OCR Text |
Show That Circus Affair. In not ordering the gaming de ices and hoochce-koochee side show run In connection with the Sells & Downs shows closed down, Marshal Crockett and the other city oillcers come In ror a considerable share or Just criticism. Maishal Crockett states that he and Sheriff Rlgby were taken through the shows by the manager, were shown the gambling devices, etc., and could see nothing wrong, jet admits that In the very nature of things the gaming done must necessarily come under the head of gambling. The sentiment of the people Is against gambling, the laws arc also against gambling, and those devices should hae been closed down berore a number or suckers weie caught and robbed or their money. The assertion or the olllclals that they could sec nothing wiong with the. outfits and the way they were manipulated manip-ulated counts ror less than nothing. It Is hardly piobable that the operators opera-tors would gie away their method. The ract that the grartcrs opeiatcd as secretly as possible was enough to condemn con-demn them and the ofllccrs should hae stopped this grart at the outset. There Is no excuse ror dilatory action. The conduct or the hoochce-koochee hoochce-koochee people was known to be las-clvlotisand las-clvlotisand disicputable, and the language lan-guage or the raklrs advertising tills part or the performance was known to be outrageously suggestive. That boys under eighteen were not admitted ad-mitted Is not sutllclent reason for its continuance and both advertiser and show should have been compelled to quit business much sooner than they did. L. R. Martlneau's action in demanding demand-ing the show closed, etc., Is to be commended. com-mended. Such action required considerable con-siderable moral courage yet Mr. Mar-tlneau Mar-tlneau might have used lessspectacular methods with the same results. Ills language when at the height or indignation in-dignation was hardly less disreputable than that used by the showman, and his "scrapping" propensity is to be condemned no less than Officer Benson's Ben-son's disposition to strike Mr. Fred Madison when that gentle man made a statement conflicting wi th his own. "Z'lr affair on the show grounds Friday Fri-day "was unfortunate. The show as a whole was bright, clean and ordeily, free or toughs and drunks, and but for tills little side show performance with Its gambling appaiatus must have gone out or here with Hying colors. However, the people or this community do not want cither gambling gamb-ling or lewd women perfoimers In their midst, and will not tolerate It. |