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Show ' IS GAMBLING OBJECTIONABLE? JUST what is the attitude of Cedar City on the question ques-tion of gambling officially, individually, collect- . ively, publically and privately? Is vambliny an B '' " offense against society, and ought irto be punished, H i! or is this notion of gambling being wrong merely an H , old woman notion which operates in the restraint of H trade and tends to hold back and retard business con- H ditions in a town? Like all other moral qscstions, it H ' is up to the majority to decide. The majority of the H people have the right to make the laws and rules by H j which social conditions are regulated ; but in our opin- H ,! ion we should be consistent in these matters. Here H are a few of the thoughts that present themselves to H "r many people : It is recalled that a few years ago an H ,( old and needy man was arrested and punished for H raffling a load of wood in Cedar City. The wood was ' the product of his toil; the money was needed for H 4 the support of his family. ItMS recalled that a num- H I ' ber of raids have been made of private quarters where B'j it was known or believed men had congregated to H I play cards for money out of sight of the general H jj public, usually in premises which they owned or con- H 1 trolled. It is also recalled that boys have been ar- H ij rested for pitching nickles, and from a number of H other examples it might be gleaned that Cedar City H is a closed town so far as gambling is concerned. But H on the other hand, we consider the carnival of the H Post United Shows which has been in Cedar City for H the past several days. With the exception of the H merry-go-round, the dance hall and the hula-hula H show, which did not obtain enough patronage to con-, H tinue, the entire carnival was made up of game of H chance concessions rolling and swinging balls, var- H ;j ious forms of wheels of fortune, on which the venturer H , lost his money or obtained a prize, just as the fickle H J .. goddess of luck or chance, chose to decree. These H ' concessions were operated in the glare of the elec- H ; trie lights and in the presence of hundreds of people H ' men, women and children, all of whom participated H ( . in the gambling excitement and were operated un- H der a city franchise. Then we will go back a little H farther to our racing carnival and we recall that then H again gambling was open and unrestricted. H Now. The Record is not seeking to criticise or H find fault, but as a conveyor of news and informa- H tion to the people, we should like to know just where H we, as a comunity, stand on the question of gambling. H Where do we draw the line? Are we consistent in H our attitude? Ought, under the circumstances, our M ordinances against gambling to remain upon the or- dinance book? |