The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-04-26
The Card Table.

Tho discussion as to whether the good
Marquis DE LAFAYETTE was responsible for
the introduction Of the seductive game Of
faro into this country, or whether it had
been played in Virginia before his coming
suggests an interesting inquiry a TO
whether gambling at cards is now on the
increase here.
1t seems that since the close OF the civil
war, and especially since the hard times
began the public gambling houses have
been doing a comparatively poor business
some of them hardly paying the cost Of
running the establishments. No fortunes
large or small, have been made by probes
/ sional gamblers during the last ten or fifteen
years; and some of the most notorious Of
these spectators, who once welded heavy
sums Of money, have either died poor in the
time or are now almost or utterly pennilcss.
| The gambling places. II not fewer I'm num-
bcr are less sumptuously appointed; and
we are told that the viands with which they
! help to attract visitors are not 80 rich as
| formerly. The attendance Of players is
also said to bc less. and the stakes no longer
| as heavy as was common n few years ago.
| The men who frequent these establishments
are also younger, the old hands no longer
! having money to risk, or having learned
some wisdom; and the foolish youth are
usually SO ill-supplicd with funds that they
are hardly worth the plucking
Indeed, cloud rests over the spirits Of the
professional gamblers of the country. and
they hcwail the indisposition or inability of
the public to take a hand at their little
| games and seek fortune at the card table.
] Thu fup, In plrnra n r.lnsp1 in md
in capital; dealers are out OF occupation,
and stecrers find their efforts Improbable.
This decline in the gambling interest is
not owing to any exceptionally stringent
enforcement Of the law, but as we have said
to the falling of OF players due 10 the de-
parture Of the flush times. No DASsERs are
now getting fortunes together and mclan-
choly pervadcs the haunts once frcqucuted
! by MoRRIssEY, CHAMBERLIN. and EYrINGE.
Washington, which IN the war times WAS a
/ great gambling centre. 81 which some Of
our most distinguished senators and Repre-
sentatives were shining lights, Is no longer
particularly profitable field to work. The
/ attempt to establish there new and elc-
giant place for playing proved unrcmunera-
! tive; and Saratoga also presents compare
lively slight inducements to the enterprs-
ing gambler, while at Newport the tables
miss most Of their old-time occupants, and
the dealers sigh over the diminished stakes.
Certainly here is one result of the con-
traction Of the currency and the reduction
IN the profits Of business over which no
right-thinkng man, whether he studies his
finance at the feet Of PETER CoorrR or of
Mr. TILDEN will utter lamentations. For
there is no logical defence for gambling
houses in this country which anybody but
the gamblers themselves would take the re-
sponsibilty Of making, though some peO-
| pie might find it hard to discover greater
risks in n so-called square game than In
many Of the regular operations Of COM
mercial business But though law may pEt
a ban ON public gambling We have never yet
seen it able as the law has been enforced H.
New York. 10 stop 1t permanently. The
locations of the gambling places of the city
are as well known as the situations of the
principal hotels. Public sentiment or pub
lie poverty may, however, greatly check
the extent ~ gambling as they have done
81 recent years.
\. TO private gambling, it can hardly bc
denied that there is a good deal more Of it
now than before the war, both actually and
comparatively. 1t is vice Of our colleges,
and games with stakes are played at many
Of the clubs; while IN private houses it is
very generally felt that the fascination of
the play is much increased by the putting
up Of something at the corners. Betting Of
all sorts has also increased within twenty
years, coming into vogue with other Eng
lish and Continental fashions. Poker has
its deyotees by the hundred thousand; and
the steady multiplication of horse races,
boat races, billiard matches, ball games,
and all sorts Of athletic contests, furnishes
occasion for gratifying the taste for taking
hazards. The demand for lottery tickets has
also grown within Il quarter of a century.
Among the games at cards which are now
most played IN private circles, the noble and
ancient game Of whist has of late re-.
gained its former supremacy. Euchrc of
trillng consequence in comparison, and Of
far less interest for mind capable Of con
ccntraton for "A time seemed to eclipse the
glOries of whist I'm general estimation, leaV-
ing that digniliod game to be- courted by old
fogics. But euchre has had its day; and
now the whole pack is brought into rrqulsi-
tion by those who seriously follow the in
tricacics Of the most engaging of games.
Since the introduction Of the new and inn
proved combination game, by the rules of
which whist Is made more scientific and
satisfactory, the number Of whist clubs has
increased throughout the country, and it is
steadily driving ont other games of cards
But why insist on money at the corners
Can't the game furnish excitement enough
without such hazards : Many people think
it can; and IN fact it quckcus the pace of
the passing hours for thousands of consci-
cntious men and women TO whom II money
stake is an offence and n wckedness.
Cooper.