members would
do nothing in ruthless haste. The slot
machine ordinance is under advise
ment. But an ordinance, not for i'm
mediate passage, Will be brought in
Monday.
President Charles Briggs of the re-
tail cigar dealers association explained
the purpose of the petitioners for the
machines. He said it was true a GER
tain element of chance could not be
denied but that cigars in the end cost
less bought through the machines than
without, a test of 10000 sales hav-
ing shown that bit" cigars went at
Il y cents.
Chairman Herget explained to At
torney Kennedy of the church fedora
tion that in some cases the payment of
cigars was made at every play of the
machine. The customers stood a chance
of making haul and got his smoke in
any case.
Kennedy suspected those cigars must
be second class. but was assured free
choice was given of any cigar in the
case. The percentage was all against
the dealer. This didn't seem quite
right to kennedy, but he couldn't get
around it. He hadn't known cigar
dealers were such generous fellows.
WANT MORE TRADE
Briggs made the point that what was
wanted was to stimulate trade, more
sales and not high price for the mer-
chandise over the counter.
But that's special legislation" said
Mrs. Louis Hertz, representing the CAL
ifornia club. You propose to give
cigar dealers the benefit of this side
attraction, which isn't fair to other
merchants.
Did you ever hear of green trading
stamps?" asked Herget. "All kinds of
merchants seek all kinds of ways to
stimulate trade"
But this is Iegalizing small
gambling for one small line of man
ufacture.
Playground Commissioner ]. C. AS
tredo brought back from Portland and
Los Angeles wonderful story of how
good those cities thought themselves in
comparison with sin cursed San Fran
cisco. and Herget insisted it was again
time we quit exploiting our own de-
merits.
The discussion branched into a COM
parative study of the rankness of
American cities. New York was
severely dealt with. Herget himself
had been driven to resolve never to
live in a place as wicked as Portland.
OTHER STATES CITED
L. B. Briggs said that all the states
of the union except California and one
ther-Missouri-had done away with
slot machines He thought the city
would hurt its moral standing in the
east and give the opponents of our
Panama Pacific exposition a weapon if
we took them on now.
Herget declared such narrow views
should not prevail. San Francisco is
going to have the greatest fair in his
tory and I am tired of hearing that
everything we try to do is going to
hurt the fair
Herget referred to the anonymous
sIur on the board that corruption
fund of 100000 was being collected and
said if anything would put a mans
back up 1t was insinuations like that.
Kennedy denounced strongly the
writer of the anonymous circular and
said his association wouldn't stand for
tactics of the sort.
Mrs. Elizabeth Gerberding seconded
Miss Helen Moore's declaration that the
slot machines were we'll out of the way.
It is respecta bic to be decent San
Francisco is good place to live in,
but we want to make and keep it bet
ter.
Herget thanked all for their attend
ance and asked everybody to come back
again.