The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1873-06-07

OF inc peCuliar 0eOtSe ana customs
Of The people who procured . live
1fhooil - ilytA6 6poh1tAs 1Sak-
ness and passions Of the DON uuni-
tip o. which shev fpided, s0r In
other wo:ds nived BY their wits.
In the old iines this elaes, of men
came nearer social recognition
than At the present day. 4 do mot
refer 10 the enforced association OF
the race course, growing out Of .
community OF pursuits and tastes
not dissimiler. Blacklegs and gem
tlemen stand on the same plane.
and meet en apparent equal terms.
with betting booke in their hands.
Neither in this respect nor in the
charaoterof the transactions on
the turf has there bsen any SEN
.ible change within, the past ot third
Of q century. Gambling IN every
form 10 always demorslizing, snd
those who habitually indulge in
the practice get their notions Of
right and wrong much mixed up.
On the race course the outsiders
used to be,takens in and plunderel
by the knowing ioises. Experienc-
ed turfman were accustomed to
laugh at Tho idea Of . fair race.
The result was known to tav ared
ones Ia advaace.v THIS was the
case in important races with hard
" Al, exception. i heard the Ma
poleon Of the turf, - Colonel
johnson Of Virginia swas tsrmed,
say in 9 moment Of exuberant con.
VITALITY, that Bob stockton was
worth q clean ten Thousand dollars
4 year to him. i never let him
win race, he continued, but he
generally runs . good second,'
and hopes for better luck next
time. Hes full Of pluck, and 10
cure Of winning on the next trial.
James Long, who isl joint owner
with Colonel johnson of the IA
nous racer Boston, in fit Of ex-
travagant Frankness, the result OF
a drinking bout Of unusual length,
told an acquaintance In advance OF
the race, that fashion was to beat
the old sorrel, that the thing was
all arranged. and advised him to
make up his betting book aceord
ingly. This might have been the
mere vagsry of q drunken man, or
he might unwittingIy, revealed .
secret intended to be confined to q
limited lumber Of sharpers. Long
was the principal proprietor Of the
well known gambling house on the
corner Of Sixth strett and the ave-
nuc, wh.-. Thaddeus Stevens and
Franklin Pierce sometimes raised
their money. The great turfmsn
act upon this plan ct the present
day, and q similar device 10 adopt
ed by experts in every species Of
gambling. The brokers Of Wall
and Broad streets would grow rich
but slowlyif their operations were
confined to fleeing each other. The
country spectators are their ma
tural prey, and the losses Of the
scores who fall victims Of their
arifnl representations, II small In
dividualiy, con Institute . large sum
in the aggregate. tseeeary
The W ashington gambling hous.
es have never been supported to
any considerable extent by the
resident population: Members 81
Congress, particularly from the
Sosth, Southwest and West, we're
the largest contributors to the In
conss Of che sporting men. Con-
trsctors and Indian traders we're
generally bold and sometimes des.
perates rlayere. Members in the
House frequently staked their
mileage and per diem at the faro
table, and they played all sorts o.
games, 'short cards. - they were
called in the clnb roome. Proba
bly, the amount risked would mo-
constitute what 10 called si,igf
PLAY in these dsys, but the losses
Of these men Of limited means we're
often sufficient % keep them i'm
povsrished and Embarrassed dnriae
their entire Congressional service.
Some men .plAyd Tor excitement,
chiefly, not carig much whethe,
they won or lost Thaddeus Stev
ems was one Of this description
] He was like Fox who described
winning At hazad as the greates'
pleasure in life. and losing in the
fame game % ne next greatest,
Stevens lost id won with thl
same appareE Indifference He
played with casumuate GOODNESS,
never lost histenper, and never
increased thsamount Of his bet,
either to flrieve his losses OF