El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-06-04
PERHAPS 1T Is TIME FOR THIS
CITY TO SAY WHAT 1T WANTS

S WITH open gambling, the end of FL Paso's "wide
a OPEN period Of tolerated debauchey come sud
= \ denly and unanimously, now that the PoeketDooK
Is touched Ten years of campaigning against open gambling
were required before the business element concluded to
fend itself an that time every argument In the cataog
from morals to money being urged upon the people
Each year. number of those to whom the Licensing OF
open gambling had become abhorTent was increasing
Early In the campaign and women felt that the
situation bad and sought to bring about better cond
tons homes boys receiving some instruction
Business men finding it increasingly difficult to hold
reliable help Landlords losing rent Merchants were
losing money on credit accounts unwsey extended. But
there disposition to lay the trouble any and every
thing except the real In spite OF
the campaign went The leaven working Men and
women were becoming restless The Of the city had
been backened 1t realized that this was difficult
place IN which boy right Temptations were too
open and too active
It required shock to bring about the big change The
National Irrigation congress to meet here IN November
1904 Many others felt that would be disastrous to
permit SO large body Of representative Americans from
all over the nation to find e Paso deporanle con-
dition the advertisement would react nJuriousy Shortly
before the congress to assemble little group Of men
got together and started the citizens League That sum
and fail the work Of organization went on Eight hun
dred pledged themselves to do whatever Is necessary
at the order Of the chairman to put stop to open
eabInq-and most of them believed that it meant civil
war and boodshed accomplish it Fifteen hundred men
pledged moral and financial support
mass meeting was called, and 1000 men and women
attended few speeches made, committee
appointed. Next day the sheriff notified that the
people wlIed the closing Of the 40 gambling halls Inc
sheriff served notice through The Herald At midnight the
gambling houses closed, and they have not been
opened since. That Is years ago.
II seemed like miracle. But It was no miracle. 1t
was the normal result Of long campaign Of education,
during which the masses Of the people had become
WINGED though they did not realize until the shock came
Today many business who fought against the
ent to close gambling in 1904 would put up money with
out limit to prevent gambling from reopenng here Yet 1t
was the dollars and cents argument that really carried
the closing success although that would have
been impossible the underlying sentiment Of the people
generally had not been correctly lined up through the long
years of campaigning
Nov face the prospect Of having all the troops re-
moved from Fl PasO-not merely Of losing the training
camp which e had confidently counted but even
Of losing greater part Of the garrison at Fort Bliss
The shock is imminent now. Maybe 81 Paso will wake
ND as the city did in 1904 The dollars and cents"
ent may get action again. whereas the long years OF aru
neut along other lines have seemed to fan fiat Maybe
some Of cared much what happened TO the
bodies and souls Of and women and boys and girls;
but the poeketbook is to be touched now.
Assume that the elected officials Of the county and city
need definite popular mandate now; assume that they
have been doing they thought the people wanted them
to do; assume that they willing and ready to comp
zith public demand unmistakable and vigorous, was
the anti-gamblns mandate in 1904.
Perhaps another meeting with 1000 present (men
only) is due Perhaps another Citizens League is due
Perhaps there is time trfe with the matter Per
saps action may have to be taken Immediately, and so