The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-04-16
ENGLAND DNOW HAS CHANCE TO[AUGH Police Raid Gambling Den
 in P00rhouse 1785 ARE HOMELESS Countess Chichester States that 555 Girls Were Imported by Mor- e mons to Salt Lake City
 Last Year
17S5 ARE HOMELESS

London, April 15.-(Special.) )-England has another chance to laugh and it is taking advantage of the situation. Think of it! The police make a raid on a gang of gamblers in a poorhouse where bel ting on horse races has been going on for years. not penny ante or crap shoot ing but out and out bookmaking, the taking of bets every day and settling up at night
 The raid was recently made where one of the inmates had received number of bets on the Lincoln Handicap from pau per patrons. The practice has been car red on by the bookmaker for IS months. and he has admitted that he took the business over from another inmate. The raid was made in consequence of an anonymous letter. and the ringleader gave the names of several of his clients, one of whom was at one time we'll known crlcketer The custom was to pay out on the arrival of the papers. In future the betting and racing news is to be obliterated from the papers before they are placed in the wards. The book maker was in the habit of sending the bets out of the workhouse. The guard ians held an inquiry and they found that the bookmaker had an assistant. and one of the men kept racing calendar One of the plungers was very indignant when called upon to testify and he was ordered to leave the institution.
 A census of the homeless persons in this city was taken on the night of February r. The number of persons discovered homeless was 17s5, 1462 being men, 321 women, and two children. In- .sI H.. 1,< Ax.tt ,aI f1.a t.D government is going to spend s900,000 in crowning King George.
 Three thousand tons of steel bars from New York were unloaded from tho steamer Kutalia at Swansea last Tues day. to serve as raw material for the Welsh tinplate industry. This is ths largest cargo of such bars ever received at that place.
 For using insulting words to woman who was wearing a harem skirt, Alfred Howcroft and Frank Chapmen wece fined at Wilesden, and the magistrate told them it would have been a good thing had someone kicked them.
 That the payment of M. Ps is assured this year was the announcement made by the prime minister In the house Of commons in reply to a question.
 According to the Countess Chichester. last year 555 girls were transported ro Salt Lake City, Utah. She said this 1t meeting in support of the Chester Rescue Home, where she discussed the fragrant propaganda of Mormon.sm' being carried on throughout England. It was the ignorance of religious things In which our boyhood and girlhood were now growing up that made them fall an easy prey to these people who decoyed them away from their parents.
 The countess said she mentioned this because the propaganda was going on among the servant classes. There were large Mormon colonies at Tottenhan Liverpool, Essex, and in Ireland. The diff ficulty was to get facts upon which action could be taken to have the whole thing brought before parliament But facts were being accumulated and she hope before long action would he taken in the matter.
 The preliminaries of a sensational political libel suit have begun. It arises out of the tory leaflet circulated during the general election. alleging that John Redmond declared in a public speech that should a German army march across England, every Irishmnn woul1 rejoice This nonsense became the stock in trade of the tories certain tory member enthusiastically adopted 1t. and when pulled up by Mir. Redmond's re- pudiation, airily reioined that If Mir. Redmond had not said the particular thing, he had said things quite as bad. Whereupon an enthusiastic young liberal expressed himself with such trenchancy that the tory member issued writ for libel.
 The first dreadnonght of the new type has already been superseded as the latest ard finest sea-fightng machine, though she has only been in commission five years. She was launched six years ago.
 Admiral William May hauled down his flag two weeks ago and the original Dreadnought is to be taken in hand for a thorough refit.
 An even stronger vessel than either will soon be ready. This is the Orion, which is nearly 5000 tons larger than the Dreadnought. The rate at which lrr- are being effected in the con struction of these tremendous battleshlps means that their period of usefulness is growing shorter
 Formerly warships remained for years as frst-class fighting machines. but ev- cry few years, nowadays. practically new ships are discarded. During the present year no fewer than nine are under or ders to be struck out.
 The proposition to sell Rembrant's pie ture ''The Mll," for $500,0o0 to an Amer ican millionaire has caused unlimited iscussion printed and oral, and the Marquis I.ansdowe. the owner. has en- joyed it immensely. An t critic of rec ognized authority who writes anony says in one of our papers:
 The absurdity of the whole thing may be easily demonstrated by plant facts s.The Mil ' nut LID for public auction at Christie's might have fetched 16,000 don't say it would but It might The highest price ever paid for a picture at Christie's was 12.0O0 guineas Over the way at Willis that figure has been twice exceeded when Messrs. Rob- inson & Foster sold Hoppner's Lady Louisa Manners" for 1iCOo guineas a few years ago. I remember that when "A Gentleman On Horse back fetched 20O0 guineas three or four years ago the price was considered