The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-12

From the Chicago Inter Ocean.
 IF A manufacturer of dishonest gam
 bling tools advertises them and sells ! them, and withal does "a thriving trade in them, one who knows noth- ing of the subtleties and technica1fties of law would imagine that somewhere in the American legal code there is a stat ute under which such dealer can be punished.
 Dishonest gambling is merely form of thievery. It is as much stealing as bur glary. The burglar enters your home with a jimmy and taps you on the head with the butt of revolver, if necessary, to relieve you of your wealth. The dis honest gambler entertains you, buys you drinks, gives you cigars tells you funny stories, and between a joke and an anec- dote takes your money. The o.nerence between a burglar and 8 dishonest gam bier is the difference between mechanic and an artist. The law punishes them both as thieves, but it punishes the bur glar more severely. The law, you see, is something of a connoisseur. It appre- ciates art.
 But since the law recognizes dishonest gambling as felony, it would seem log ical that the law would hold in the same esteem the manufacture and sale of tools that make the felony facile if not pos- sible.
 For years there have been firms en- gagged in the business of manufacturing and selling dishonest gambling goods. These firms have not been timorous little fy-by-night concerns hiding their plants in out-of-the-way corners and byways of the city. They have large plants in the heart of the city. The amount at which they are capitalized ranges from $2OOOO to $5O,000. The volume of business done by all of them Is estimated at s5oo,0oo annually. The business of one firm alone is said to reach close to $200, 900 a year.
 These firms make no rpretense at con- ceSiment They are frankly in the busi- ness Of manufacturing and selling loaded dice, marked cards, poker hold-outs, cold-deck machines, fixed roulette wheels, crooked faro boxes, electrically and me- chanically controlled games of all kinds.
 They advertise their goods like any other business concerns. They are set forth
 in glowing detail the excellencies of their wares in circulars, which are sent through | the mails broadcast over the country tc prospective customers. The circulars issued by these firms are curiosities to the uninitiated. They de- scribe the devices and how to operate them. If they advertised burglars tools and gave careful instructions how to
 jimmy front door and dynamite safe
 they could hardly be more Interestingly
 revealed. With one device you are told
 you may rob a card player by merely
 taking deep breath or crooking your
 knee. With another you are informed
 you may steal poker cheeks artistically with the open hand. l One nicely controlled machine, recon.
 mended for home use. conjurs up charm
 ing evenings devoted to Welsh rabbit and
 the jovial robbery of one's friends. | A circular which may be taken as a
 fair sample of the literature of these unique businesses is full of delicious revelations. In foreword, "To Our Patrons" this interesting information | is imparted:
 I've wish particularly to call your at. tention to our transparent work. We | load these goods in the bird's-eye spot work, which is an inlaid spot coming
 flush with the surface of the dice. We
 also load the common, ordinary concave
 spot dice. This work is so cleverly ex. ecuted that they defy competition. We also manufacture transparent dice fo,
 Klondike or bar dice, which are neither
 loads nor shapes. yet are much stronger