East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1921-06-22
BY WILL COOK
international News Service staf


| international News Service staff
Correspondent)
PARIS, June 22.--June and July.
/ thanks to horse racing and the big
| races in these months, are fruitful
/ periods for the French Government 3
Golfers. for II is during this period
that the largest sums of the year are
! played on horses, The state drawn
| II per cent Of the money played in
the pari-mutuel booths or the official
betting stalls established on all tracks.
| 1t Is estimated that an ordinary week
days as much as three million francs Is
played at the races.
on days when there are important
races to be decided this amount runs
very much bigger, as for instance on
Grand Prix day when some four hum
dred thousand people gather at Long
champs to watch the biggest race in
France Last year fourteen million
francs were played on the race alone
and the days takings amounted to
more than twenty million francs.
But apart from these official booths
there are secret means of playing
races without going on the tracks.
such bets are taken by so called book
makers all over France and in some
towns such as Paris, Lyons. Bordeaux
and Marselles, the money played in
this clandestine way is said to great
ly excel the money played on the
tracks. Naturally the government
cannot collect II per cent on these
bets Numerous attempts have been
made To run these "bookies" to earth,
but with little success for the simple
reason that in most cases bets are
Eiade on mutual understanding Of
confidence between the PLAYER and the
"bookie." No traces Of bets are to be
found except those made in the small
er and popular bars of the capital,
where slips are exchanged.
Government Has First Lien
Bookmakng was abolished in
France in 1905 in favor of the official
parimutuel booths. With these booths
no odds are given out on horses prior
to the race and the returns are only
known after the race and after the de-
duction OF the states II per cent.
The horse who carries the most money
in bets pays out the least if he wins.
The bar type of "bookie" pays out
the same sums as the official returns.
whereas the old type "bookie" who
still operates on the tracks despite pc
lice supervision continues to give odds
before the race.
Tho latter will only deal with per-
sons known to him. He will often
give odds of three-to-one against a
horse whereas the pari-mutuel returns
will show odds of three to one on the
same horse.
The bar "bookie" will sometimes
take in large shops and offices as well
as bars and If he has "A prosperous
quarter to work in he usually has a
large staff of bookkeepers who lat
night when the results are known, I
check up his slips. He will start in
the morning at about eight and go |
al ound to factories or shops and there
take the bets of the employees and =,
sometimes the employers as well Then |
he will drift into hairdressers' shops |
and collect slips and money from |
them. From there he will visit all !
his" cafes and bars and collect more |
slips and money He will take any
from one franc twenty-five
Centmes (25 cents normally to two
or three thousand francs
Rockies Usually Profit
At the pari-mutuel booth there is no
maximum limit to betting, but nothing
Iess than five francs can be played.