SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART III 127 



At an industrial exposition in some town, I believe it was in New 

 York, one of the big wire companies suspended a large coil of v/ire from 

 the ceiling of the exhibition building almost to the floor. It had a great 

 many strands in it and it was of a certain gauge, and they offered a prize 

 in advertising for the person who guessed nearest the weight of that wire. 

 A professor of mathematics took the gauge of the wire, counted the 

 strands, measured the number of feet to the ceiling and figured it out 

 almost correctly. It went into the courts and the court decided it was 

 gambling. One of the Minneapolis newspapers had a scheme whereby 

 they gave calendars or blotters, or something of that kind, and distributed 

 them widely all over the city when they started a circulation campaign, 

 and on a certain day they would publish a number and if the number 

 corresponded with the number on your calendar or blotter, whatever it 

 was, then you were entitled to a certain premium. The court decided 

 that was gambling and the entire issue of the paper was barred from the 

 United States mails. You all know of the case of one of the horse papers 

 that started some kind of a deal, I think it was in regard to a futurity, 

 and it was held up, and all of the papers that had advertising in them. 

 were held up and the publisher had to stop it. 



The Chairman: There is another topic here. I think we will go on 

 and have the next speaker and try to confine ourselves to the subjects 

 suggested on the program. The idea of having a concessioner carry a 

 state license or state authority, something that shows us his status, is a 

 matter we will discuss next. I wrote the attorney general a letter about 

 doll racks and different games. When I got his letter I made up my 

 mind that the best way for me to do was to have no games of any kind, 

 not even a doll rack, because in my humble opinion I didn't like the 

 idea of considering a doll rack a gambling game. When a man writes to 

 me and says a doll rack is a gambling game I am not very proud of my 

 education along the lines of gambling, and I think I am justified in say- 

 ing that he doesn't know what he is talking about. I don't see how a 

 man throwing balls at a doll is gambling and in my mind it cannot be 

 considered as such, but rather than make $2o or $30 out of that concession 

 I made up my mind we would not be making anything out of it if our 

 state aid was protested. 



Subdivision No. 1 is "Why not make them carry state license" and 

 No. 2 is "Why not appoint a committee to report objectionable ones?" 

 The attorney has state policemen under his direction. I understand the 

 present attorney general has had these special policemen and it seems to 

 me if they could pass on these things and determine what is gambling 

 and what is not, and what games are all right and what are not, some- 

 thing that would te uniform, we would not have this trouble. It would 

 be awfully embarrassing to .m,e, and I would feel like licking somebody, 

 if, after I swore to an affidavit that I had no gambling on the grounds, 

 some fellow do 'n here would say "You did have gambling and we won't 

 pay you that mor^ey." AVe will now hear from Mr. A. C. Pabst of Albia 

 on this question. 



