The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1914-08-27
POOL ROOMS AND POOL

There is a good deal of prejudice
against pool and pool rooms; enough
in this state TO cause the passage by
the last legislature Of law prohibit
ing minors from entering public pool
rooms, and imposing a fine on all
pool room proprietors who allow
boys to play at their tables.
Pool, however. is a good game 1t
is certain and sure that a man is go
ing to amuse himself with some
game, and he had a whole lot better
he playing pool than poker 1t is
better for him mentally, physically,
financially and morally to play pool
than TO do lot of other things; and
it is hard to see what harm there is
for any man who has been busy all
day to divert his mind and bring an
other set of muscles into use by in
dulging in a game of pool Most of
our citizens have played pool at one
time or another, anu it has done
very few of them any harm.
However, most men will agree that
a pool room is no place for a boy.
Its no place for him for the same
reason that no place where men
congregate exclusively is good
place for boys. Most men are in
clined to be careful what they do
and say in the presence of boys of
fifteen or less. But some are not.
and it only takes one or two careless
or vicious men to undo all the good
twenty decent men can do.
So it is a good law that prohibits
boys from entering pool rooms. 1t
is true that boy of Is or more is
about as we'll able TO take care of
himself in a pool room as one of Fl
to ,25 But the legislature had to
Now, all the boys naturally Like to
play pool, and it is only once in
while that it does one harm to play
it. And it seems rather unjust that
they must all be shut out from it be-
cause it spoiIs a few.
The Star thinks that in every city
there should be pool rooms where
boys and boys only should be allow
ed to play Under the present law,
they can only play legally in private
residences, and there are very few
homes comparatively that are we'll
enough off to afford pool tables.
This is something that the Y. NJ. G.
A. might do. IF Ocala had a Y. NJ.
C. A or young mems club, 1T would
be a very good move for it to estab-
lish pool room In charge of a care
full custodian, and set aside in it
one or more pool tables at which the
boys might play. They would have
to play for nothing in order to COM
ply with tine law, but this could be
made up for by charging every boy a
small membership fee.
There is not much done in Ocala
for boys The city owns its water
plant, but it will probably make
every other improvement before 1t
gives them a swimming pool. The
manager of the baseball team lets
them practice on the diamond, but
otherwise they have no playground.
They have mo place to get together
among themselves except on the
streets; and while the streets teach
boy great deal that he has to
know, they teach him some things
that he had better not know.
A good many of the boys go into
the poolrooms in spite of the law.
The Star sees a number that it
knows are Is or less in the various
places in Ocala OF course, if a
Young fellow of Is says he is 21, the
poolroom proprietor, unless he has
know the boy all his life, can't
very well refuse to take his word.
The trouble is that the proprietor's
ignorance will not excuse him in
case of prosecution. But it may sur
prise the minors who pass them
selves off as adults to learn that
they are also laying themselves ha-
BILE to prosecution when they misrep-
resent their ages. The law is bet
ter observed in places like Ocala or
smaller than in larger cities.