Evening star., 1950-04-28
Senate Gaming Probe
Could Render Service
To States and Cities
Inquiry Already Pointing
To Evils Mayors Foee
With Political Rockets
By David Laurence

By David Laurence
No greater service can be rem
dered right now to help the States
and cities which are under the
thumb Of gangsters and their po-
litical allies than to expose what
Is happening in the gambling and
crime rackets of the country.
The investigation at present be-
ing conducted by a Senate sub
committee under the chairman
ship Of Senator Mcfarland Of
Arizona. Democrat, is only
scratching the surface, but it is
already pointing to the evils which
mayors face in various American
cities.
The defenders of gambling,
especially those who want to see
it legalized, profess to see no
connection between these activi-
ties and the vice that prevails,
but if a Senate committee were
disposed to inquire minutely into
what's happening in various
States, it would open the eyes of
the American people.
Real Value Of Inquiry.
Unfortunately, there has been
In some quarters too much of a
political complexion given the
crusade-an effort to stress a tie
up between the national Admin
istration and the political ma
chimes in some of the big cities.
No thorough study of conditions
in these cities, of course, can avoid
exposing the politics that hide
the rackets but the other objec-
tives are ever so much more i'm
portant than immediate political
advantage to the prosecutors.
The real value of the inquiry,
if Congress will ever get started
on comprehensive job, is to en-
able the newspapers of the various
States concerned to publish libel
proof articles that tell what is 60
ing on in their midst. Few news
papers now would dare to print
what they know of the gambling
rackets because this could involve
them in costly litigation.
In one State, for example, q
newspaper editor told this cor
respondent that in one county
the regular payroll to pay off
SheriffS Is in excess of $4,000
a week. This money goes to buy
protection and to carry on illegal
activities before the eyes of the
law. Nothing since the days of
prohibition compares with it. The
corruption which gambling money
has wrought is we'll known to
local newspapers in different Sec
tions of the country, but they
are unable to publish the details
without inviting risks.
Silence in Florida Campaign.
There is a hard-fought contest
going on in Florida for a seat in
the United States Senate, but very
little is being said during the cam
paign about the gambling busi-
ness. When the campaign is over.
it would behoove the Senate In
vestigating Committee to take a
good look at conditions in Florida
There are people who defend
gambling as inevitable and as
something that cannot really be
eradicated. They overlook the fact
that when any considerable num-
ber of citizens, young and old. be-
gin to see law officers Indifferent
to law violations, the whole fabric
Of local government begins to de-
teriorate and it affects everything
else that a state or city may try to
do to keep vice from injecting it's
normal life.
The Senate hasn't yet fully
worked out its plan for a full in
vestigation of gambling and rack
cts that flourish in several States.
Ultimately some resolution will
pass and the inquiry will get
started. But the delays do look
as if there is not the wholehearted
determination behind the drive
that there ought to be.
1t is being said in some quar-
ters here that, after all, these are
local State matters rather than
Federal responsibilities. No such
fine points of jurisdiction have
been raised by So-called liberals
heretofore in discussing civil
rights issues. The truth is that
local government, and in some
cases State government, has
broken down to the point where
Federal inquiries can at , least
bring out all the facts and Con-
gresS can determine later what
interstate questions are involved.
If Congress will only expose the
true situation. the people of the
various States may be expected to
find the remedy-but they can
not be aroused without the facts
that a Senate committee can re-
veal.