Spokane Gambler Cashes In on Anti-Gambling Law
A convicted gambler finds a profitable loophole in his prison sentence, allegedly collecting a daily stipend while serving time.
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.
Fritz Dietrich, who for a consideration offered himself as a vicarious sacrifice for his brethren of the green cloth, will do a stunt of ten months in Walla Walla as a result of the supreme court's decision in the anti-gambling case. Under the new law, the sentence of felons begins to run from the time they reach the penitentiary. Convicted felons are allowed two months for good behavior during the first year of their incarceration. Dietrich got a year's sentence, and if he behaves himself he will be out at the end of ten months. It is stated on good authority that Dietrich gets $6 a day, while in durance, from the gamblers who put up the money to fight the law. This $6 a day will be turned over to him on his release from the penitentiary. It will date from June 14 last, when he was first arrested, until his ten months at Walla Walla are up.
“Fritz Dietrich, who for a consideration offered himself as a vicarious sacrifice for his brethren of the green cloth.”
This story highlights the perennial tension between moral legislation—like the state's early anti-gambling statutes—and the subterranean economy of those who profit from the vice. It serves as a reminder that legal crackdowns often create new, distorted financial incentives rather than eliminating the underlying behavior.
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