The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1919-10-24
mexico OASIS FOR
JOY CROWDS
Border Towns Haven For
Gamblers And Thirsty
Americans.


doors and many drunkards planned
to go to sea To become used to wa
ter" and when at the same time the
United States government put into
effect regulations to control vice con-
ditiors, Kidding the Southwest of
gamblers and prostitutes as far as was
possible, especially in those places
where American soldiers at the time
were being modified and trained in
military camps, the border towns of
Mexico at once saw the opportunity
that was presented TO reap harvest
of wealth by the establishment of sa-
looms, the opening Of gambling dens
and the offering of protection to those
unfortunate women who might care
TO cross the boundary line to continue
the pursuits they had followed in
Texas.
when the prohibition measures of
Texas were tested in the courts OF
the state and declared to be consti-
tutional. the Mexican towns of Juarez,
Piedras Negras. Nuevo Laredo and
Matamoras each We'd with the other
in providing places where American
men and women, or rather those men
who were addicted to drinking and
gambling, and women who pursued
immoral pursuits, would find haven
of safety. The result was that in
Nuevo Laredo and Matamoras hun
dreds of saloons were opened, gam
bling dens where roulette, monte.
poker and other games, wheels of
fortune and craps were opened. while
the places mentioned were soon full
of Mexican and American prostitutes.
Nuevo Laredo and Matamoras had be-
come not only second Monte Carlo
for gambling, but soon there were
many places where hundreds of Mex
lean women and American drunkards
held forth in their orgies.
Recently representative of the In
ternational News Service. while EN-
route to Monterey. stopped over Sun
day in Laredo and decided to make an
investigation of conditions in Nuevo
Laredo. Going over 10 the Mexican
city opposite Laredo it was found
that several score of saloons were
filled with men. of whom 80 per cent
were Americans, and most of these
had already had a number of rounds
of drinks and were still INDUCING.
Calling for a bottle of beer of an
American brand, we were handed a
bottle with a Budweiser label on it,
but the contents was beer made in
Monterey, and the price per pint bot
tie was 80 cents American money.
Whisky sells all the way from 25
cents to 80 cents drink.
Yanks Good Patrons.
The saloonkeeper in this particular
bar stated that the Sunday before he
had taken in over $500 from the sale
of beer and whiskey alone. and that
most of the patrons were Americans,
The other saloons in the town had
done an equally big business, so il is
evident that several thousand Ameri-
can dollars are spent each Sunday in
the Mexican border town OF Nuevo
Lardeo alone.
Adjoining most of the saloons in
Nueyo Laredo and Matamoras one
finds rooms where there are crap
tables, monte tables. poker tables and
roulette wheels, and these are al
ways literally patronized. The fas-
cinating game of roulette invariably
gets its full quota of victims, for the
boosters" who are always hang
ing about. soon inveigle one into the
game If he does not voluntarily try
his luck A stranger at the roulette
table generally wins the first time
he puts his money on a number, a
column, or a color. Then he is in
vited to have a bottle of beer or a
drink of whisky. and later encouraged |
to- try his luck again. And so it |
keeps ON this way in the gaming !
room. A few weeks ago a wealthy !
oil operator from Tampico, while un-
der the influence of liquor in a Nue.
vo, Laredo, gambling hall "bucked"
a crap game and lost $4,000. But
this is only one instance Of where
have lost heavily in
games" on the Mexican side Of the
Rio Grande.
The Mexican officials afford pro-
lection to the saloons and gambling
dens of their cities and, in fact, en-
courage them. II is said that
when the mayor of Nuevo Laredo OPP
posed gambling in saloons of Neuvo
about two months ago, con-
Lrary TO the approval of Governor
Ozuna, of the state of Tamaulipas,
who, it is reported, had an interest
In the concessions the mayor was
from office and was succeed
I'd by a mayor pro tenn, who permit