Los Angeles herald., 1910-05-15

UI HE new generation of abnormal
types of humanity, gamblers,
L bunco men, dive keepers and the
like, follow different methods than their
prototypes of half a century back.
Fifty years ago society pursued this
element as ruthlessly as sewer rat
is hunted in plague afflicted city.
But of late years the dive keeper,
bunco man and gambler have under
taken, with more or less success, 10
organize society to suit their own pur-
poses. BY joining forces with the po-
litical bureau of the public service cor,
porat tions they have not only secureu
protection for themselves, but have
even Influenced legislation to their own
ends. Thus, the senate committee on
public morals, which has charge OF
proposed laws before the legislature
governing gambling, has for more than
a decade been dominated by the race
track gamblers, while recent reXela-
tions in San Francisco show that Joe
Abbott, a notorious bunco man, hao
made arrangements with the police au-
thorities by which he was to have the
placing of certain police officers and
detectives for the furtherance OF ms
plans and Purposes
The abnormal element has learned,
too, to value the advantage of placing
its sympathizers in important posi-
tions. For example, the enrolling and
engrossing clerk of the last state SEN
ate had been a trusted employe OF the
notorious Sausalito pool rooms con-
Quoted by Frank Daroux. The normal
element of society, moi having so much
at stake as bunco man, gambler and
diVekeeper, has not given these fine de-
tails of social organization so much
attention.
AS a result some curious mistakes"
occur occasionally acting always
against the normal citizen who eX-
poets as a matter of course that the
bunco man and gambler will be kept
down and that the tenderloin element
will be held within bounds.
This was we'll illustrated in 1907,
when by a strange mistake" the right
of the voter to express himself at the
polls on matters of police regulation
was taken away without legislative
enactment.
Up to the legislative session of 1907
! the county government act provided
that the supervisors of county could
| submit any MISUNDERSTANDING the
matter of regulating the liquor traffic
to the voters for the purpose of as
| certaining their opinion upon the issue.
| There was, however, no way to COM
| pei the supervisors to take the action
| that might be thus decided upon by
| popular vote. The supervisors could
act upon the vote or ignore 1t, as they
| saw tit.
The legislature of 1907 transferred
! the county government act to the
codes. For some reason, either by in
tention or oversight. the section which
| permitted supervisors to submit ques-
| tions to the people for an advisory
| vote was omitted. 1t has been held
that this action of the legislature re-
! pealed the section by implication. 1t
! is held, therefore, that no law is upon
| the statute books by which the people
may be permitted TO vote even in an
advisory capacity upon any question
! of police regulation or public policy
The normal element which holds to
the opinion that our American instI-
| tutions guarantee to the citizen the
| right to express himself in matters
pertaining to the peace and good order
of the community was thoroughly ex-
asperated at this development That
| the error would be corrected by the
legislature of 1909 by the passage of
an effective local option law, was held
generally. But the liquor interests or
ganized as the Royal Arch" which
has become a forceful factor in the
| state machine, had other plans. A
local option bill was introduced but it
did not become a law.
The measure was introduced in the
assembly by Wyllie and in the senate
by Estudillo.
Had the passage of the measure been
forced in the assembly it could, in all
probability, have passed that body, in
the same way that the anti-racetrack
gambling bill got through.
This was generally recognized
Speaker Stanton, who should at least
have been in a position to Judge, as
sured the proponents of the bill that
if it passed the senate 1t should pass
the assembly. But on the ground that
the assembly had passed on other
moral issues" in advance of the SEN
ate, the local option bill was held ur
in the assembly committee on public
morals, while the crafty fight against
its passage was carried on in the SEN
ate.
Had the same tactics been followed