Spokane's Gambling Houses Prepare for the Midnight Deadline
As a strict new state law turns gambling from a misdemeanor into a felony, operators in Spokane debate the legality of pool rooms and slot machines.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On and after next Thursday, not a public gambling house will be open in Spokane. The new gambling law, which makes it a felony punishable by imprisonment in the penitentiary for from one to three years to conduct any gambling game in the state of Washington, goes into effect next Wednesday night at midnight. Harry Green, 'Doc' H.G. Brown, and 'Dutch Jake,' representing the three principal gambling houses of Spokane, say their houses will obey the law. On the other hand, the Warwick pool room will not close; proprietor John Cladron stated that the opinion is universal that the law does not apply to pool rooms. While Senator Splawn of North Yakima withdrew an amendment exempting pool selling after being assured it was already exempt, the legality remains under scrutiny. Slot machines also occupy a gray area, as cigar merchants argue that a separate act regarding merchandise machines indicates the legislature did not intend to classify them as felonies.
“We are willing that the people should have what they want, and if they want us to close up, and I guess they do, all right.”
This 1903 shift reflects the perennial tension in Washington history between the state's commercial gambling interests and its reformist moral crusades. The ambiguity surrounding 'pool rooms' and slot machines highlights how legislative language often struggled to keep pace with the evolving forms of vice.
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