234 



I he Review of Reviews. 



September 1, 1906. 



A possible means of escape m case of a raid. 



ha\e not received instruction in the "noble art." 

 Certainly, the employes don't thrive on tu'- 

 game. They seem to be sweated workers, though 

 few people would dare to call Wren a " sweater.'' 

 But this lazy life suits them, and they can always 

 " touch " the " boss " or his lieutenants and other big 

 bookmakers in time of need for a couple of bob or 

 so. On certain occasions a bookmaker walkin- 

 through the " Australian Bight" has to scatter silver 

 like a prince before he can escape. 

 * * * 



•■ TOTE ■■ TYPES. 



There is no question that the gambling mania has 

 infected all sections of the community. Wren's 

 '• Tote " is the poor man's wringer; it squeezes him 

 Some are beginning to recognise the palpable 

 that Wren has levied a tax on their ignor- 

 and folly, and accumulates huge wealth there- 

 A hard-working man stated : " Wren ain't the 

 ni;in he's cracked up to be. I know I've paid him 

 .:! out eight bob a week for two years, and got 

 m ;hin' for it. 'E don't give me work. Don't tork 

 1 r tut bein' good to ther poor. 'E ain't our 



tii'r-nij. It's us wet's good to 'im ; we keep 'im 

 afloat and 'e can live like er prince while we 'ave 

 to graft 'ard for a crust, and are allers hard up. 

 Wish I'd never touched it. There's nuthin' in it. 

 Dozens will tell you the same." Yes, a great and 

 growing number of working men have begun to look 



dry. 

 iart 

 a nee 

 bv. 



into the simple facts of the case, and 

 have found that it is their hard- 

 earned money that swells Wren's 

 pockets. Mr. Wren is losing caste 

 among the w'orking men. His philan- 

 thropy won't wash. Even now many 

 men whose eyes have been opened 

 predict the time when the rocket will 

 come down as a stick. Wren still, 

 however, has many admirers. Some 

 betting-demented individuals would 

 cheerfully elect him Premier of the 

 State. A besotted " sport,' when in- 

 ter\-iewed on the subject, believed as 

 he was a " socialist," that the 

 " Government should take the busi- 

 ness o\er, and make Jack Wren 

 manager." John Wren, Minister of 

 Gambling, seemed perfectly fit and 

 proper to him. But when asked how 

 much Wren would want for his \-alu- 

 able services, the Socialist thought 

 hard for a moment. " I never 

 thought of that," he said ; ' I sup- 

 pose he would want the dickens of 

 a lot. " It is only a matter of a 

 a little time now when the public discovers that Wren 

 wants such a lot that he will be reckoned far too 

 great a luxury for a city like Melbourne, and re- 

 quested to suspend operations. Anyway, even 

 amongst the habitual "' Tote " patrons John Wren is 



lint the popular idol he was a year or two ago. 

 * * * 



HE TOILS NOT. 



Wren produces nothing, manufactures nothing, 

 does no useful work ; he is merely a parasite who 

 thrives on the monumental folly of the community. 

 He drains the money from the poor man, hard- 

 earned money that should go to the proper support 

 of his wife and children. It is not from the rich, 

 the wealthy merchants and squatters and profes- 

 sional men, that Wren extracts gold and silver, but 

 from the poor, the unfortunate people whom he 

 keeps poor. He has piled up a huge fortune shil- 

 kng by shilling, draining the very life-blood of the 

 |ieople W'ho once looked up to him as their best 

 friend. Nothing is sadder than the sordid part of 

 ("oUingwood in which the infernal " Tote " shoji has 

 its headquarters. Crime, folly, ignorance, poverty 

 and misery, these abound on every side. But mur- 

 murs of protest rise louder and more persistently 

 e\ery day against the arch-sweater, even round his 

 own stronghold. As Abe Lincoln said, " You can 

 fool some of the people all the time, and you can 

 fool all the people some of the time ; but you 

 can't fool all the people all the time." 



