The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-08-17
IAN INrEREsIING LErTER.


! John MOFrIssey's EstR6iishment
OuI.dOne---Snd scenes AT the Table.
A Litter from Col. EoEney to The Philadelphia
E.-'.l Press.
BADEN-BADEN, July 20, 1867.
An invalid Englishman, travelling,
Twenty years ago, as he expressed il, to
! find ''H pleasant retreat in which to
| die" spoke of this famous watering
place as follows:
II was with Il rare audacity that the
/ devil pitched his tent in Baden! Per
\ hnps, on the whole continent, another
spot could not be found so fully com
bining, in small circuit, as many
charms of picturesque scenery; and 1t
/ WAS bold conception to set down Vice,
. in all its varieties, in the very midst OF
in open contrast, as IL were, to-h
| scene of peaceful lovelinesS and beauty.
I One-half this eFiticism-that which
refers to the organized and protected
! local wickedness-is beyond denial :
| but have not been Captivated by The
! supernnl natural features of Baden
| Baden. II is y charming combination
| of fine mountain scenery, and the town
itself is interesting in its century-Old
| houses, its moderniZed streets and
buildings, and its quaint rural avenues,
! in which curious wares in wood and
crystal are sold to strangers; but there
are some grander and iovelier places in
| the UHiteu SldteSt anu many -CeElAlulN
| in Switzerland. The chief feature of
Baden- Baden is its legalized gambling
temple. This palstial edifice is called.
| by strange misnOmer, 1.-The ConVersa-
| tion House" AS The chief element and
condition of all serious gaming is si-
lence, the visitor is puzzled to know
/ who suggested the inappropriate appel
lation. TheConversationHou is a mod
ell of architecture, sculpture and paint
ing. The great assembly room, where the
chief roulette table is to be found from
eleven in the morning until twelve at
at night, Sundays not excepted), is
nearly the size of Musical Fund Hall,
in Philadelphia, and its polished waxed
floor, gorgeous drapery, elegant pier
glasSes and luxurious sofas are in the
! best styles of European art. Here the
balls and parties of the elite are also
given; upon which occasions the rou-
| lette table is removed to the adjoining
rooms, equally splendid and ornate. In
these are always to be found, between
the hours named, roulette tables and
I the great game of cards, called in
French "1Tente-et- QudrG'lte," and in
English "Thirty-Hnd- -Forty"-au inven-
tion something like the American faro.
The other large saloons are called the
French and Italian rooms. These are
connected with still others equally gor-
geous. The whole is set of by the most
costly paintings, statues, fountains,
orange, lemon, and Hover trees, ar
ranged in exquisite order. The splen
did portico is adorned by eight COrin-
THAN pillars. On the south is a res
taurant capable OF accommodating two
hundred persons nj II time. On the
north is a reading room and bookstore
for French, English, Italian, German,
and Spanish visitors; and every evening
an orchestra composed Of experienced
musicians, paid by the gamblers, dis
courses delicious music from pagOda
directly En- front OF the Conversation
House, which attracts thousands, who
occupy seats in the grounds and over
| flow into the brilliant saloons, where
the. gamblers ply their never ceasing
and never losing trade. Without this
guilty attraction, Baden Baden would
be u resort by no means as brilliant as
Saratoga, Newport, Long Branch, Bed
| ford, or Cape May, in the United States.
! Indeed, there is hardly one of these
places that does not surpass il
| in natural advantages, and, apart
/ from the objects OF UeT'tu accunu-
I lated Tor centuries, In artificial accom-
modations. at Baden, as elsewhere in
Europe, the people are never seen, save
in the surrounding villages and farm
contrast of poverty, toll, and, too fire.
quently, Nth and rags. was remind-
| ed of this truth yesterday afternoon in
Il short ride in the suburbs of Baden;
| and I GLADLY recalled how different II
| sight would meet the strangers eye as
he roves through the splendid country
near Newport, Rhole Island, or the
| glorious region around Saratoga, New
| York, or the happy environs of such
| lovely country resorts as Bedford, Me-
| dia, EphrHta, Bethlehem, West Chester,
Chambersburg, Cresson, IN my own
State, where all are as comfortable as
| they are free, where every farmhouse
is n little paradise of itself, and nearly
! every man the owner of his own house.
The glory of Baden Baden is, there
| fore, entirely dependent upon its gam
bling-houses, and the government of
the Duchy itself is mainly sustained by
il. Mr.. Benazet, the great head of the
concern, Is regularly licensed by the
Grand Duke. He began his double ad-
ministration of gambling and the gov
ernment in 1888 by giving S45, 600 for The
improvements of the town, which has
been followed by regular annual subsi-
dies ofeqnal liberaIity. He built the
fine theatre, assisted in the introduction
of gas, subscribed to the railroads, and,
10 use the language of the British chap
lain, Rev. w. b. Flower, who has pre-
pared the "Illustrated Guide" has
conferred very many boons upon the
poor and charitable institutions
of Baden-Baden." But these are
his voluntary gifts. In addition
he must pay TO the government of the
Grand Duke, for his privileges, $780, 600
per annum, and one-half the annual
expenses of all the public improve
ments. including repair OF the roads,
the police, the schools, &C., &c, The
Grand Ducby OF Baden Is narrow
strip of country about twenty miles
wide andtwo hundred miles in length;
is composed OF four towns, and has II
Legislature elected by the men over
twenty-five years of ago who are not in
the army, which sits twice year at
Carlsruhe, the whole governed by a
Grand Duke, whose dynasty, Judging
by the number of his children, is large
enough to supply sovereIYns to halfth
kingdoms OF Europe. II is easy
TO see that the real master of the
situation is not the titled ruler,
but the Emperor of the Roulette and
the Car OF the Card Table; and that,
however right In u moral point of view
1t would be to reform the little princi.
pality, the political prince is too conf
| pletely dependent upon the money
despot to undertake the experiment.
! That experiment has been tried, but in
every case abandoned before the liberal
advances of Mr.. BenaZet, who Is not
willing TO surrender u monopoly which
Yields so many magic profits. Imagine
u man like Hon. John Morrissey the
owner of such ii monopoly in the
United States; and with his character.
istic anxiety to show that if a sinner
| in one respect, ne can be a saint in
many more, we should have a Baden
Baden in every State of tie Union.
| You have only to visit the Conyersa-
tion House to understand what streams
of wealth pour into the Golfers of the
| proprietor, and why he delights
in such princely and polite gem
! erosity. The publicity of the prac.
tice, and the splendid temptations