The Ouachita telegraph. [volume] (Monroe, La.) 1865-1889, 1878-02-08
FARO AND IT'S FAsCINATIONs.
The Experiment. that Eleven New York
80, $50 ~ * Gamblers Made.
lsditor Nesg York sts,s

= Having read the recent tragic death
of = st. Louis gambler in last Sundays
Sun. I have thought it advisable to
give tho public an idea of the gamblers |
chances. It is safe to venture the as
sertfon that il a person could be thor
ouRhiy convinced there was no chance
whnteyer of his winning a penny, but
that he would. to an absolute certainty.
lose every dollar he might hazard at
the game of faro, he would forever
abandon a habit SO demoralizing in its
results. There is no reason whatever
why's mind capable of reasoning should
not arrive at the conclusion that,
although one may enjoy temporary
luck at intervals, his ultimate defeat is
as sure as that his moral nature suffers
depletion with the turn of every card.
Probably the best proof of this advan
tage ON the part of the bank was offered
by an experiment made by eleven
Well!knoWn gamblers in this city.
Determined to test the chances of the
game, they established a bank with u
capital OF $4,000, placing it in charge.
Of one of their number, while the re-
maining ten played against it for the
term of one year, each with q stake OF
81, 900. At the end of the time spec-
fled it was found that not one of the
ten players had u dollar of his original
stake. but that the bank had absorbed
their entire capital.
Old gamblers declare that any man
will beat himself at guessing in the long
run, and upon the truth of that axiom
the gamblers who run these dens OF
theft thrive at the exp ense of the in
fatuated men who refuse to accept IL
until ruin sstares them in the face.
Those who have given the subject
much attention declare that not more.
than four gamblers iii this country
ever amassed u competence by gaming
unless they owned and conducted
games themselves.
e 1t is ain small communities that
gambling bells occasion their greatest
amount of misery, for they depend foii
custom not upon an army of profess
sional sports, but their supporters are
furnished from the artisan population
and younger mercantile community
the very ones who can least afford to
lose the tribute money that the tiger
daily EFFORTS from his votaries. II
would be ridiculous, were it not mourn
full, this blind mania for play and belief
in treacherous chances. Your novice,
and your veteran as well, will play the.
game on Monday and lose 525, repea,
tho dose Tuesday to tile tune of $50,
Wednesday ditto of $50, and il he
makes u winning of $50 OH Thursday
he will go home perfectly satisfied
confident of his ability to beat faro,
never pausing to reflect that a summary
of, his four days work shows him $75
out of pocket to only $50 received.
Some years ago few members OF
the New York press engaged in ii
praiseworthy endeavor to close the
gaming houses on Manhattan island
and waited upon the Police Commits
sioners and Captains of the variou,
precincts, urging, them to make n series
of continuous raids upon the differen,
bells. From every official they re-
ceived the same response: "What il
the use to close them? They will open
again in day or two" Why are
notorious faro banks allowed to flourish
in full blast and unmolested in tho
most public localities ? There IL not !,
policeman in New York who coulo
not point out every gambling house or
his beat. Is it his duty to pass then
uunoticed? Are the statutes of New
York q dead letter, and is it impossible,
oienfOree them?s 1t is quite time TIL,
matter was attended to. We call upor
the authorities to close these saloons
and if they reopen, to close then
again and again. In this way only
can they be abolished and the. Cit,
purified oftheir poisonous influence
tEfs' iiis No QUARTER