El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-11

and other peoples money, when they
Z can't find ways conveniently enough
TO do 1t in FL PasO. Saturday nights
/ and Sundays are the big days" in
! Juarez, and immense sums Of FL Paso
money go over the river every night
in the week, but especially Saturdays
and sundays.
over 100000 a year Of FL Paso
money is being diverted from its nor
nal channels Of trade and business
and thrown away on Juarez keno, race
gambling, the fiesta, and other gamb-
ling games in Juarez.
Keeps FL PasO Drained.
1t is idle to say this does not con-
Germ US. We may not be able to gov
ern Juarez any better than we govern
our own city, but at any rate the busi-
ness men, for the protection of their
own business and the interests of their
patrons, can adopt means to discourage
Ell PasOans from wasting such immense
sums in gambling over the river
FL PasO merchants have been COM
planning for years of poor collections.
and the conditions have been especially
bad Of late
This is the reason.
There is no use in trying to dodge
the issue. FL PasO is being system
atically drained Of ready cash, and il
is going to Juarez, at least 100000 a
year, probably considerably more. A
Americans Of low wage earning capac-
ity, cannot stand such a fearful drain
without Everybody feeling it.
The pOcketbook argument" viii
sooner or later appeal to the bankers
and merchants of FL PasO, and TO the
corporations and all employers of Ia
Dor, to stop, or at least to reduce. this
drain Of ready cash ove- the river.
COLLECTIONS Are Slow
More than $3.50, 900 of FL PasO money,
n frn
December alOne-not for Sunday
drinks buHfights, ordinary games, or
ordinary purchases, we are not talk
ing about those things, but for keno,
race gambling. and the fiestas.
No wonder collections are slow in
FL Paso.
No wonder many small merchants
are on the ragged edge. and larger
merchants have to pay their bills in
'pre-dated checks"
Gambling Bug Has Hold.
The gambling bug has got firm hold
in Ell Paso, among all classes; we
would do well to recognize this un-
fortunate fact right now, and take
steps to control and gradually eradi- /
cate the disease, 1t will pay every
business man in FL Paso to take a
hand in the movement to stop this fear
full drain of the ready money paid out
in FL Paso weekly and monthly in
wages and salaries and wasted in
ately withheld from the grocer the [
dry goods merchant the landlord, the
clothier, the butcher and the savings
bank.
The Keno Games.
At the keno games in Juarez, the at l
tendance is all drawn from FL PasO. |
Saturday and Sunday nights among I
the hundreds attending, from 80 to 1
so women may be counted at the tables, I
some of them accompanied by boys /
II nr ] We n
women are not, for the most part, OF |
shady character, but on the contrary I
are of the wage earning and salaried I
classes in FL PasO, the store clerks /
wage workers and small tradesnen. /
residents in respectable boarding /
houses. or others that cannot be 1
classed with the abandoned.
society Women and Girls Play.
Men and women prominent in the J
best society of FL Paso have been seen (
playing keno in Juarez, and even young /
girls, from the first families, go and 4
play and lose and laugh and joke about I
it as great exploit
The worst thing that can happen to /
any keno player is to win. for that /
makes a fiend Of him. The percentage (
against a player starts in at 20, be-
cause the house" takes down that 7
much-in other Wordsl If there should 1
be only a single individual playing and Z
he should play 1000 yeaFs, starting with I
500, he would end UP after all his |
playing with only $50, Tor the house"
would take the rest. ihis is the law
of chances. about which every gambler
knows a lot, and about which the aver
age Individual is whoHF ignorant.
When besides this one player with
one card) at the tables there are 299
others, each with one icard (there are
frequently 300 cards In use, and an
attendance of 200 or mRre is cOmmOn)
then besides the regu Var percentage
that the "house" takesh there is Just
one chance out of 500 III az any particu-
lar person will keno All any particular
calm other words, u one played
steadily with one card eV Fry night for a
year, he would be likely to win once, /
but not certain of that
Where FL PasO's MoIheN is Going.
OF course sOmebod1F wins each
eall but when you reft oember the 200
others who lose each ttme, it is not !
lard to figure w w VOC III Paso-s