The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-02-01

keepers the dealer and roper-in sharing equally.
It Is safe to say that nine out of every ton men
seen lounging daily and nightly around tho cor
ners of Eighth, Ninth, Tenth and Eleveath aud
Chestnut streets are gamblers and cappers for
faro banks.
Without exaggeration, there are In this city
five hundred able men that do not do q
days work from one end of the year to the
other, and who live and exist upon what they
rob people of in and around gambling houses.
We do not believe that skin faro banks are so
dangerous In their results as so-called square
games, for a person seldom gets trapped a
second time Ia the same skin game, and ~ he
never wins he becomes disgusted; whereas,
vixen he goes into q game where faro Is dealt on
the square, and he wins q few dollars, he ia In
fatuated with it, and believes ne can beat IT, and
the result in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred
is ruin aud suffering to himself and everybody
connected with him. Thsre are in this city at
present only two houses conducted as brace
houses although therc is no house that will not
and does not at certain times and under certain
circumstances take advantage of Players and
especially If they are uniformed and ignorant
of what can be done. The principal skin-faro
bank is located at
No. 9O3 Chestnut Street,
and IL conducted and managed by short, fat
round-faced chap by the name of Samuel Will
son, although other parties conducting what is
said to be square game in South Fourth
street are interested with him. The entrance
to this house Is just above Ninth street. Wilson
formerly kept No. 900 Chestnut street, but was
arrested upon several occasions (never tried or
convcted) and was compelled to seek other
quarters. From that place he removed to his
present location, where those desrous of seeing
the tiger and experiencing his unrelentlng EN-
brace can do so. 1t would take up too much
space to go into the details of the means en-
ployed, the perseverance, ingenuity, and devices
used to entrap victims into those gambling hells.
Another brace house Is located at
No. 92g Chesnut Street,
| and Is conducted by Charles Kaign and Joseph
Holder These men were arrested and arraigned
before Alderman Kerr at the Central Station,
| short time ago, for robbing Californian of his
| diamonds and watch and chain: they were held
for n further hearing. When that further hear
ing took place we have been unable to ascertain,
| but we understand the valuables were returned,
| and the witness or complainant was induced to
| leave. 1t seems almost an impossibility to pro-
secute this class of men, for their influence, or
rather that of their protectors, is all potent,
/ and Justice lifts the folds from her eyes and
| looks down In the balances and sees which scale
|
Invariably falls on that side containing the most
money or political influence.
| Other Gambling Houses.
| The following are the other gambling houses
in the city where the game of faro is dealt
No. 126 s. Ninth street and No. 40 8. Ninth
| street Charles jackson, John Wells and Buck
Johnson proprietors.
No. lag s. Fourth street. known rs the Malta
| Game John Lewis, Charles - alias Garrison,
| John Walters, propretors. Frank Moran is here
the leading spirit, or at least was short
| time ago.
| No. 1895 Chestnut street. This game is dealt
by man called BUDDY Williams, and is known
| as the Thieves Game, the bank money being
made up by the contributions of knucks making
their headquarters in the vicinity of Eleventh
and SAMSON streets.
No 1907 Chestnut street, over Gorman's drink
ing establishment This is a new game and is
conducted by Jacob Michner, Peter Grim, and
Robert Supplee.
Another, on Arch street. above Ninth is con-
Quoted by man by the name of Wonderly, in
connection with others, and is patronized by a
class of business men who would be very much
chagrined to have their names paraded as being
arrested at Il descent of the policeon gambling
| house.
| In Harmony place, at the corner oil hudson
alley, there has been game opened recently
and conducted by Charles Kaign and William
Eckel.
Besides the above gambling-houses there are
several others known as
Snup-HOuses,
where any one can go and put up a certain
amount of money and win with or lose it, and
pay the proprietor for the privilege if he wins
ten per cent. There is one of these houses in
the vicinity of Ridge avenue and Coates street,
where the game of faro is dealt every night and
all day Sunday. The principal one is known as
The AIiev Rnnsford Place,
just above Fourth street. This house is con.
Quoted and owned by a boy, Theodore Lawrence
about twenty years of age, and son of an ex-
detective officer. This house is the very sink
of iniquity, fetid with corruption. Its patrons
are mostly poor workingmen not able to lose
their money. 1t brings more misery upon wives
| and children than perhaps all the other houses
| put together. This house is also the resort OF
dling-place during the day for the cappers oi
skin-games and petty thieves. The game is
conducted in a dingy dirty room on the second
floor. 1t is the daily scene of fights, squabbles
profanity, and obscenity, and has become a
crying nuisance to the neighborhood. There il
no sink of corruption In the Five Points, New
| York, to equal this den in Ransford place. Yor
can see there daily some poor woman inquirine
If her husband were there, and begging for hin
+ \ to be sent home.
The keepers of these houses may thrive anC
exist clothed in fine linen, sporting the mos
brilliant diamonds, drinking the finest wines