Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1877-09-27
A Word About those Gamblers.


We have elsewhere described the
game and device by which man last
week gouged some very good men in
this county, out of their money. We
called him Greenbacker because to
twit the Greenbackers that word is
playfully given him Oh the street.
Our sympathy with the genuine
grcenbacker is strong, but we cannot
sympathize with this crowd. We have
to work hard for our living and we
have no sympathy with men who by
their tricks rob hard working men of
their earnings. This man passed
through Platteville. He played his
game there upon man who works
hard at his trade the year round. In
a minute the earnings of weeks toll
were turned into the pockets of an
impudent tramp, who with two other
great strong, lazy lubbers, who are
no more use in the world than a
night-hawk, exist only to prey upon
other mems industry. 1t is shame
upon some of our business men that
any words are allowed to escape their
lips in which such scoundrels take
comfort If every man should take
care of himself what's the use of laws
and courts to enable us TO protect
each other. All men have not equal
opportunities to take care of them
selves. Geo. d. Utt is an attentive
and an industrious business man. He
works early and late. Yet he has
time and opportunity every day to
talk with all classes of men, and to
become familiar with the snares OF
black legs without being himself
caught. He is able to take daily
paper and several weeklies and has
GlLlc W IGdu tuCIH aid ~ lCdi III w uht
devilment is perpetrated elsewhere as
well as around home. Many other
men are alike favorably circumstanced
and with such advantages it is well
enough to say, let them take care of
themselves. But there are men-the
greater part of mankind who
have neither time or opportunity to
study human nature by constant IN
terviewing or Try very general reading.
If You tell the man who is obliged to
labor ten to sixteen hours a day for
bread and clothing for his family that
it is good for him if some sharper
sWindles him out Of a weeks or a
months wages, and hound him to
death if he "squeals" about it, you
are saying, "You fool you, why don't
you quit working and loiter about the
streets like Charley Bennett does till
you learn not to be taken in that
way" 1t is plain that such talk en-
courages idlers among all classes and,
worse still, makes the scoundrels who
practice the games to which we refer,
think themselves heroes and captains,
and some people, because they arc
able to impose upon others, look up to
them as persons deserving special
consideration
Another thing that should be
thought of is that these fellows
tramp gamblers, monte men, lightning
rod men, jewelry peddlers, bankrupt
auction men, package sales men, and
all the others who come among us to
get our money are constantly carry
ing away what should so into the
pockets of our own business men. Il
such practices are tolerated by the
business men themselves what right
have we to expect anything but hard
pinching times? If we allow sharp
ers to pick up the loose change ouI
thoughtless neighbors have, they can
give us nothing towards olling oul
machinery to make the times run ca
sier. Every man who is in right bu-
siness himself should at least feel an
interest in having his neighbours dol
lars go where they are earned.