The Dayton Forum

One night just before Christmas, we saw a man on a West Side corner crying like a baby. His story was really pathetic. Said he was a moulder by trade and just a few hours before had drawn a check for $37.50, the pay, for a week's hard labor. This fellow had a wife and nine children to support, and his money was all gone. Here is what had happened: On his way home from work some of his friends had enticed him to join them in a game of "Georgia Skin." They had won every dime of his pay and the rent was due, food, fuel, Santa Claus and other necessities for his home were needed. We only had two bits, so we gave that to him. How he came out is hard to say.

About a month ago we visited one of the West Side race horse bookies and upon entering heard a very heated argument. A woman had put her last $.50 on a supposedly fast nag. As is always the way, the horse forgot to leave the post. After long wrangling and quite a few ahs from the audience the manager refunded the fifty-cent piece. She also claimed that she had no food and was sick and needed medicine.

The point we are driving at is this. The police department knows of all these noted gambling places but they infrequently raid them. They also know every numbers writer and turn-in station on the West Side. They raid the numbers boys and girls weekly and sometimes daily, but we can see no reason for just picking exclusively on them. We are not trying to hold up for any form of gambling, but trying to show the inconsistency of the arrests made in these three types of gambling. In our mind the first two is much worse than the last, because once the average person gets into a skin game, poker, crap game, etc., he won't quit until he will have lost every dime of his dough. In playing numbers, a person won't play over $.50 or $.75 and let it go at that. Say what you may, all the powers that be can't stop gambling. We were of the opinion that these stories might interest you in the face of the impending industrial crisis.