NEW GAMBLING CRUSADE
MR JUDKINS EMPHATIC
THE POLICE ADMINISTRATION
A fresh campaign against gambling was begun by Mr
WH Judkins in
Wesley Church yesterday afternoon. At the same time Mr Judkins gave
“The
church’s view of the Prime Minister’s dictum that social reformers,
instead of
seeking the prohibition of morally undesirable things, should educate
the public to their
disuse.” There was a crowded congregation.
Mr Judkins said that the prime function of
Parliament was to
protect the people, and laws indicated the road upon which the
community must travel
whether it liked it or not, and when the Prime Minister (Mr Fisher) was
asked that the
importation of certain picture films should be forbidden, it
simply meant that
Parliament should be called upon to exercise its great
prerogative of
protection. When the Prime Minister said that the social reform
committee should
educate the people to such a point that they should not countenance
anything that was
degrading, it was just as if when a steamer with smallpox cases
aboard arrived in
the Heads, someone was to say, “Why don’t you let them in, and make
your own
people so healthy that they wont catch smallpox.” (Laughter and
applause.) And
supposing he were to say to the Prime Minister, “I entirely disagree
with you on the
question of giving preference to unionists? Why make this prohibition?
Why not educate the
community up to such a point that they would not employ non-unionists?”
(Applause)
“The Argus” said that it knew of the existence of a
certain
gaming school in the city. He certainly knew of the existence of one,
although he had had
no communication with “The Argus” on the question. A member of
the police
force had interviewed him and asked him to tell where the school was
and because he
declined he was accused of assisting law-breakers. For some years past
the social reform
party had been doing their best to get the police department to do its
duty, but without
effect. A few weeks ago he informed the department of the existence of
two-up schools in
the western suburbs, and was coolly informed that there were no such
things as two-up
schools in Melbourne. (Laughter)
The Rev. JH Cain - I found one at the corner of a
street coming down
this afternoon. (Laughter)
Mr Judkins - Where were the police? Possibly
they would be
running down to Mr Cain tomorrow to know where that school existed.
(Laughter) His hearers
all knew of the gambling that went on in Bourke street. They saw
records going down,
but, of course, they presumed the man was making his will.
(Laughter) They saw money
being paid over, but possibly it was in payment of a loan. (Laughter)
And they saw an
officer of the Law a few feet away. But the police could not see what
was going on.
Cavalier treatment had always been meted out to the social reform party
when they
quoted specific cases of wrong doing, and was it any wonder that
they did not come
forward to assist the department? There was enough gambling going on in
the area which was
included between Swanston Street and Spring Street on the west and
east, and Lonsdale
Street and Flinders Street on the north and south, to ruin the
reputation of any police
commissioner. (Applause) If the man who was in charge were determined
that the evil should
be put down, then it was as easy as winking. They entered their protest
that
afternoon against the kind of administration that would let the evil
continue. He was not
going to act as a private detective for the police department. There
were in their midst
enough things that were vile and foul to demand the utmost
vigilance and care of the
police department, and yet those things remained, and the fact that
they remained was a
reproach to the man responsible for them. These matters were not
to be allowed to
rest. If they did not move to get this supineness removed, it would be
all the more
difficult to do so in 25 years. He invoked aid of everybody to stand
side by side in
this struggle, right against wrong, and then there would soon come a
day when they would
have the giant of supineness writhing in their grasp upon the ground,
and the community
triumphant. (Applause)
From The Argus 8th August 1910 page 7
