Evening Star Newspaper, May 15, 1895, Page 9

THE EVENING STAR, WEDNESDAY, MAY 15, 1895—-ITWELVE PAGES. 9 Briefly! All $10, $12.50, $13.50, $14 and $15 Suits For $8.20, Even -the wintry winds could not stem the tide of steady buying which pre- vailed here yesterday. Of course we shall be accused of ruining the clothing business—spoiling you and losing money for ourselves, but it matters little to us. We are not guided by what others do. We started out to make this YOUR ckthing stere—to save you money—not to get rich quick! In the face of general complaint we have had a most successful season—a third greater than last spring. If we come out “whole” on the balance of the season’s business, we shall be sat= isfied. We are glad to be able to “‘spoil’’ you with lower prices, for you haven’t been ‘‘spoiled” these many years. Here’s the store news in a nutshel Any SUIT on our first floor—-any SUIT that has been $10, $12, $12.50, $13.50, $14 and $15 Is Yours for $8.25. The conditions of this sale are these: Strictly “cash” and all alterations extra, _ for we don’t want to lose too mitch. Needless to suggest the advantages of first selections. Parker, Bridget & Co., Progressive Clothiers, 315 7th Street N. W. Se ea AU M? POPULAR SHOPPING PLAGE, 416 Seventh Street N: W. Our patrons’ attention is particularly called to the fact that all the stock we offer has been purchased this season, and never in the history ofour business have we had a better assorted stock. Correct dealings and popular prices will always prevail at BAUM’S, Hosiery-=-Underwear. Women’s Fast Tan, Hose, latest leather shadfs,drop stitch and plain Fast Tau Hose, Riche- liced heel and toe. Sizes Extraordinary Hat Bargain, Consisting of a lot of Fancy Straw and Leghorn Hats, all in the latest shapes. Were sold at 75c. [raver Women’s Fine Jersey Rib Vest, low neck and short sleeves, 18¢.; 36c. 3 for.. Se Women's Shaped Ribbed Cotton Vest, high neck ard long sleeves, or low reck and skort sleeves, 35c. 3 for.. A Few Specials in Linens. 1,600 yds. All Pure Linen Glass ‘Toweling. Worth 10c. a yard..... 6%c- 6 pieces new Double Satin Bleach- A Fine Selection of Flowers, com- prising Velvet and Silk Roses, Chrysanthemums and Ragged Rob- Worth up to $1.00..... Summer Siiks. All the Fancy Taffetas, the new- est designs for waists, have been marked to a speedy sale.... bins. 39¢. 2% pleces Fancy Striped India 4 =, ular price, 87%4c. Silk, taffeta finish....... 45¢. gee cerAcc he 62¢.¢ 20 pieces 2k Brocaded a Y size in Full Instead of Bleached Bed Spread. The 1u- 94C. facturer’s pfice. Rug Department. SUITABLE FOR SUMMER COTTAGES. Body Brussels. Size 22x36. The Wash Dress Goods. Now that the warm weather fs here you will need your Outing Dresses. Also the child athe : Se 4 $5e. kind 49¢c. Organdies, in woven stripes an ely 22: neat tures. ‘All cored roandss EOC. | Velvet and Mowet. Size 22350. Qe All the Javonets, in the most Body Brussels. Size 27x56. The delicate tints; the quality that p> y $1.68 kind 98c. we sold for Se. the yard..... 2%4C. Best Velvet. beautiful line of Lace $1.68 kind.... . 98e. d Dimities, newest of the Pie Rind. 2.2 <<s cee cco z 10c. Trunks. One of the leaders from this department that cannot be duplicated at the price in the city, considering the make. Cloak and Suit Department. on BEIa. Bea. 304m Wi Jc Ca S $3.50 $3.75 $4.00 $4.25 $4.50 Lennie Women’s Cotton Under- wear--Infants’ Goods. A special lot of Cotton Underwear, consisting of Gowns, Skirts, Che- mises, Drawers and Corset Covers, that were 75e. and $1 wee 49C,. Fast Black Sateen Skirts, three les are right. tuilles, Usually $1.25......0..0006 75C.. lack and Navy Cheviot Cloth 10 dozen Children’s Muslin Draw- Jacket Suits, that were $9.00 @, ers, good quality, worked button- to $10.50 . oF $6.98) ins. Ioc. BAUMS, a a es a eh SEVENTH ST. Sa a ah a a a ead $1.00: WARRING ON VIC Citizens Protest Against the Vir- ginia Infamy. LASTNIGHTS BOARD OF TRADE MEETIN Earnest Speeches Made Against the Existing Evils. RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED What can be done with the existing evils at Jackson City and St. Asaph’s and with the menace to the welfare of the national capital that is found in the gambling hells across the river? This was the question which was asked and for which an answer was sought at a general mass meeting which was held last evening at the Builders’ Exchange. The meeting was held at the call of the board of trade, and in the crowd that gathered in response to its call were many of the best-known men of Washington. All ranks of life were represented. There were pros- perous business men and employes of the government, school authorities and minis- ters, newspaper men and many others, all animated with the desire to cope in some way with the great octopus of sin and crime which has its breeding ground across the Long bridge and which stfetches its slimy arms across many an otherwise hap- py home in this city. For years past Jackson City has been a resort for gamblers and other evil doers. Here the lowest and most abandoned of men have made their headquarters, safe from all intrusions of the guardians of the peace. Many a young man has found his downward path leading to the doors of the gambling dens whose existence has been such a foul blot on the fair name and fame of the old dominion. Many a mother has had cause to shed bitter tears over the wanderings of a son whose footsteps would have led him straight to an honored and self-respecting manhood had it not been for the doors of temptation held so invit- ingly opea to him in a neighborhood so near to h’s home. It was bad enough in the years gone by. It is worse today. With the establishment of the Alexander Island race track and, later, of the track at St. Asaph’s the evil has been increased many times. The Board of Trade’s Answer. Upon what doth this octopus feed that it hath grown so great? The answer was given last evening. It is on the Hfe blood of the community. It would eat out the heart of honesty and uprightness. That it must be fought, and to the death, was the unanimous opinion of that gathering of reputable and earnest men of Washington. How? Thit was the question which found an answer on many tongues. Monday several members of the board cf trade, accompanied by a number of minis- ters of different denominations, journeyed to St. Asaph’s on a visit of personal in- spection of the existing condition of af- fairs. Yesterday one of them visit@ Jack- son City and, fresh as they all were from these unpleasant scenes, they outlined their experiences and voiced their sentiments at the meeting last evening. Rarely does any body of men show such perféct unan?nity of opinion. They were as one man in say- ing that these pest holes throw up a vile and noxious stench into the nostrils of the decent people of the District of Columbia and that the safety of the community de- mands that they shall be cleansed from off the face of the earth. : The mass meeting quite filled the tig ball of the Builders’ Exchange. President B. H. Warner acted as chairman of the meeting and Mr. John B. Wight officiated as sec- retary. Among those present were Rev. Charles W. Baldwin, Rev. Dr. Muir, Mr. W. D. Cabell, Mr. H. B. F. Macfarland, Rev. Dr. Huge Johnston, Rev. Dr. George O. Little, Rev. Dr. Mackay Smith, Rev. Frank Sewall, Rev. Dr. Corey, Rev. Alexander Kent, Rev. Dr. Alexander, Judge Kimball, Mr. A. A Stuart, W. B. Powell, superintendent of! public schools; Rev. J. L. French, Rev. Adolos Allen, Mr. Jesse B. Wilson, Maj. H. L. Biscoe, Mr. B. T. Janney, Mr. F. L. Moore, Mr. H. D. Walbridge,’ Mr. Loring Chappel, Mr. Lewis Clepbane, Mr. W. Riley Deeble, Mr. A. P. Fardon, Mr. Robert N. Harper, Mr. J. V. N. Huyck, Mr. W. J. Wallace, Mr. Samuel J. Meeks, Mr. Robert A. Phillips, Mr. J. H. Ralsten, Mr. Wm. F. Roberts, Mr. Harry M. Schnelder, Mr. L. W. Ritchie, Mr. G. W. F. Swartzell and Mr. W. H. Tenney. Earnest Speeches. During the course of the evening a num- ber of earnest speeches were made, which were full of expressions of indignation that the evil had been allowed to run along for so long a time. The failure of the Virginia authorities to root it out was denounced in no measured terms. Various suggestions were made as to how this desired end might be accomplished. The general consensus of opinion seemed to be that the best and wisest course lay in the arousing of public sentiment in the matter. As Dr. Baldwin expressed It, “What good men ought to do good men can do.” ‘ Among the suggestions that were made was one to the effect that the portion of Virginja which once constituted a part of the ict of Columbia should be receded to the United States. A motion was put expressing the sentiment of the meeting as in favor of that step, but it was voted down. The opinion seemed to be that such an act would simply result in moving the dens and tracks one degree farther from Washington instead of tearing the evil cut by the roots. Rev. Mr. Allen, copastor of the First Presbyterian Church, argued in favor of the board of trade and the good people of the city generally using their influence to bring about the election of better officials in Alexandria county. He said that a man is out for election as attorney for the ccunty on a reform platform, who is pledged to weed out the existing abuses, and he said that as money is always need- ed in elections he thought that the board of trade could not do better than to lend financial aid to such a man. The Railrond’s Responsibility. Rev. Dr. Mackay Smith, rector of St. John’s, gave expression to a rather novel idea, but one that seemed to meet with general approval, when he said that in his opinion the Pennsyivania railroad is one of the chief culprits in the wrong that is be- ing perpetrated upon the community here. ‘The result of the evening’s meeting was the adoption of resolutions which expressed the sentiments of the gathering, which called upon all.the ministers in the Dis- trict, Maryland and Virginia to unite in delivering sermons on the evils of gamb- ling and in using their influence in every possible way to arouse public feeling against the octopus of crime across the river, and which provided for sending an earnest protest to the governor of Virginia, against the evils existing in Alexandria county. President Warner's Opening. ‘At 8 o'clock President Warner called the meeting to order, and briefly announced that they were ready for business. He said that it was probably unnecessary to read the cail for the meeting, as its objects were by that time well known. It was held under ‘the auspices of the board of trade because there seem2d to be a strong public senti- ment demanding that some such action be taken. “J need not go into an explanation of the subject that we are to conrider,”” he went on, “because all are familiar with it. I do not know that I can properly characterize racing as a vice, for under proper circum- stances it is far from that, but it may be called a sport, approved by a large num- bed of people, and especially in the south- ern states. I have there met with many people who are interested in stock raising and who are greatly interested in legitimate trials of the speed of horses. We see many respectable people going to the tracks, but they are usually respectable tracks and are not conducted for profit all the year round, rain or shine, wet or dry. In the last few years racing has become a busi- ness, and when it has been carried on in af style like that of the Guttenburg track it has certainly depraved all those who have attended it. We fear that the same thing is coming to pass at Jackson City. “I went over there that I might be able to state to this meeting just what I found. I discovered that a very large amount of money is invested in these two tracks across the river, so large a sum that I was surprised. Yeytchday at St. Asaph's I found from 1,500 & 2.000 people in attend- ance. I saw nothing very disorderly there, no very prominent ditizens were to be seen, nor any very prosperous men, but I did see men there risking money who cannot pay their honest debts,-here at home. I saw numbers of young men there, learning the lesson of gambling and tasting of the dan- Berous sweets of an occasional winning. ‘The proprietors weré ‘yery gentlemanly, but that did not shut off eyes to the fact that the place was a daygdrous element. Great Suynf Invested. “At Jackson City we also found that a large amount of menéy had been invested. There were over 500 horses running there, and President Jones told me that it costs 1,500 a day to run the track. There was not so good a crowd thére as at St. Asaph’s, that is to say, not quite so respectable. I saw one young man who had recently failed, and who now owes many people in con- sequence, and is in my debt among others, plunging on the races. I saw another man whom I know to be in the debt of a local bank risking some odds. With a continua- tion of this state of affairs men are going to continue to be lured from their busi- ness pursuits. no matter how gentlemanly the proprietors are or how orderly the tracks may be. There will be great loss of time, money and character to many citi- zens. The thing becomes a mania after a while. “Then, too, we are going to have attract- ed to this city a large number of bad char- acters, both male and female, and yet we ought to be more particular here at the national capital than in any other city in regard to the character of our people and those who stay around the community. If we are going to have this sort of thing the year round we shall soon find a moral de- cay going on among our young people. Gambling Pernicious Anyway. “One of the proprietors of one of these tracks confessed to me in private conver- sation that though these places may be conducted fairly gambling is pernicious anyway. There is gambling going on in all large cities, and maybe it cannot be en- tirely suppressed, but it can be kept in great check. It is not difficult for us to remember how we killed the lottery in this country, by the sheer forcé of public sen- timent. But there must be some equity about the way in which we fight these evils. We give the poor darkey a jail sen- tence for playing craps, and yet we allow great establishments to run full blast at our doors to allure. thousands to them in the vain hope of making a fortune. The better people of the District feel that this condition of affairs ought to arouse their best efforts to suppress the evil. But it is no easy matter to fight the gambling inter- ests. Many ramifications of trade are in- terested. The tracks have a large follow- ing, and the hotel patronage is enormous. Then there are great bills for feed for the horses, and for supplies for the men who live at the tracks. The moneyed interests affected are very large. You can easily see the number of people affected. It was es- timated that at least $90,000 changed hands on the result of one race, which also re- suited in the outlawing of the St. Asaph's track, which will sink as low as that at Jackson City, because it is now outside the pale of legitimate racing. We are not to consider legal racing here tonight as il- legal racing, and the best methods to pre- vent it from corrupting the morals of this community.” Who Owns the Land? Mr. Warner then asked those present to express themselves, and Mr. B. T. Janney presented the following resolutions: “Re- solved, That it is the sense of the board of trade ‘of Washington, Di C., that ag earnest effort should be made tending toward the restoration of Alexandria county to the District, and that a cOmmittee of five be appointed to look into the matter and re- port as to the feasibiliry of the scheme.” This was a rather unexpected turn to the tide of affairs, as i er’ not a new, but cf sueh an old questi at it has not been considered by man this connection. Mr. Warner, however, d#d fot give time for dis- cussion’ to begin immediately upon this matter, for he called upon Rev. Mr. Allen, assistant pastor of thé First Presbyterian Church, who, he said,/would soon have to leave the meeting. Mr. Allen’s address was filled with force and suggestion. He recom- mended radical measures, and made some suggestions that," he ‘himself confessed, might be considered as rather strong for a clergyman to make. ‘Those before him were there as business men, and he sup- posed they were going to act as such. The evils of the places across the river need not be spoken of, as they were well known. A Plain Statement. “The situation,” Mr. Allen went on, “is just this’ The law of Virginia allows horse racing and betting on the track, but does not allow gambling. Gambling places do exist on the shores of the state. They may be found at Jeckson City, in open de- fiance of the law, arid there are at least three places conducted at Rosslyn where games of chance are operated. A boat plies between the foot of 32d street and these three places daily and on Sundays. The two officers of Alexandria county elected to enforce the law are the sheriff and the attorney for the county. They claim that they cannot get evidence against these places sufticient to convict their proprietors, and they take refuge be- hind this weak plea. One of them admits that he owns horses that are run at one of the tracks. Both are candidates for re- election. The sheriff, in a statement ad- mitted by him to be correct, has declared “There is no power on earth or on this side of hell to drive me out of my pesition.’ ” Mr. Allen went on to tell of his own ex- periences as a resident of New Jersey, where the race track kings ruled the state and passed laws to suit themselves, until the people arose ir their might and chang- ed the order of the day and restored peace and good rule to the community. These officials said, as the sheriff of Alexandria county has said, that there was no power to remove them, but they have been re- moved, and the fight was led by the min- isters of the gospel. The laws that gave birth and life to the race tracks and gam- bling dens have all been repealed, and a committee is ncw engaged in uncovering a mass of corruption incredible to contem- plate. How to Crush the Evils. “I say that this man, and all men like, him,” continued Mr. Allen, “can be re- moved from his position if all the good people here will lend their assistance, aid- ed by the good people of the county across the river. Send out a ringing protest, reaching from the governor of the state to the sheriff. It may be very slow work, but all reforms are slow. This protest will inevitably have a great effect in laying the foundation for an irresistible mo’ influ- ence that will sweep these nefarl nests from the face of the earth. If I were a member of the board of trade I would ad- voeate the adoption of a pian that may seem to be unjustifiable and unchurchly for me to mention, but I believe that when we encounter fire we ought to fight it with fire. In such casés as this the end justifies the means. I should s men to the gambling dens of Ja the three places in Rosslyn to get evidence, to go among the gamblers, to stake their money, to see the machinery of the games, and then go before the grand jury of the county and ask for an.indictment or a se- ries of indictments. Then I should have the commonwealth attorney asked why he does not prosecute, why he cannot secure a conviction when here will be all the nec- essary proof. It may be asked if a citizen of this District can go across the river in- to Virginia and ask for the indictment of a citizen of that state. I have asked a law- yer on that point only a few hours ago, and he has advised me that it can be done.” Mr. Allen called attention to the can- Gidacy of Mr. Douglass for the post of com- mcnwealth attorney of Alexandria county on,the reform ticket, and noted that his campaign requires the expenditure of some mcney. He said he hoped the board might aid this young man in his fight, in which the members and the citizens here are so deeply interested. He also suggested that a committee might be appointed to wait up- on tHe colored ministers of the county and ask them to urge the members of their con- gregations to vote for the reform ticket af the election to be held next week. In con- clusion, he said that he believed by these neeans the evils could be eradicated. Racing in New Jersey. Dr, A. P. Fardon, after calling attention to the distinction between the old and new styles of raciug, read a brief speech that. he had prepared for the occasion. He said that he, too, had had a personal experience with the race tracks in New Jersey, and gave a sketch of the great power those who controlled them acquired. z “Tt is but two or three years ago,” he said, “when we had the three noted race tracks of Guttenburg, Gloucester and Mon- mouth Park. They had existed there for Years—like three open craters of perdition, swallowing up everything within their in- fluence. Farm afier farm, workshop after workshop, business house after business house. It drew into the vortex the earn- ings, the morals, mind, conscience and soul of both young and old—the poor and rich were alike corrupted. The modern race track surrounds itself and aggregates all specics cf crime and sin. The bookmaker and jockey, the bunco-steerer and shell- game man, the gambler of every dye and degree, the thief, pickpocket, the disrepu- table of every class and of both sexes. It matters not how many honest and respec- table people attend; the others are sure to be there. The Sabbath day is training and exercise day—admission free to the minor and adult, alike to be fleeced by open bars, gambling, and, in fact, every species of merciless and damnable money-getting. Vigilance Needed. * “I will not speak to you of Alexander Island. We know, feel and see its influence around us. We know of the crime it has brought to our very doors, and its expense upon us, but I would like to say to the gov- error of Virginia, its legislature, and its geod people, that vigilance, and vigilance at once, can only drive them out, or they will gain a foothold for years. “The immense amount of money the mod- ern race track owners of this country, with its gambling contingent, can control for a permanent abiding place, fully protected, is sufficient to corrupt the body politic and control the elections in many of the states cf the Union. If Virginia wili not, or can- not, drive them from our immediate bor- ders, let us beg of her to recede to the United Statés a part of the territory that was once, and, perhaps, now is, legally a part of the District of Columbia; for in- stance, commencing at a point on the Po- tomac riyer about one-half way to Alex- andria, afid then westerly in a line parallel With the old line of the District, leaving Alexandria and its vicinity, formerly a part of the District, in the state of Virginia, the part to be receded embracing the cemetery in which repose so many of our nation’s de- fenders and the government reservation and buildings, and the river side, with all the bridges that cross the Potomac,built and kept in repair by the general government and the District of Columbia. Alexandria can and will then protect by its police force, aided by the virtue of its people, all the territory as far north as the then new Dis- trict line, and the beautiful hills over there (as “a part of the District) will become grand villa sites and homes instead of the base uses to which they are now put as nurseries of crime and corruption. We will then hecome law-abiding and prosperous twin cities, like St. Paul and Minneapolis, with a common interest. Let us act to- gether for so desirable a result—a common brotherhood and prosperity.” The Question of Retrocession. The talk then drifted on to the other line, presented by Mr. Janney’s resolutions, con- cerning the rightful ownership of Alex- andria county. Mr. R. A. Phillips took the floor to declare that Virginia has never had any strictly legal right to the territory, and he quoted Daniel Webster to prove his as- sertions. Webster bitterly opposed the pas- sage of the law of 1846, which retroceded to Virginia that part of the ten miles square that lies south of the , Potomac. This land, argued Mr. Phillips, ought to be recovered from the state and restored to the. District. It would not be difficult, he said, to bring the question before the Su- preme Court of the United States to be tested, and he urged that the board of trade take up the matter earnestly. This, he thought, would be the best way to set- tle the gambling problem, for with the ter- ritory in question under the District laws the authorities on this side of the river would soon clean out the nests. Mr. Jesse B. Wilson gave an emphatic negative to the proposition to try to regain possession of this territory for the District. He said that Judge Sheilabarger, known to be a most accomplished constifutional law- yer, gave an opinion some years ago, after much study and thought, that beyond any peradventure the ground having been once restored to Virginia there was no power to take it back again from her, and that Congress had a perfect right to pass the act, which was perfectly legal and con- stitutional. In the light of such a distin- guished opinion he declared it would be folly for the board to pursue the subject further. There would be only one way by which the property might be regained, and that by purchase from the state. Rencquisition Not a Solution. Judge I. G. Kimball of the Police Court said that the proposition to try to restore the territory to the- District would not serve at all as a solution of the question. The result of a restoration of the ground would be to push the gamblers and law- breakers back into the-next county of Vir- ginia, and it would then be necessary to purchase that county, and they would go further and further back until they were driven into North Carolina, perhaps. The thing to be done is to raise public senti- ment against the evil. “We can't act directly on the state ex- ecutive,” said Judge Kimball, “except through such meetings as this. It would be of no advantage for us to get this terri- tory, as far as regards the eradication of the evil. We should then have an imag- inary line between us and the gambling dens, instead of a broad river, as now. I have great faith in the sentiment of the good people of any state or community, and I believe that once aroused the good people of Virginia will wipe out this shame, just as was done by the good people of New Jersey. I believe in these meetings. Let the people of the country know how the capital of the nation feels with this disgrace under its very nose.” The Time is Ripe. Dr. Hugh Johnson of the Metropolitan Church was the next speaker. He said that the time had come for a great upris- ing of the mcral and law-abiding elements of the city, those who have at heart the peace and welfare of the capital. It is time to,take a stand against one of the most terrible of menaces. He was one of the committee that went across the river to see how thirgs were run over there, and he was not the one who took a iittle—a very little—plunge into the waters of chance, as it was reported that one of the delegation had done. He had seen a good deal of gamblirg in one form and another, from the shores of the Mediterranean to the helis of San Francisco, and he declared that he considered that gambling in its worst forms is now being conducted at St. Asaph’s and at Jackson City. Gambling ncludes the two elements of chance, and the want of an e uivalent. Pool selling on ces is gambling, pure and ‘simple. ace itself does not amount to much, and Mr. Johnson that he had seen 1h ts of the city that that he saw at went to increase the the race. The aid, elements of chance ir in attendance, he and in some respect: but it included all cl S fallen women, the bully and the black- guerd, the business the professional man, the tradesman, the, young man—all drawn by hundreds to the track to be lured to destruction. It was not a Sunday schooi crowd. There was not a woman there whose face was not bold and brazen. He was .astounded to see what hold the fever of gambling had on these people, and he could see the influence of the chance that they might gain a fortune on the risk of but a few dollars. . A Big Contract. “It is a tremendous contract that the peo- ple have undertaken,” said the speaker, “but I believe that it is possible to create a healthy public sentiment which will go on until it shall crystallize into a move- ment that cannot be resisted. Jackson City and St. Asaph’s must go. The very at- mosphere is as the breath of a plague. Our sons and our clerks sta exposed to the contagion and peril of this gambling busi- ness. Who can tell for how much stealing and embezzlement these places are today responsible? Then there are other vices entailed—intemperance among them. There are the widows and children of the men wko have gone to ruin in following this will-o’-the-wisp. They suffer from the ex- istence of these tracks and the attendant evils that cluster around them. As long as these places exist, so long will the young and inexperienced be lured on to destruc- ticn. Tradesmen will continue to throw away their money, and the criminal classes will swell our population. It has been said that Jackscn City, at least, is in the limits of the District, By reason of its being this side of the small stream that forms the natural boundary between the District and the state. If that fs a fact, it ought to be settled, and the District authorities will soon decide the question as to the privileges of these lawbreakers. If, however, the ter- ritory is in the jurisdiction of the state, and these places are being conducted there in violation of the law, we can show the people that the rascals in office ought to be turned out. This must be a campaign of education, that will grow in strength. Let it be our boast, like that of Augustus Caesar, who found Rome built of brick and teft it built of’ marble, that we have built up our capital city with all the pre- cious jewels of virtue. The Real Culprit. Dr. Mackay Smith of St. John’s Episco- pal Church said that the real culprits in this business had not yet been mentioned. This was the Pennsylvunia railroad. He did not know if remedial measures were to be found against the corporation for its share in the evil, but he hoped that some such means might be discovered. He told how there were ten cars on the train that carried him to St. Asaph’s the day before as one of the committee, and they were all crowded. The railroad made a good deal of money from that traffic, and was the chief agent in getting the crowds of people to the tracks to be fleeced. The removal of the tracks and the other gambling de- vices further away by retaking the terri- tory from the state of Virginia would make no difference with the road. It would sim- ply carry the crowds at the rate of sixty miles an hour until the track was reached, instead of about twenty miles. Perhaps the board of trade might have sufficient influence with the offlcials of the road to persuade them not to fall in with the plans of the gamblers quite so easily as they have been doing. “Practically,” declared Dr. Smith, “the fares taken in from the passengers on this ‘racd train’ form a bribe to the railroad to put 1,200 or 1,500 people to such a point where the gamblers can put their hands on theirs pocket books. The road might, perhaps, be persuaded not to run so many trains or to reduce their size, or the offi- cials may be brought to such an over- whelming sense of their responsibility that they will refuse to stop their trains at the race tracks at all.” Not Easy to Get Away. Continuing his half humorous remarks, Dr. Smith said, sarcastically, that while it is very easy to get to the track, it is not at all as easy to get away. He had to walk to Alexandria in order to catch a train. While standing at the junction watt- ing for a means of getting back a train whirled by at the rate of about forty miles an hour. “It sort of looked,” he said, “as thaugh the railroad had put me down there in the reach of the gamblers, and didn’t care a-rap whether Iggot back or not.” The officials of the tra®k were very pleas- ant, he said, but it reminded him some- what of the saying that sometimes Satan is a gentleman. “Tt I were the employer of a young clerk who might have access to my cash draw- er,” concluded Dr. Smith, “I'd sleep much ‘sounder at night if I knew that that place ~was 10) miles away instead of but five. The board of trade stands for honesty, and the clergymen of Washington ought to thank its members and make their ac- knowledgments of them for the brave stand they have taken in this matter. I do not believe that there is another board of trade in the United States that would, un- der similar circumstances, come forward as the Washington board has done. It makes me proud to belong to a city where the business men have such a high sense of duty and such a broad public spirit. Not Necessary to See the Tiger. «Dr. C. W. Baldwin, commenting on the trip ofthe committee to the *racks, sald that fi is not necessary to see the tiger in order to know that he has claws and that he is a dangerous beast. All, he de- clared, know that race tracks breed evil. He spoke of the need of creating a senti- ment, and pointed to the overthrow of the Louisiana lottery as an instance cf what car be accomplished by continual ham- mering at one subject. “The thing for the beard of trade to do,” he declared, “jg to call on every clergyman :n the Dis- trict, Maryland and Virginia, jarticularly of .Alexand: a county, to call the matter to the attention of their congregations and to paint the danger in the most glaring colors. Carry the war to the doors of the legislature of the state of Virginia at Richmond. I believe that the good cld commonwealth = within’ her x os rd enovgh force and power, when arou! put = everlasting end to Jackson City and St. Asaph’s. We can do this. Whatever good men want to do they can Jo.” Mr. F. L. Moore moved that a committee of three be appointed to draft suitable resolutions indicative of the sentiment cf the meeting. This brought back ‘o the at- tention of some the fact that there was one resolution pending afready, and after a brief discussion of the best way to dis- pose of it, precipitated by Mr. Janney’s refusal ‘o withdraw it, Mr. Whitaker moved tv table it. The question was rut and Mr. Warner declared that the motion to table was lost. Mr. Jnanney’s Resolution Lost. Mr, Janney took the floor to explain that he desired a vote direct upon his resolution, which by no means accomplished the res- toration of the territory to the District, though it contemplated that such a step might be taken. He spoke feelingly of the experience of a former pupil of his with the race tracks, and said that today this young man, who a short time ago had the best of credit in Gecrgetown, is a .bank- rupt. A vote was then taken, and, there being somesdoubt, the tally was finally tak- en by counting those standing. The reso- lutions were lost—35 to 55. Mr. Moore’s motion for the appointment of a commit- tee, enlarged in size, was then carried, and Mr. Warner appointed this committee as follows: F. L. Moore, C. W. Baldwin, Jesse Wilson, B. T, Janney, H. D. Wal- bridge and I. G. Kimball, who withdrew to frame the, resolutions. While this was Being done Rev. Dr. W. C. Alexander of G€orgetown took the floor and made some interesting statements rela- tive to the tricks and wiles by which the race tracks were kept legalized in New Jersey. He lived in Monmouth county, and had a personal acquaintance with the process by which the laws were rushed through. He spoke in particular of one trick that enabled the -conspiring race track owners to rush a bill through against the overwhelming prejudice of the people. The laws of the state permit the legisla- ture to pass a bill over the veto of the governor »y a mere majority. One of these nefarious bills had passed the senate by a bare majority of one vote. The governor gave a premise to a delegation that he would give them a hearing on the meas- ure before taking any action upon it. In- tead of doing so, he was persuaded by the managers of the tracks to yeto the bill the last thing on Friday, before’ the two houses adjourned for the week. It was promptly pased over his head by one ma- jority in the senate, and the trick was done. This was the last straw, and’ the people began to grow more and more in- dignant, until the ring was finally cgushed. A Sample Case. Dr. Alexander told of the experience of a young man in his town in New Jersey who was ruined by the tracks. He was a teller in a bank, getting a good salary. One Fourth of July he decided to spend his holl- day at Monmouth Park. A book seller yell- ed out to him “twenty-fotr to one.” The odds ,ailured him. He placed $5 on the horse and won. That ruined him. He kept at it, until six months later he was dis- missed from the bank. Hg began to haunt the tracks, and in a few months was $1,50 in debt. Dr. Alexander gave this as a sam- ple case, and urged those present to work hard for the reform, for it might be their own sons or brothers who are destined as victims of the evil if it is not checked. Rey. Dr. Muir, pastor of the E Street Baptist Church, said that the ministers owe it to the board of trade to express their appreciation for what has been start- ed under its auspices. He suggested that it would be wise to send a committee to the governor of the state of Virginia to appeal personally to him to exert himself in this matter, to do something to arouse his chivalric nature in the interests of the it is national, for the people of Washtm; ton come from all parts of the country, and therefore the boy who is ruined tomor- row may be the son of some poor man away off in the west, or some widow in the north. The states ought to be deeply in- terested in the matter. Dr. Muir agreed with Judge Kimball that the solution of the problem did not lie in the acquisition of the territory in which the evils are located, for by pushing them away from us, they may be crowded upon some one else. The people here should arouse public sentiment until the state of Virginia shall rise in her pride as a state, and in the glory of her past, and shall say that these evils shall be wiped out and the boys shall be safe. The Candidate's Speecti. Mr. Warner then called upon Mr. Doug- less, candidate for the office of common- wealth attorney of Alexandria county on the reform ticket, who responded with an energetic speech, In which he corrected some crrors that he feared he saw had crept Into the minds of the people present. He prefaced his remarks by saying that every action and every word of his has been reported since he entered the lists, and that he is being carefully watched in the interests of the opposition. He was not there to defend the race track, but he hoped the people would understand that the laws of the state as they now stand legalize racing. An outlaw track is not cutiawed by the laws of the state, but merely by the jockey club or the racing as- sociation. All the doings at the Alexander Island and St. Asaph’s tracks are by the authority of the law and the government of the state. He had no pride in the fact, but rather was ashamed of such a state of things. The question of the race track evil must be handled by the legislature alone. The governor has no authority to- day to suppress these tracks if he should desire to do so. He says that the bills authorizing their existence were presented to him in the eleventh hour in the guise of agricultural bills, and he signed them un- der a misapprehension. That was no ex- cuse. A governor ought not to sign meas- ures in such a haphazard way in the elev- enth hour. Mr. Douglass called attention to the fact that though the local elections are heid in the spring the legislature will not be elected until next fall, and he feared that much of the effect of these mectings and agitations might be lost before the polls are opened for the choice of legislators who will be called upon to repeal the obnoxious laws. Mearwhile, he hoped the people of the Dis- trict would kcep stirring up the question, and insist ypon their being kept in sight. And there is a great deal more to be déne than the removal of the race tracks. The county, said Mr. Douglass, reeks with crime and vice. The amount of moral cor- ruption in the small area of the county is appalling. Compared with it the race tracks sink into insignificance. Crime and vice are carried on under cover of darkness and epenly in the daylight. They range in all sorts and styles and fill all classes of abodes, Gamblers abound, from the negroes shoot- ing craps to the more elegant ones playing Poker in palace rooms. Under the Ban of Law. “Those evils are under the ban of the law today if it should he enforced,” he declared. “The trouble js that the county has not a Prosecuting officer who will take up the cases. I have openly charged him with his neglect in the most scathing language, and I regret that he is not here tonight, that I might address my remarks to him person- ally. Scores upon scores of indictments are piled up in the court house, waiting for ac- tion. He will not try one of these cases. The good people of the county are crystal- lized to a man on this subject, but it is a question whether they can stand the tide of corruption that the track men and gam- blers are preparing to pour in upon us next week. We stand ready to fight the giant octopus that is stretching its tenta- cies over the city of Washington as well as the state of Virginia. But we need money to carry on the campaign for legitimate ex- penses, and I hope the people of Washing- ton who want to see this evil abated will help us. I am not after the salary of the office, but I want the chance to show the people of Alexandria county that an honest prosecuting officer can bring about a differ- ent state of affairs.” __ Apropos of the statement that he did not care for the emoluments of the position, Mr. Douglass related an incideni of the recent joint discussion between him and Mr. Johnson down in the county. “I had charged Mr. Johnson,” he said, “with ope- rating a string of horses at the track for gain, and he practically admitted this to be true.” He retorted by asking if my running for office was not practically gam- rElimg for the salary of that post. I swered that I was not in search of the salary and that I was willing to turn over the compensation attached to the office to him if he would turn over the power of the office to me. He accepted the proposition verbally, and I immediately said to him: ‘Come forward then to this desk and I will sign a bond here and now in the sum of $5,000 to deliver to you every penny of the ~ salary attached to the office of common- wealth attorney if you will agree to give me possession of its functions and allow me to do the business.’ He sat siient in hig seat, and I then and there charged him with eating his words.” This anecdote evoked great applause from the citizens present. Resol tions Adopted. The committee on resolutions then brought in their report, consisting of the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted without any further discussion “Resolved, by the board of trade of Wash- ington and the citizens of the District, m mass meeting assembled, That the president of the board be requested to appoint a com- mittee of nine, whose duty it shall be to ad- dress an earnest protest to his excellency, the governor of Virginia, as to the gross evils already now existing in Alexandria county, Va., especially at and near Jackso! City and Rosslyn, in flagrant violation public morality and public decency; that said committee shail respectfully represeat to his excellency that the existing authori- ties of Alexandria county are apparently either unable or unwilling to compel obe- dience to the laws of the state, and that the peace and welfare of the national capl- tal are seriously and injuriously affected the near proximity of the places before ferred to in their present condition of law- lessness and disorder; and therefore said committee, representing the Washington board of trade and the citizens of the Dis- trict, shall make representations to his ex- ceilency, the governor of Virginia, as here- inbefore set forth, and, respectfully but earnestly pray that such action may be taken by him as the law and the facts may warrant, to the end that the supremacy of the law and the welfare of the people of the state of Virginia and the District of Co- lumbia may best be subserved. “Resolved, That the clergy of Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia be re- quested to preach special sermons against racing and gambling as early as practi- cable, and each clergyman to address a let- ter to Hon. Charles T. O’Ferrall, governor of Virginia, calling his attention to the ex- isting evil so near the capital of the nation, thus discrediting our capital city in the eyes of all other peoples.” Letters of Sympathy. This done the meeting adjourned quietly at about 10 o'clock. During the evening there were read several letters from sym- pathizers in the movement who were unable to be present. Judge D. M. Chichester of Fairfax, Va., wrote as follows: “I em sorry I cannot attend the meeting, but as- sure you I am in hearty sympathy with any movement that will tend to suppress or lessen the glering evils now existing at Jackson City, With the material now at my disposal I am utterly powerless, but hove for a better day in the future.” Mr. Matthew Trimble, assessor for the District of Columbia, wrote thus: “Owing to an important previous engagement I ree gret to say that it will be impossible for me to be present at what will undoubtedly be an exceedingly interesting meeting of the board of trade on the evening of the i4th instant. The moral purification of our suburban surroundings, and particularly in that portion of the original ‘ten-mile square’ in which the now notorious so-call- ed Jackson City is located, is well worthy the ‘serious consideration of the citizens of this District. “What action should be taken to remedy existing evils? “Place Jackson City and the entire coun- ty of Alexandria where It was officially announced by proclamation of President Washington, as a part of the ‘ten-mt square’ selected as the ‘permanent seat o! government of the United States.’ “In my opinion, 80 soon as that proclama- tion was issued the power of Congress to change the ‘permanent seat of government’ ceased, and nothing short of the vote of the states can accomplish that result, “It is not reasonable to suppose that it was ever intended to give Congress any such power, and I believe no such power was ever granted or intended under our Constitution. If Jackson City was again part of the District of Columbia ‘existing evils’ would be cured or our excellent po- lice force wouli know the reason why. “The United States, by its Attorney Gen- eral, can get before the Supreme Court and test the constitutionality of the act of retrocession of 1846. “I therefore suggest, as a preliminary measure as to ‘what action should be taken to remedy existing evils,’ that the officers of the board of trade or @ committee ap- pointed by the board have a conference with tne Attorney General on the subject.” Rev. W. H. Gotwald, pastor of St. Mark’ Evangelical Lutheran Church, wrote: have felt keenly the disgrace and danger brought upon us as a@ city by the evils of Jackson City, and am thankful that our honorable and efficient board of trade has now decided to take a hand in the sup- pression of these terrible evils. “I hope vigorous measures will be adopt- ed in the name of our people, in the name of morality and religion, to wipe out this seductive and ruinous evil. I wish I could. be of fome practical ice in the work. I regret my inability be present at the meeting.”