Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-11-15
A WESTERN BABYLON.
sketch OF Virginia City-The Wfckedest
City of the Pacific Slope.

sketch OF Virginia City-The Wfckedest
City of the Pacific slope.
Letter to st. Louis Republican.
The sensations of a stranger on en-
terlng Virginia City are novel in the ex-
IRENE, and bis astonishm ent increases
hourly for several days-if by virtue of
being well supplied with coin he is en-
abled to remain that long. There is
certainly no such other place in the
universe. This may be said, on the
whole, to be fortunate for humanity;
for-exceptiDg always Chicago-this is
the wlckedest place in the world.
There is no Sunday, although there are
church edlfces; there is little religion,
though several preachers. The streets,
night and. day, are surging mass of
human forms. The men are the
largest, finest looking, best dressed and
most intelligent that have ever seen.
They come from almost every quarter
OF the habitable globe, though of
course in limited numbers from each
section. They are, as rule, generous
and lavish In the expenditure of
money. They seem to have no con-
ception Of the real value and leglti-
mate blessings of wealth. They live
for to-day only, and literally take no
thought for the morrow; consequently
it not infrequently happens that a
man who is flush to-day will be found
penniless tomorrow. But he will not
remain SO long, especially if he has
many acquaintance, for he will soon
=" raise a stake" either by the assist
ance Of friends or at the gaming-table,
and, with light and joyous heart will
join the reckless throng that sweep the
streets. 1t is at night that Virginia City
appears in her most dazzling aspect. The
thOrOugnfares are then even more
densely packed than during the day.
G street, the main avenue Of traffic, is
then in q blaze of glory. Brilliant
chandeliers illuminate the innumerable
saloons, billiard halls, gaming houses,
restaurants, ETC., etc. Many of these
establishments are fitted up in gorgeous
style, rivalling the most famous and at
cago. In the gambling rooms especi-
ally the appointments are superb.
Costly mirrors, elegant furniture, vel
vetry carpets, render the place luxuri
ant, while upon the tables-a veritable
feast for the eyes-may be seen stacks
Of gold and silver. On faro table of
one of the saloons, few evenings
since, [ saw at least d peck of gold
twenties, piled up symmetrically, and
the dealer was thus prepared to size
the pile" Of any adventurer into the
jungle where the tiger reigns. There
are always crowds in attendance at
these nightly seances of the Royal
Bengal. AS many as can find room at
the table stake their money; others pa
tiently wait their turn. Many are
there, however, for curiosity's sake, or
because they find a comfortable
lounging place. The reader must not
imagine that the way Of the faro table
here is up two Or three dark and
winding stair cases into a. dis
NAL back room guarded by vigilant
bouncers," whose business it is to keep
out suspicious" characters Il. e., fly
cops. Oh, no. In this State every
body CANDLES. Not all of them at
faro, of course; but, if not at faro, in
stocks, which is just as unsatisfactory
and uncertain. Gambling is not only
tolerated by society, but protected and
authorized by law. For example, in
regard to faro, it is provided by legisla-
tive enactment, that proprietors shall
pay a uniform tax of $500 per quarter
to the State. Then the municipalities,
of course, come in for a liberal share
of the gamblers spoils in the shape of
local taxess. Thus each faro table is
compelled to pay between two and
three thousand dollars per annum for
governmental expenses. How they
must bleed their customers to make
ends meet can be imagined by the av-
erage citizen. Gambling in stocks, as
intimated above, is the universal evil.
Its nature is we'll understood In the
East as we'll as in the West. Stock
speculation here is practically the same
as it is in New York. There is an essen
tial difference, however, in the charac-
ter of the operators. Capitalists and
brokers deal mostly in Eastern stocks,
while here facilities are provided and
every encouragement given to persons
Of small means to invest their savings
in mining stocks. The noodus operandi
tIS OlS hohOo oWfaiAoV e1O
small ones Is pretty generally known.
Yet people do not learn from expe-
rience, and the consequence is that
they are continually being squeezed,
and are kept poor perpetually.
HumOrs Of Centennial Travel.
Centennial visitors are abroad by
thousands and tens of thousands, and
that public conveyances are taxed to
their utmost will be seen by the follow
ing extract from q letter by lady to
friend in this city, reciting nights ex-
perience on one of the Sound boats:
"Soon after you left, the lady sitting
on my right invited baby to take
walk. He accepted, and on their re-
turn we formed q travelling acquaint-
ance, and from her [ learned that
when boats are crowded, as on that
night, Ladies and all secure mattresses
if possible, and camp down anywhere.
NH tpnv OF 4E f,n die