conceded that when the session opened, the gamblers had nineteen
Senators who could have been prevailed upon to vote against an effective
anti-gambling bill. Had machine men sat in the seats occupied by Holohan
and Campbell, the gamblers would have had twenty-one votes in the
Senate, and the Walker-Otis bill would have been defeated.

[25] Much of the credit for this determined stand is due Earl H. Webb,
president of the Anti-Racetrack Gambling League, who managed the fight
for effective anti-racetrack gambling legislation not only during the
session of the Legislature, but before the Legislature convened. Mr.
Webb first convinced himself that the Walker-Otis bill would stop pool
selling and bookmaking; and that the measure would stand the test of
honest interpretation by the courts. Then he made his fight for it. To
Mr. Webb, more than to any other one person, is due the credit for its
passage.



Chapter VII.

Passage of the Walker-Otis Bill.

Anti-Machine Element Forced the Issue and Compelled Early Action on the
Measure - Evidence That Machine Planned to Defeat or Amend the Bill by
Delaying Its Passage Until Toward the End of the Session.



As one looks back over the exciting first five weeks of the session,
when the Walker-Otis bill was under consideration, it is plain that the