Silver-Dollar Scholars

The Smith Brothers are pillars of their community; they run the finest gambling joint in Reno, Nev. Harold's Club (named for the older brother) earns more than a million silver dollars every year, making it the nation's biggest. The Smith boys are always ready to do something nice for people. They donated Reno's Catholic nursery, gave $5,000 to pay off the mortgage of the local Methodist church, spent more thousands for the Mormons, the Church of the Nazarene, the Negro Methodists. Last week the Smith Brothers, who never got through high school, were ready to do something nice for education.

They offered the University of Nevada 27 four-year scholarships, each paying $1,000 a year. By the time the plan gets rolling, it will cost the Smiths $108,000 a year, and up to one-tenth of the student body will be going to school on gambling profits. Says Harold: "There are a lot of good minds hidden away in the little mining camps and ranches. Given a chance and the right education, some of them may do a lot for the state some day. You don't know what college means unless you miss it yourself."

In Reno, where gambling is legal, nobody raised an eyebrow when the university's president accepted. Students with scruples about it can apply for one of the eight scholarships from the Reno Woman's Christian Temperance Union instead. But the W.C.T.U. scholarships pay only $50.

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