IRISH SWEEP TICKETS

Stratford Evening Post, Volume II, Issue 23, 19 August 1932, Page 2

IRISH SWEEP TICKETS

/SALE CANNOT BE STOPPED •UfeEFAeLPLESS POLICE "No poli«» paction can stop the sale jof. Irish sweep tickets in Britain. To 'prosecute in every case would expose • the PoU£fi/t° justified ridicule." Sir Deputy Commissioner .of „the Metropolitan Police, made liijis jstatement in'his evidence ' before jjjtte I Royal Commission on Lotteries lid paper. Sir Rowlatt, the former iligh <&W#Pfe, iCTcftaiiMan of the *fi&A fl eou &V- - into"'the law on I betting, and similar matters, and fc& Report on ; what changes J may be deferrable; ' I Sir Trevor dealt with betting, ana * described the system by which I bookmajsyp|*|n|ployed agents in offices i and factories, or to call at houses for }ibets. ~ ... V; Sir Sidneysfßowiatt: Peopty fgp {ground to houses while the husband away and get the wife to bet?— iiYes. Betlmf *>ig v very common among ifwcmen at present. Speaking 0f,., street betting, Sii Trevor* sufd * police in uniform were S practically; unable to effect arrests, though they might be aware of what was going, on. Police action was in. ?effectively of the large, d,e- ---■ inand foV|jße«iife facilities. said Sii j Trevor; "the operation of the betting 51aws.is, from th£ poKce. point of view, ryery' They put the Affix? Should be friends of the ?law_abiding public, in antagonism to } a very large party which is quite «v.law-abidin« m all respects except I those ar46in%nsftrom the taste for I gambling. to Police ': "Another grave objection was the "' temptation to the police, to which partment of police work" were accus. #tiong 6T~aiShonesty so; common."

Sir Sjjflttjai sirinTior (a member oi the cQxmitiksmi) : To put it baldly, . the . public say that the pclice are ''squared." Is that only gossip, or is there any real basis of fact? —That is a very difficult question to answer. Dealing with lotteries, Sir Trevor Baid it was not the practice of the police to interfere with those of a private ga&ture. Apart fncm the Irish sweeip tier* jjwas an enormous number dwldlteries, but he did not think One result of the popularity of the . Irish s%|ep had been to reduce the activfK|s| W.Y raudulell t promoters. Waste of Time : said the duty of carry. v ing ontr to carry out, the law as to lotteries was extremely troubfcasHftte. bTo prosecute in every case expose the police to justified.*iAi«yie, and even where the .. . offence was blatant and deliberate the pefitoatttes imposed by courts showed? flte'a&ly. that no seriousness i'was attiahaidjito it. :«-.ri,

Sir iSMriayvßowlatt: No police action calk possioly stop the success ... of the Irish sweep in this country? ,—Not only cannot stop it, but can hardly^lfiloifire with it in the slight. est degVSieJ -'• jMrs. S&ioclifr. (a fnember of the commission): It is conceivable that a test case agajhst'a newspaper for . publication of prize-winners might be more' dff chivvying one or two Pe^Pjtf^')' Siv TvjMpJt. |The question has been cpnsideredv and it was, decided it Would not .figTtorise. to, it. I cer!'tainly would not advise such a prosecution. ITW3O Sir Sidney Rowlatt: If ycu succeeded evGjrofoiry would be shouting, "We want this news, and why should not we Ttenratr Sir TiO¥o*i»V Yes, and the newspapers would say it was an important piece of" news which a • large numberiOii»|»fliile wanted and had a light "I thiiiS tlfe- ; public arc coming to * regard the trial? sweepstake a s some >• thing which is to all intents and pur poses legfOSßir Trevor added. ,' Sir SidnW ttbwlatt: 1 had a letter • last night from a person in America saying tnlff* he' had heard I had been made chajnsariv of this commission, and asking could I tell' him how to , 4 get a iilkej&jjii the Irish sweep. (LauglrtlF.)* ,rr Sir James "Leishman (a. mfemher jof the s-^*raa!mJssion) : Do the police sometiMftfißi hiaye sweepstakes among I themselves' Sir TreVdF: I expect they do. If it ? were A a sKvate' sweep I should ignore WThe commission adjourned until