El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-01-11
SALOONS WIDE OPEN SUNDAYS
AND GAMBLING UNRESTRICTED

Banished From JuareE. Welcome Here
/ Crooks who have been ordered out Of
| Juarez and thrown off the racetrack be-
cause they did not pay tribute or be-
! cause their games were too raw, are al
! lowed to remain on this side and ply
! their trade. There is a sort Of grin
humOr in the thought that the city OF
| FL Paso welcomes and protects persons
] too crooked to be allowed to remain II
! Juarez, Mexico.
And It is not the first time Juarez
/ has actually set the pace for FL Pa.sc
! in matters Of this kind. On July 10
! 1903, a year and fOun months before
] Ell Paso closed gambling and threw out
/ ly declared i am not here to criticize
/ the law, but to enforce it, No matter
/ what my opinion may be, / intend to
/ enforce the law as it stands" And he
! did; many viii remember that Juare7
| forced the -buncO' men out at that
/ time, while the chief Of police Of Fl
! Paso (whose views are certainly not
/ approved by the present chief was
! thinking up his remarkable declaration
/ that "BuncO men are a good thing for
! the town." as quoted in the heading on
| the first page today
Commenting on the stand taken by
! the mayor Of Juarez in 1903, The III
| PasO Herald said editOrially on July Is,
/ 1908: If there were one man in re-
! responsible public office in Ell Paso who
/ would act on that principle, we should
! see a. vast change for the better in a
little While" The change came, but IL
I was forced upon the public officials by
| an Irresistible public sentiment.
The Herald proved that "bunco men"
/ robbed home people as Wen as
/ strangers, and the home people at last
/ came TO life and acted in self de-
fence
Is history to be repeated. after the
wide open Sunday saloons.
Sunday is our big day" said a To-
cal saloon man, laughingly, few days
ago. on a Sunday, when asked how bust
ness was going Sunday is our big
day" Yet there are plenty Of laws on
the Texas statute books, designed to
keep saloons closed on Sundays, and
recently, when such a scare was thrown
into the saloon men by their narrow
escape from statewide prohibition. they
loudly announced that they were going
to be good and obey the law. sunday
is our big day, now.
Law Openly DefIed.
A large number of the saloons of FL
PasO are open ali day Sunday, or q
part of the day. This fact is notorious,
and well known, 1t is inconceivable
that the authorities should be in ig-
nOrance Of it.
There is no difficulty in getting into
the saloons of Ell Paso on Sundays No
password is required no secret tap
ping or whistle. Just walk in and order
what YOU want The Sunday opening is
not occasional, not exceptional, but is
the largest saloons in the heart Of the
business district
From 25 to so men have been seen
at one time in downtown saloons on
sundays
Places not saloons also serve drinks
on sundays, practically without restric-
IIagrantly, ana continually violated,
and apparently no effort is being made
or has been made by the authorities to
put stop to It.
A II
Furthermore, large, well known
downtown saloons keep open habitual-
y after midnight, in clear violation
Of state laws. With some it is the rule
rather than the exception. to keen omen
until l OF 1880 a. m every night, and
some keep open until 4 or 8. and per-
maps all night. 1t is incOnceivable that
the authorities can be in Ignorance Of
this.
Property Owners in Danger.
As 70 the saloon men violating the
AVS they are violating their bonds.
and the bonding companies ought to
take steps to protect themselves be-
fore they are made to pay
As TO the gambling houses. the land
lords Of these places are responsible
under the law, and it could be made
very uncomfortable for them if ANYBODY
should manifest sufficient interest in
the present condition to start some
It is as well 10 remind the people right
now that gambling is felony in
Texas, calling for penitentiary
sentence e Paso may be slow to wake
up. but she has a mighty solid rush
line when she gets In action
Young Girls Menaeed.
The private booth" system in the
chinese and other public restaurants, |
saloons. and hotels (there are often va
riOus communicating doors that make I
il easy(, is declared by responsible pub /
deDauchlng OF young girls. Push but I
tons at the tables call the WAITER
from a nearby saloon, and drinking
with reckless men behind partitions !
sometimes to sad results.
Serious Crimes Most Common.
FL Paso this winter since the race )
gambling season opened in JuareZ has
had more hOldups, burglarfes and as /
saults than ever before in the same 4
length OF time. At least two murders 4
since the Juarez race gambling insti- 4
tuition opened can be ascribed directly
to the vice catered to by the Juarez /
race gamblIng-one Of these was the
murder Of Z. kohlberg, a highly re- /
spected and valuable citizen. killed /
without provocation by a race gam /
bier who had failed to nav his rent \
owing to gambling losses.
FL PasO Streets Unsafe.
Since race gambling opened in Jua-
rez this year especially, It has been /
unsafe Tor women or for men walking
singly and unarmed, to go about the
streets after dusk. owing to the fire.
quent holdups and highway rObberies
on principal streets by bold and des
oerate thugs attracted here by the
wide open town" Many men have
fallen into the habit Of riding on street
5ars where formerly they walked. and
many others habitually take the CEN
Ter Of the street and keep off the side
walks because of the dark places
along the way where highwaymen NAV
be lying in wait 1t is a most ex
-raordinary situation for any decent /
modern. well governed city to find III
self in, and yet FL Paso takes it as
,almly as if IL were usual and inev-
table.
Ruined Character and Business
Many cases Of embezzlement, forgery /
md theft, business failure and embar- l
'assment, lost confidence. lost credit.
ost positions. are known to bankers I
merchants the commercial agencies
md business men-almOst all due to /
he wide open town" and its necessary
Young boys. some Of
hem from the best families" are
aught thieving, and it is found that
hey have been gambling on pool or
otherwise trying to get something for
iothing, and have been driven to
lsing their employers money to get
wen. Minors of respectable families |
earn to associate habitually with /
-ouths of shady reputation and ques-
ionable morals, and systematic de- }
'auchery Of young boys is going on in !
q 80 ]