The Washington times., 1937-03-24
7 AGE 5
BLAMED ON
GAMBLING
(Continued from Page y

horse racing; in North AndoVer
a shortage of S41,OO which we
feel quite sure was due to gam
bling on the horses; in Town
send. shortage OF $4,000,
which the collector stated was
due to betting on the horses; in
Worcester shortage of S3S,
600. which was likewise stated
to be due to the horse races; and
in Holden a shortage Of S2S,OOO'
also stated to be due to gam
bling on the races.
DROP IN BUCKET
"In my contact with the bond
ing company, l have been given
to understand that these cases
of public officials are only small
items compared with the effect
in commercial lines"
A letter from the chief of police
n one of the important industrial
,enters Ct the state reads in part
81 have have had a great
many instances of women seek
ing my aid to prevent their hus-
bands spending their money on
horse racing and 1 know Of
great many instances where
women have gone to the courts
and made nOnSuppOrt COM
plants against their husbands
when the cause of complaints
was the pari-mutuels.
81 know of two instances
where husbands were seeking
my aid to prevent their wives
from spending money at the
pari.mutuels, where the husband
would leave money to maintain
the family and the money
would be spent at the horse
races and the family neglected,
in some instances children
would be neglected, house rent
and grocery bills unpaid.
Il have had experiences with
officers Of the local department
spending their money for the
saHne thing, to wit, pari-mutuels
and horse racing, getting behind
in their bills. 1t is rule Of this
department that officers shall
pay their bills and when the
creditors complain that this has
not been done, investigation dis
closes that the money was spent
on the horse races. I have had
to arrange with their creditors
to get their indebtedness to
gether and appOrtiOn something
to each one until bills were paid.
CITES OTHER INSTANCES
81 know of another instance
where a man about to go on his
vacation, drew his three weeks
pay and all went on the horses,
consequently he had no vacation
and owed a number of bills as
a result.
1T is my opinion that horse
race tracks and pari-mutuelS are
detrimental to any community
and it is a Suckers game from
start to finish. All one has to
do is to give a little thought to
the matter and find where 10 to
Is per cent of every dollar goes
at the track. and it is only a
matter of time before they get
it all. 1t is no different than
sitting in a poker game where
there is a kitty and the kitty
gets it all, unless there is more
put into it.
81 also know that one Of the
greatest problems of insurance
companies at the present time Is
where bonded employees have
used company funds for betting
and insurance companies have
had to make good on the losses.
Il am satisfied that it has
caused a great deal of crime
and / know of several instances
where people have been prose
cuted for larceny, traceable to
money lost in pari-mutuel bet
ting"
Another police head declared
'In reply to your letter of
recent date would state there
Is no question but what betting
on horse races has developed
into a mania among those least
in a position to stand a loss.
The nearer the racing to my
city the more / notice the
effects.
Homes have been lost, fami-
lies separated, rents and other
debts gone unpaid, positions
lost because Of the bait dangIed
in front Of the eyes Of the
public.
1T is my opinion that at least
our National Capital should be
free Of this curse"
MERCHANTS COMPLAIN
A portion Of another letter from
the police chief of MasSachuSett
city reads:
Merchants in the communities
which l have cited have com.
planned continuously of their in
ability to receive compensation
for the bills contracted by their
patrons and shortages have been
discovered in the accounts of
public officials who have been
intrusted with municipal re-
ceiptS.
Even those stricken with this
gambling mania have acknOwl-
edged the evil of it, but yet are
unable to overcome the tempta-
tiOn to visit these plants, which
are in operation daily during the
spring and summer months.
In the City of Washington, 1t
would afford the racketeerS a
golden opportunity to invade the
SanctitY Of OuF Nations CaDitaI