Democrat and sentinel. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1853-1866, 1856-12-31
Gambling in Great Cities.

LII IS stated that IN New York CITY there A..
two hundred gambling houses, and prohablv
enc hundred faro bauksi Can we wonder :,
deiacatioDs aud forgeries under these circuuo-
tanees According to this statement. there
are three hundred temples of chance and of
iraua IN actual operation in that city evcry
night. II we average the attendance at ten
for each place, and this must be regarded as
very moderate estimate, the aggregate will
amount to three thousand nightly The los
ses and gains per annum may be computed at
millions. The vice is at once fascinating and
seductive. 1t tempts and excites, it m addens
and 1t destroys. Ever and anon We hear of
some fearful defalcation or forgery In manv
eases, too, ii is impossible to conceive the
motive, or to imagine how such large sums IF
money are squandered. The proprietors and
the hotftues of the gambling-houses. could
probably solve the mystery. Gambling is ono
OF the most appalling vices; of our day. It's
carried on TO a fearful extent in all the great
cities in the Union. Philadelphia, like New
York. has It's splendid establishments. and al
though not SO numerous perhaps, there arefy
far too many These institutions are curse
to every community in which they exist
Some are fitted up in the most magni O Mt
style, are provided with all the luxuries of the
season, and thus the novice is 1t once stimu-
lnfcd and betrayed. The system is cold blood
Cd: cautious; plausible. AID polished The
hhlshed gambler must be aLle to see his vic
TIM WFlthe IN agony, as he parts with his pro-
perfy, and even look calmly on, as the shad-
ows Of despair gather upon His brow. How
many young men have been hurried to ruin
through this vile agency! How many fathers
and mothers have been sent broken hearted 10
tic grave The vice IS a secret one to some
extent 1t IS indulged mostly at night, away
from the eye OF observation and often under
the exciting influence Of wine. To suppose
that the eager. the unpractised aud the i'm
puls!Te can obtain fair play under such cir
cumstances. is to suppose q mockery Doubt
less there are wide distinctions among gam
b!ers. Some. it may be, would scoru what in
their judgment would be dishonorable move
ment while others take every possible advan-
tage, and look only to success, regardless Of
the means. There are moreover, various
modes OF gam bling, which we need not speci-
=. There arc other games of chance than
those practised in the card-room or at the faro
table; and where. too, dishonesty and fraud
are quite as prevalent as in more disreputsble
scenes Of hazard. The evil, we repeat, is
fearful one; and when once an individual be-
comes habituated to it. it is difficult indeed.
wholly 10 destroy the fascination. Nav. the
young man who imbibos taste for this dan
cerOus excitement. will almost invariably close
his career in ignominy and ruin. That ca.
reer too, will in all probability be brief. fitful
and full of mental anguish Even should be
gain night after night far weeks. his fate in
the end will not be the less certain: for sue
cess at the gaming table. al ce infatuates,
lmPerlls, and eventually enculfs Better al
most any error than this. for it opens a path
TO sure and inevitable ruin-Inouirer.