Ttte Review of Rsviews. 



.Iiihl I, 1906. 



nilure of thf ronm. How the occupants of the room 

 escajjed with their lives is a marvel. 



THE COSNECTIXG LIXKS. 



Xc)\\ it is remarkable that in each of the in- 

 stances given the principals concerned were most 

 active in their att-empts to put down gambling. 

 The first was a detective, the second was using his 

 best efforts against the gamblers, the third giving 

 valuable assistance to the police, , the fourth is the 

 chief detective who has the gambling fraternity 

 under his eye. This is too remarkable a series of 

 CO ncidences to have happened without design. The 

 connecting link is more than evident, although no one 

 has been brought to book for any of the crimes. 



Priibably if these deeds of violence had not been 

 resorted to, public feeling would not have been 

 roused to such a pitch of excitement, but it is more 

 than apparent that the men connected with these 

 gambling establishments are resolved not only to 

 flout the law, but to carry on a war of violence not > 

 only against the officials who are trying to enforce 

 the law, and who are simply carrying out the duties 

 for which they are paid, but also against law-abiding 

 citizens who are anxious to see the law carried out. 

 Against this there can be only one policy — a de- 

 termined attempt to root out this nest of criminals. 



AN AUSTEALIAN TAMMANY. 



I have said that this is a huge organisation, run 

 with brains, with its detectives, etc. This will give 

 further proof : Information of a valuable character 

 concerning themselves becomes known to the 

 gamblers, so that thev are on their guard, and are 

 able to meet the plans of the detectives with counter 

 plots, with the inevitable result that the " best laid 

 plans '" of the detectives mostly " gang aglee.'' 



Detectives are shadowed, police recruits are 

 \vatched, every candidate for the force is known, 

 and as candidates require to be of a certain size 

 and age, each person corresponding to the size and 

 age of a police recruit who applies for membership 

 ti' a l^itmi; club, or who tries to get into a "Tote'' 

 shop is subjected to the closest scrutiny. The or- 

 ganisation is as perfectly organised as the New 

 York Tammnnv, and when some of the mem- 

 bers of our Parliaments are the openly avowed 

 friends of some of the chief members of these 

 gangs, and are such close friends that on one occa- 

 sion a member of Parliament was observed walking 

 arm-in-arm up Collins-street (near the intersection of 

 (^uten-street, if any reader wishes me to be more 

 explicit) with a prominent " Tote-man," it is easy to 

 see how far the ramifications of the " Tote " extend. 

 But, aii bono, is not Sir Philip Fysh a beneficiary 

 of Tattersall's (which, though not necessarily con- 

 nected with " Totes." is yet an illustration of the con- 

 nect'on between gambling and some politicians), and 

 are not Senator Dawson and Mr. Sollv, M.L.A.. the 

 openlv-j)rofessed friends of Mr. Wren? 



Is it not time that business firms, to protect them- 



selves from the menace to their accounts by souths 

 who find temptations to wrong-doing so easilv pro- 

 vided by this organisation, and heads of families, 

 to whose sons and daughters this way to Avernus 

 is made so seductive and easv, roused themselves to 

 annihilate it? Time that the law-abiding section 

 realised that the foundations of hw and order are 

 being assailed ? 



We read of Tammany methods in Xew York, but 

 it would be difficult to find an organisation capable 

 of working more political and social evil than this. 

 Everybody knows how justice has been diverted ; 

 officials corrupted ; politicians bribed by this gam- 

 bling devil. The very foundations of law and order 

 are going to be shaken if it works unmolested, and 

 while instances I have given are surface indications, 

 patent to ev^erybody, one trembles to think what 

 may be e\en now the real condition of affairs. 



LAX ADMINISTRATION. 



Yet as far as Victoria is concerned the thing 

 might be dealt with. The law is woefully inade- 

 quate as compared with- what it might be, and with 

 what it is in other States, such as Xew South 

 Wales, but for all that the' law as it stands in Vic- 

 toria is quite sufficient to close " Tote " shops up. 

 A more pitiable instance of departmental apath\ 

 cannot be found anywhere than that which is founil 

 in connection with the Chief Secretary's Department 

 in Victoria. An attack which I made on the ad- 

 ministration recently, called forth a reply from Sir 

 Samuel Gillott to the effect that I was not giving 

 him any new information when I said that one of 

 the highest legal authorities in Melbourne had as- 

 sured me that it was an illegal thing to run a 

 ■■ Tote '■ shop, and he quoted one or two childish and 

 abortive prosecutions as an illustration of his energy 

 in administering the law against gambling. I pro- 

 pose to leave comment on this till next month, 

 and thtn to deal with the laxity of this 

 department with regard to othtr things than 

 gambling. Suffice it to say, in the meantime, that 

 Sir Samuel Gillott condemns himself when he savs 

 that he knows that the law is sufficient. The ob- 

 Vious and the only answer is, " Why, then, are the 

 'Totes' and clubs still open?" The Victoriaji 

 Go\"ernment has most laudablv given notice of its 

 intention to make the law so rigorous that it will be 

 easy to deal with the gambling evil. It would be 

 foolish to criticise the proposed measure before it 

 is known what is to be suggested, but the Act will 

 have to be a very severe one if it is going to shatter 

 the foundations of the vice, and, in the meantime, 

 before the proposed Act comes into operation, very 

 much could and should be done to cope with the evil. 



On the 28th April last, the day of the Sandown 

 Park races, someone was set to watch the 

 doors of the notorious " Collingwood Tote." Be- 

 tween the hours of i and 4.45, 1575 persons 

 entered. The ramifications are so endless that 



