Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1864-03-04
cAnInLInc c-aT EAIns-

GAMBLING; AT FAIRS.
A good deal has been said, Within a few
weeks respecting the practice of railing at our
Sanitary Fairs. In the mass of newspaper ar
ticles written on the subject one deserves little
more than a passing notice. tits areeditoriaI,
not at hand at this writing, but published in
one of the Cleveland dailies There was moth
ing Objectionable in it; it simply showed that
the writer had not thought deeply on the SUBJ
ject, and was greatly in the fog as to his ideas.
He went on TO remark that rafflng is an appeal
to chance, but that not all such appeals are con-
sidered wrong. T. q, Juryinen are drawn by
lot If two candidates for an office have each
an equal number of votes the question is deci-
eed by lot. The selection of soldiers by the
draft is by lot Thus the law itself often au-
thorizes an appeal to chance for the purpose of
reaching its ends. The writer of the article
referred to cites these facts, and seems to con-
clude from them that games of chance are not
necessarily wrong Yet the article indicates a
feeling on his part that such games constitute
gambling.
Let us see if there are no means of arriving
at clear views on this point Every lover of
pure morals must acknowledge the social evils
of gambling. But how to find the dividing
line between gambling and innocent games
this is the difficulty. IL we say that games of
chance are wrong and hurtful because they en-
gross the attention, consume the time and foster
distaste for the pursuits of industry, all this
is true, but yet it does not probe the matter to
the bottom. The bad habits engendered and
cultivated by gaming constitute a sufficient
reason for avoiding the practice, and teaching
the young to avoid it. But this is not the only
reason. Raffling and similar practices should
be avoided at fairs because there is danger that
a taste for games of chance created there will
be INDUCED elsewhere, and the gamblers char
acter be the result. These practices should be
avoided also because they are essentially pro-
fame and vicious. Why?
We consider swearing in common language
profane and vicious. The oath is an appeal to
Almighty God, to witness the truth of testimo-
ny given. The common Judgment of men is
that if a man will do anything with solemnity
he will so take an oath. One would hardly
think so, indeed, on going into court of JUS
tice and seeing the careless irreverent manner
in which the oath is commonly administered
Yet this is the fundamental idea-viz: That the
oath is solemn, sacred thing. He then who
degrades it to a common III daily conversa-
ton, profanes it, and becomes vicious.
The case is quite similar with regard to games
of chance 1t is the common, profane of
a thing which had, originally, sacred charac-
ter nay which has sacred character now, if
there is ever any good reason for casting lots
Every appeal to chance is method of casting
lots The casting of lots has been known to
nearly all nations-perhaps to all without the
'nearly - 1t was known to the Jews. The
idea of the lot is this, The parties concerned,
unable to determine the question before them,
or unwilling to trust their own Judgment, appeal
to God to determine it for them. So The lot
is cast into the lap but the whole disposing
thereof is of the Lord See Proverbs l6; 80.
Our laws authorize an appeal to the lot in cer-
tain cases, nodoubt because sometimes there is
no other way of coming to decision, some
times because the design is to remove the de-
cision beyond the reach of human desires and
prejudices and interferences. Now, unless we
are willing to make ourselves an infdel people
altogether, we must regard these uses of the
lot as appeals to God. The lot throws the ques-
ton at issue wholly out of our hands into the
hands of God.
This view of the case will show that the use
of games of chance for the purpose of max
ing money, or for other trivial purposes, is the
degrading of sacred and solemn thing to a
common use. Here is a reason which goes to
show that appeals to ''chance" on trifing Oc-
casons, or for gain are profane and vicious, just
as swearing in ordinary circumstances is pro-
fame and vicious. Wespeak of 'profane swear
ing. There is a swearing that is not prOtane.
But gambling by the use OF the lot in any way
is profanity III the use of the lot.
Ought not the people to take this high view
of the matter? The tendency of profane swear
ing is to degrade the oath. So the tendency of
gambling is to degrade all appeals by lot to
Gods decision. If these views of the origin
and use of the lot are correct, surely all gaming
should be banished FROM our Sanitary Fairs.