Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-07-01
Investigation by The Star
Indicates That Scores of
Resorts Operate Daily.
DELAY IN THE COURTS
CHARGED BY POLICE
Afternoon and Night Clans Gather
to Bet on Races. Craps
and Other Games.


the subcommittee OF the District
committee, to the police to clean up
the gambling situation in Washing
ton. The Star had conducted an in
restigGtion into gambling establish
meHts in operation here. If the ac-
tiuities OF the police and courts hare
succeeded in forcing any OF these
establishments to close up, members
OF The Star stat tUho spent tiro
tceeks Cisiting these places toiled to
discoUer it. The Star men UiSited
many places NTH little difficulty
and matched hundreds gambling.
What they found tc!u be described
in the tollocing article ard Others to
f0lIotc.
Washington is full of gambling
houses, and if the door is not wide
open, it is unlocked SO that anybody
who knows enough to turn the knob
can walk right in
Every afternoon and every night.
in innumerable places throughout the
city, the clans gather for betting on
the races, craps, black jack. roulette.
hazard and so on. and the only effost
made to stop it is an occasional futile
gesture.
The number Of gambling houses I'm
Washington has been variously esti-
mated at from 20 to 200. The latter
figure appears to be nearer the mark.
A month ago the Gibson subcom-
mittee laid before Police Supt. Hesse q
list of 19 large gambling establishments
in the city and read TO him a report
painting a lurid picture of gambling
conditions here. Mai. Hesse embel-
liShed the picture by estimating that
there are 200 such places. whereupon
the subcommittee, before adjourning.
promised to return In July to find out
what had been done to get rid Of them.
Police Blame Courts.
Today the picture Is as Iurid as it
was month ago. The police admit
that there are more than zoo gambling
places running. keep on raiding them.
and blame slow court procedure for the
failure to break them up. The pro-
prietors, appreciating the situation. are
openly contemptuous of the police.
Investigating tmpartially, reporter for
The Star found little evidence of any
thing effective being done TO stop it
and no evidence that anybody thought
it could be stopped
He found elaborate clubs, organized
for gambling, running full blast in the
heart OF the downtown district, patron
lied by thousands and moleSted BY
none. He watched thousands Of dol
lars pass across green tables and
through betting windows; he saw al
the fixtures of all the race tracks re-
constructed for the benefit of the bet
tors. about the only thing lacking be-
ing the horses: he shot craps and played
black jack, and usually lost. and saw
clerks and carpenters and children los
ing. too. and observed that it was all
organized in a very fine system that
laws and law enforcers have SO far been
unable to beat
Most of the 200 gambling places. Mai.
HeSSe told the Gibson subcommittee, are
operated by handbook makers. The ma
jarity of these and many of the places
where other gambling goes on are small
places, some Of them rented rooms,
some private houses. A number OF them
are transitory. A place is raided and
the gang moves somewhere else. Occa-
Sionally the proprietor of one OF them
is put out of business. but very seldom.
The records show that.
Clubs incorporated.
Most OF the heavy gambling goes on
in Incorporated clubs. 1t was these that
the Bureau Of Efficiency investigated for
the Gibson subcommittee. The bureau
found 10, and 10 days of Investigation
convinced The Star reporter that that
inquire Is about correct He visited q
number OF them and watched them do
a thriving business.
1t is an unbeatable game The police
win admit that OF course. there Is q
law against gambling in the District,
but the system IS so perfect that little
headway can be made In breaking Il
up. The reason is that IL Is organized.
The big gamblers who own the places
never appear there. They have the
places ncorporated-uSually without
their own names appearing--aS The
p, D, Q. Athletic Club" or The Pic
colo Players Social Club" or The Hod
Carriers Shakespeare Club" or any
other name that will not indicate the
purpose Of 1t. OF course everybody
knows what they are for,
Some OF them are open afternoons
and evenings, and in these all kinds of
cations. one for betting ON the races.
with black jack on the side. and the
other for night work. with craps as the
chief attraction. They are IN every sec
tion Of the city. just like the neighhor-
hood movie houses. but the biggest ones
are downtown with the banks and biz
stores.
Easy 10 Find.
They all look alike. Most OF them are
ON the second fioor. reached By golng
through two or three doors OF wood.
steel or wrought iron and up narrow
steps which are convenient for Kicking
anyone down. But. while il Is hard TO
break into them, IL Is not bit hard 20
locate them and find out what Is going
on. The star man found one by simply
picking out q likely looking place With
drawn shades on the second story VIM
dowS and then standing near the door
or few minutes. In the comparatively
quiet interval between the passing OF
two street cars. he heard the rateling OF
the chips.
Most OF the big places have been onen
for some time. Nest OF them have been
Caided Some OF the employees have
been fined. one or two given iail sem
tenees, Hut the man at the top at
tends 70 that. Seeing that none of his
GENES out the loser. IL is
safe for both, The bic man pays the
bills and the little ones take the blame.
The police say that one or two places
have been put out Of business The
test. they admit frankly, open up ax
soon as the smoke OF the raid has