Evening Star Newspaper, April 1, 1931, Page 10

A—10 - NEVADA GAMBLING DWARFS DIVORGING! New Casinos Rumored atI Reno as Election Time Is Approaching. Bpecial Dispatch to The Star. RENO, Nev., April 1 (NANA)— %It shall be lawful” in Nevada to deal, play and carry on, open and conduct, any game of faro, monte, roulette, keno, fan-tan, blackjack, seven-and-a-half, big Injun, Klondyke, craps, stud poker, draw ppker, or what you will, under license. “It shall be lawful” to seek and secure, after six weeks of residence within the boundaries of the 'State, a divorce from any court in the State. In Reno, long established as a divorce center, the interest in ‘“wide-open” gambling, made ‘possible by these lib- eralized 1#s enacted by the recent ses- sion of the Legislature, distinctly over- shadows that of the new divorce program. Freedom Is Boasted. ‘The gambling law, under which prac- tically all forms of games of ' chance are made legal, is now effective, The whir of roulette wheels, the clatter of dice, the click of chips and cash and the soft,” mechanical drone of suave, sharp-faced dealers, pale under their green eyeshades, are in order. Heard repeated often now is the boast of Gov. Salzar that “Nevada is the only free State left in the Union.” Mayor_Roberts of Reno, tall, rugged, former Representative, former pioneer school teacher, father-in-law of Wal- ter Johnson of base ball fame, finds the change to his liking. He is a divorce lawyer himself, with a reputed record ©of winning 2,000 suits and losing one. “I believe in letting every man do just what he wants,” says the mayor, ¥so long as he does not interfere with the rights of others—you can't make people moral by law.” Results Observed. ‘What will be the results? From an outsider, Samgiel G. Blythe, nationally known writer, -who was coming early “to observe” the wide-open conditions of Nevada have been greatly exaggerated in the press throughout the country.” From an insider, “Jimmy” Welsh, man of the desert, known through the mining camps as “Jimmy the Crab": “You'll glways have gambling, whether you like it or not, and you might as well make it legal. Things will be more Honest. There will be less cheating.” It was “Jimmy the Crab” who dared enter the stronghold of the opposition during the period of agitation before the passage of the wide-open gambling law. Dressed in his shiny best and shaven to the point of irritation, he ap- peared before the Reno Women's Citi- zens’ Club, which was fighting the pro- posal under the leadership of Mrs. Mary Franzman, Republican national com- mitteewoman from Nevada. Few Opposed Bills. “The trouble with you peor’e.” said Jimmy, whose reputation includes & willingness to speak on all subjects. “is that you don’t know anything about gambling. Say, I was raised in a home back East where cards wasn’t even al- Jowed in the House. What happened? I couid play poker before I was 15. have been gambling all my life and I'm going to gamble the rest of my life.” Jimmy was the only speaker of the evening who received no applause, but he had had his say. He went away contented. The gambling bill, as well as the six ‘weeks’ divorce bill, passed the Legisla- ture with surprisingly little opposition. Those supporting the former argued mt gambling 1;]:: beaurned onotfne; ly anyway ice passage prohibitory law in 1910. They favored a return to regulatoty methods. State Lacks Rum Law. Licensed gambling, it was declared, would prevent “graft” by local officials and would insure an income for State, county and city governments, among which the fees provided in the law are divided. Cities also receive the right to charge additional license fees by or- dinance. ‘The sheriff of each county is the offi- elal upon whom falls the burden of en- (SAME OLD SERVICE) (SAME OLD SAVINGS) Yor Tardy Easter Shoppers Offering you two tions: savings and If you get here tomorrew, you’ll be with a handsome nev When the Easter parade stasts Sunday moraing. Read on: “there” / NEW Tans 4 that no game is conducted without such | ing to the professional gamesters, but it | upon to reach into his pocket to cover | such games as craps. Held jn Trooper’s Death THE EVENING STAR. WASHINGTON. YOUTHS WILL BE RETURNED TO NEW YORK FOR TRIAL. ILLIAM SCHEMNITZER (left) and Stanley Chero, alleged youthful | | outlaws, who. were. captured in McAlester, Okla., and accused of the slaying of Jchn Frey, New York State trooper. as he attempted to eseape after his arrest. returned to New York for trial Chero was wounded | ‘The youths will be —A. P. Photo. | forcement. It is his duty to,attend | to the collection of licenses and to see license “plainly displayed.” The barred doors of “speakeasies” ‘will mean noth- ing in Renc if orders given by the county commissioners, under the advice of the district attorney, since the pass- age of the law are carried out. Sheriff Trathen has been informed that he need feel no squeamishness about leaning on a federally illegal bar while collecting the license for a nearby locally legal craps game or roulette ‘wheei. Nevada, the commissioners reasoned, | has no law against liquor, and it is therefore not the business of county officers to meddle in Federal affairs. But they must see to it that gambling games, wherever located, are registered and ligensed. Election to Be Test. Reform forces apparently have been inactive since the law was passed. Only one clergyman has given the matter attention in a sermon, and the Reno Women's Citizens’ Club has made no public demonstration. A test, however, is expected at the Reno City election May 5, when Mayor Roberts seeks re- election. He is recognized as the lberal candidate. He has two opponents, Millgrn R. Gregory, war veteran and r-al estate | agent, who is stressing home building | and scenic attractions of the district, and Howard Doyle, automobile dealer, | considered more as a conservative. Most observirs say thaé it is yet too early to predict how extensively gambling will develap. Rumors are rife that casinos are to be placed in certain bulldings and that resorts are, to be | construgted. At prosent one former downtown gambling establishment has carpenters at work, extending its quarters. Since the passage of the law it has added a roulette wheel. It had previously op-rated in a limited way. » New Hotel Planned. Construction of a seven-story apart- ment hotel, with roof-garden, gambling and dancing. has been announced, for more swanky surroundings, night clubs, most of them beyond the city limits, and “speakeasies” are popular. The croon of jazz orchestras, secluded lounging rooms, dancing and drinking are added attrac- | tions. Reno divorcees, who have the means, patronize these establishments during | their periods of residence. “The women are “heavy plungers,” as a rule, accord- is often a man companion who is called the losses. Women prefer mechanical games and they like large tables with plenty of colors and numbers. They also like the quick action provided by | The man gamblers prefer the lass flasny forms of risking their cash. Faro | bank is the game of the prospector, | lumberjack and professional playing | against the house. “The percentage is on the square,” they say. The cowboys and men from the ranges cling to their | er. po’kl'he dance hall girl of the old West worth-while attrac- last-minute service. suit NEW Grays! Regular #40 & 45 2 Pants Spring Suits A Complete New Stock ina Full Range of Sizes 50 Featuring Tailoring That Should Fetch a Much Higher Price | they are held strictly in a restricted "be known to be let-into one of these ! still is lacking. Reno has them, but | district. Gambling must invade this district if the full color of the old West is to be revived. The dance hall girls cannot invade the gambling halls. In the town of Ely, where the dis- trict_attorney tried to make a clean- | up of the gambling houses last year, activities have been resumed already. Yet an old-timer, Zeb Kendall, mining man and former member of the Leg- islature, laments that the atmosphere of the bad old mining days will not be_recaptured. “I've seen $20 gold pleces stacked two feet high and $100 bills in bales cluttering the- center of tie table, be- | fote the last card was turned atstud,” he said. ~“And I've seen a deuce win thousands, Gaming Scenes Change. “But I'm thinking you'll see a new class of players with this new law. ‘White shirt fronts and flashing gowns will replace the flannel shirts and rough pants tucked into boots the | miners used to wear.” Mr. Kendall has plenty of evidence upon which to base his prophecy. Though Nevada forbade gambling by referendum in 1010, the last State to do | so. the law has been steadily modified | from time to time. In the drug stores of Reno the visitor saw legal slot ma- chines even before the meeting of the last Legislature. Poker was permitted and, in Reno, licensed, and under t. guise of “poker houses” gamblers ran | roulette, fan-tan and other games in the city and at roadhouse distances outside. | Easterners who have visited these | places compare them to speakeasies— “speakeasies in the New York sense, with their cleanness and luxury.” They are perhaps quieter and less brilliantly | lighted than those of Havana and Mex- | ico, but there is equal comfort. The habitues wedr evening dress, and many of them are from San Francisco for | the week end. That city is only 10 hours away. In theory, a person must places, but “almost any one in a tuxedo could probably be admitted.” Drinks are sold and “the Jiquor is excellent.” | That was before the new law; now things are wide open. | Divorce Law Is_Accident. The six-week divorce law, replacing | the present tiree-month statute, is not | effective until May 1, and Reno did not really want this form of liberalizatiod anyway. It was simply a measure of | defense against the threats from Arkan- | try’s divorce capital. | abolished the right to gamble, though it sas and Idaho, with their new 90-day residence requirements. In spite of all this, Nevada's easy divorce was more or less an accident. When Nevada became a Territory, in 1864, the framers of the law provided grounds for divorce similar to those of many other States. But the Territory was new; people were ccming in by tens of thousands, overwhelming in numbers the original inhabitants. They wished rights of resi- dence for themselves' and all rights of citizenship. They wished to attract a sufficient’ population to® enable Nevada | to become a State. Transportation facilities were nothing | like those of today; the framers of the | law in their wildest dreams could not | have imagined the rush of weaithy peo- ple that was to make Reno the coun: In view of all these circumstances it is easy to see why the framers of the law, in giving | full residence rights to those who had | been in Nevada six months, included | that of divorce. Lord Russell Started Rush. i Many of the newcomers had left wives behind, A handful of these might want | divorces, without going to the expense of returning home to bring proceed- | ings in the State of origin. So Nevada, like other States, permitted divorce by | publication, that is, the plaintiff could | publish in the newspapers a number ofy times thaf the defendant would be de- faulted on failure to appear in court on | & given day. This would do away with the necessity of serving the defendant with a summons in the State of Nevada. For 39 years under this law thers was | no divorce colony at Reno and only two or three people a year made use of the | measure to free themselves of entan- | gling alliances. | Then in' 1900 came Nevada's divorce | windfall. English_courts imposed a jail sen- tence for bigamy on the late Lord Rus sell. He had discovered Nevada's s month residence law, gained a Reno | divorce, and remarried. The story got | world publicity. -People flocked to the State; the divorce colony had begun. “The Lie’s Of1.” ‘Toward the close of the first decad of this century, even the Nevadans be: gan to feel qualms. A referendum did not put gaming cut of business. In 1913 the residence period for divorces was increased to a year. This cut the number down, but it did not seem to affect bank clearings much. However, the hotel interests and Reno lawyers lost money; and the next year the six- month petiod was restored, and with it the divorce colony. And it grew. In 1927, the residence period was reduced vees.can you resist such & value? Take home a 24-bar family package of Tasty- east today—eat 2 or 3" bars every day—and re- ceive pleasurably all the fecognized tritional benefits Peoples Drug Stores D. C.., WEDNESDAY, to three months. Now it is just 41 days more than in Mcscow. But there is little heard from divorce on the streets today. The talk is all of gambling. “Lay your money on the table, ladies and gents, watch 'em roll. There she is—a seven.” Py ‘The 1id is off in Nevada. (Copyright, 1931, by the North American Newsbaper Alliance.) NIGHT SIGHT-SEEWG PLANES TO START HERE Service to Operate Every Evening for Two Hours Will Be In- augurated Sunday. The night-time beauty of the Na- tional Capital from the air will be made available to Washingtonians and visitors to this city for the first time on the evening of Easter Sunday, when regular nightly sightseeing service will be in- augurated over Washington by Wash- ington-Hoover Airport and the Lud- ington Line,” operators of hourly pas- senger service to Mew York. By agreement between officials of the alrport and the Ludington Line, it was announced today, tri-motored passenger planes of the type used on the houtly service to New York will be available for sightseeing flights over the city from 8 to 10 o'clock nightly, beginning Sunday. The planes will be flown by regular Ludington Line pilots, who have built | up records Tor efficiency and dependa- bility of service. Flights of 12-minute duration will be made. The three District Commissioners, | Clarence M. Young, Assistant Secre- tary of Commerece for Aeronautics; Law- rence E. Willlams, chairman.of the Aviation Committee of the Washington Board of Trade, and Walter Hinton, chairman of the Aviation Committee of the Washington Chamber of Com- merce, have been invited to be pas- sengers on the inaugural fiight. John McGregor, s Rangoos, India, timber merchant, 'left. $350,000 to the poor of Glasgow, Scotiand. Grad McCormick Medieal oo Ehamin College DR. CLAUDE S. SEMONES Eyesight Specialist . Phone National 0721 l 409-410 McLachlen 10th and G Sts. TAS' S }z g 2 TASTYEASY ¥ nu- Due to Inclement Weather Today! The Grand Opening SALE of The -Beautiful New Peoples Drug Store - At 2616 Conn. Ave. . (Just Above Calvert Street) Will Be Continued‘ Tomorrow F Sgreet ar Qh L All Special Sale Fea- tures which were adver- tised for today only will be con- tinued all day tomorrow. More than one hundred exceptional values on sale in every department of the new store. night or tomorrow and in last night’s paper Come to- share in the remarkable savings. At the Neu; Store Only FREE Souvenirs for Every One TONIGHT AND TOMORROW ; 26#16 Conn. Ave. NW N 4N 4N 4N &N APRIL 1, “CHILDLESS” HUSBAND IS DENIED ANNULMENT By the Associated Press. ALBANY, N. Y., April 1—The.at- tempt of Alfred A. Kahn of New York to obtain an annulment of his marriage to Marfon Kahn on the ground that she | refused to bear him children failed in | the State’s highest court yesterday. The Court of Appeals denfed Kahn's motion for leave to Appeal from the unanimous decision of the Appellate Di- vision, Second Judicial Department, | which had denied Kahn's petition. | Kahn contended that prior to his/{ marriage his wife had agreed to bear him children, but that after her mar- riage, when she found herself in the way of becoming a mother, she sub- | mitted to an illegal operation. He did not claim that an annulment could be granted because his wife bore no children, but that representation had been made by his wife before marriage that she would become a mother, upon which he relied. Mrs. Kahn 1931. id that she did not |7 Open Every' Evening — \ AN\ want children because she could not|earning of $25 per week was not suffi« afford them. She said her husband's | cient to support a family. SEE ADMIRAL BYRD’S ANTARCTIC SHIP “CITY OF NEW YORK” 10:30 A.M. to 10 P.M. Daily Sled dogs, clothing, food and equipment used by the expedition. Admiuion—Adulh, 50c; Children, 25¢ Wilson Line Pier 7th & Water Streets POST-STANDARD — Phone NAtional 2644 \] A “clear channel” to the greatest radio “buys” in town! Post Stand- |/ ard sets the pace for outstanding radio savings—and here are two gleam- ./ > Dbetter radio bargains that you'll find /" at our 2 stores! 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