28 



The Review of Reviews. 



July I. 190S. 



tions to public chariries. These, be it noted, gener- 

 ally follow some great event such as the runnuig of 

 a race, or a prize fight run under the more respect- 

 able title of a ■' Boxing Contest.'' 



What other conclusion can one arrive at but tnat 

 these donations to charity are an anodyne to the 

 public conscience? Indeed, some little time ago 

 Mr. V\'ren offered to lease the Flemington race- 

 course for ;£25,ooo a year, and promised the Pre- 

 mier, if the lease were granted to hini, to donate 

 largely to the public charities. 



THE ■• CaLLINGWOOD TOTE." 



In ^Melbourne there are several clubs which are 

 nothing but gambling concerns, but the most 

 notorious gambling concern is what is known as the 

 '■ Collingwood Tote.' It is a modest looking build- 

 ing, as our photograph shows, and yet the powers 

 that control this betting establishment have man- 

 aged to e\ade the law for years. 



The Collingwood " Tote " is a mysterious affair, 

 guarded as closely as the inner chambers of a 

 secret society, open only to the known and trusted. 

 It faces two streets. Its front has been a tea shop, 

 or a variation upon it. Its back door is in Sackville- 

 street, and opens on an unpretentious wood yard. 

 It is guarded from the inroads of a too-pr)ing pub- 

 lic by a tall fence, some 12 feet high, with an addi- 

 tional two feet of barbed wire. A guarded 

 door is in the wall, and through this the 

 favoured must pass, although the means of get- 

 ting out of the place are as many and as varied as 

 the devices of a pickpocket, necessary indeed when a 

 raid might possibly be made upsn the place, and the 

 occupants would need to hurriedly seek fresh en- 

 gagements. In due course, after satisfying the 

 guardian of the gate (being thrown out without 

 ceremony if he did not) the pilgrim in search of the 

 shrine of " Tote " betting would come to a kind of 

 vestibule where are posted up various racing events 

 with the names of horses. Here also he would find 

 a little platform, shut off from the possibly too-insis- 

 tent " Toter ■' by a barricade about 4 ft. 6 in. or 

 5 ft. in height, and protected by iron bars, sug- 

 gestive of another place where some of the habitues 

 have '" done time. " Behind this barricade is the 

 clerk who takes the details of the pilgrim's transac- 

 tion, gives the " Tote" ticket and receives the money. 

 He is a bashful indl\'idual, so bashful that he does 

 not care to reveal his identity, for the part of him 

 that might be recognisable is swathed in a 

 kind of cowl, covering his head and face, and pierced 

 with eye and breathing holes. With this problematic 

 j)ersonage the business is done. The reason for this 

 concealment of identih' is to make it difficult for the 

 police to prove their case even if they did succeed 

 in getting in. Your business is quickly got 

 through. The pilgrim's progress is a rapid one, 

 and vou pass out to make room for others, watchful 

 eves following vour every movement all the time, 



readv to follow up suspicion with force if it is deemed 

 necessary. I n the cage w here the " Tote " officer 

 works is a trap door, so arranged that the person 

 could slip out of sight in an instant, and pass into 

 safetv by another exit. Here at one time, just be- 

 low the trap door, used to be chained a fierce mas- 

 tiff ready to deal summarilv with any police 

 officer who, in raiding the place, might too Srdently 

 descend in pursuit of a fugiti\e. This for- 

 tress of evil is in the heart of a great 

 city, in a land where, when a law is put 

 upon the Statute Book it is supposed that it will be 

 enforced. What is the matter when with all the 

 paraphernalia of law and order in the shape of a 

 well-equipped police force, this fortress remains un- 

 assaulted ? 



AN ABORTIVE ATTEMPT. 



Some time ago an abortive attempt was made to 

 close the " Collingwood Tote." One dark night at 2 

 a.m. a posse of police attacked the building, and 

 broke their way in. only to find no one there. They 

 held the fort for two months, the force dwindling 

 dailv, until only one policeman was kept on duty. Of 

 course the personnel was changed every few hours, 

 but the solitary watchman lived a quiet and uninter- 

 rupted life there for two or three weeks, when he was 

 forcibly ejected one day by the " Tote " gang, and 

 business has been going on merrily ever since. Thus 

 ended an episode — standing out as an example of 

 Departmental energy against wrong, like a solitary 

 island in the midst of a boundless sea — so comical 

 and ludicrous as to make the Commissioner of the 

 Police Department a laughing stock. No more 

 heartless but pretentious demonstration against a 

 public wrong was e\er made by an uninterested de- 

 partment. 



A SUGGESTIVE PAEAGEAPH. 



Round the gambling centres in Melbourne 

 there has gathered the scum of society', the 

 offscouring of the gaols. Thieves and criminals 

 of the worst type swarm round them. 



At the recent Victorian Police Commission, a 

 statement, prepared by detectives, was presented, 

 having reference to the character of some of the 

 men who frequent the gambling clubs in Melbourne. 

 About 100 names were on the list, and, according 

 to the detectives, even- one of the men named is a 

 criminal. 



Here are the records of onlv a few of the men 

 who are alleged to run the gambling business in 

 some part or other of Melbourne and Sydney : — 



(t) Three convictions totalling 12A years, made 

 up as follows: — Insulting behaviour, 3 months j 

 ditto, 3 months ; criminal assault, for which sen- 

 tence of death was recorded, but commuted to 12 

 vears' imprisonment with hard labour and two flog- 

 gings of 15 lashes each. 



(2^ Six convictions, totalling i2h years, made up 

 as follows: — Three convictions for insulting be- 



