Show SLOT MACHINES 1 ttY does not the city attorney prepare S I t and present to the city commission an ordinance prohibiting slot machines which ww will resist any barrage of technicalities If the present present ordinance why I 1 not write a a new one bearing teeth To the lay mind the hocus-pocus hocus of or the theRiot they 11 y slot Riot machines in Salt Lake h has gone alto alto- gether to too far The city attorney issues the ne usual complaints charging operators with poss possessing slot mac machines The defense de demurs demurs de- de murs on the ground that the ordinance does not prohibit the possession of slot machines The court sustains the demurrer Whereupon the city attorney amends the complaint charging the defendants with operating op operating operating op- op gambling machines and a number of the defendants come in ln pl plead ad guilty and are e assessed nominal fines The people are arc therefore led to believe I that under the Ithe present ordinance a slot machine i is not a gambling device until the proprietor in whose place o of business it Is operated redeems whatever chips or tokens it may spew forth In other othe words the present ordinance provides in effect that so long as a customer I plays money into Juto a slot machine and gets noth nothing g in return except chips or tokens which are worthless he is not gambling It Itis is plain he hasn't a chance to win and therefore therefore therefore there there- fore cannot be gambling He is merely pouring pourIng pourIng pour pour- ing his money into a rat hole with no hope of reward The play player r becomes a gambler only when possessed of pt tokens he exchanges them for lor merchandise The p proprietor by the same same rule becomes a law Jaw violator by giving something something some some- something thing instead of ac accepting something for or nothing Having utterly failed to clarify t the e ordinance nance put teeth into it or do anything at atall atall atall all to remove the anomaly the city attorney might easily enough resort to his old device of hiring outside counsel to show him how to put the slot machines out of ot business as gambling devices or 11 license nse them as one of our foremost indoor sports |