The New York herald., 1879-02-09
OLD BOYS And YOUNG BOYS Views
What Is Said by Both Sides
and by Outsiders.
WHAT GLIB MEN GENERALLY THINK OP 1T
Does Card Playing Always Lead
to Gambling?
PHILADELPHIA. Feb. 8. 1879.

which has occasionally agitated the dignifed and
placid bosom Of the Union League Club for some
years, but until lately the card party has been SO
very small minority of young fellows that the
grave and reverend segneurs' have Immediately
and efecualy sat down upon them every time. 1t is
true that there Is nothing the bylaws torbidding
playing but its absence arises from the fact that
when the League started with the great mission
of saving the Union it not as social club, and 1t
was not imagined that what its founders deemed SO
small question would arise. So that after the
and the country safe, when the young
who belonged to the club wanted to play euchre or
Boston, the old merchants and bankers, who formed
the majority resented the innovation as outrage
npon the dignity and character Of the club. and said
that as cards never played there they
vhould be.
HOUSE DIVIDED.
From that time to this the old League Club has
been gradually dividing into three elements One is
the party of the old boys. They are active republ-
cans OF course-the League has never been anything
but republican-but they do not believe in the
club taking part in local politics. They think
that the League should continue its high
and dignied mission of assisting in national affairs.
the purpose for which it founded that it should
hold itself ready to act in the grave emergencies
which may threaten the country, and should ignore
the small quarrels of city politics. These gentle
also appear to believe that for the League to be
mere social club would be inconsistent with its
record i'll the past and its work in the future.
THE BOYS.
This wing of the club is made up of old merchants
mostly. They are the gentlemen who gave President
Hayes such handsome entertainment here last year.
and they are all supporters of the Executive Their
leaders e. C. Knight, +. Dunbar Lockwood, James
" Watson Henry C. Lea. Wayne Mcveagh Amos II.
Little and Joel j. Bailey. The youngsters call this
the old fogy party.
THE POLITICIANS.
The second element is made up of local political
leaders who have got into the club and whose pres
is not altogether liked by some of the staid old
fellows. They are such Samuel Bell. John
Z. Hill Mayor Stokley, William B. Mann, Lewis VAIN
Smith, j. Fraley Smith and General Henry H. Bng-
ham. The politicians don't much whether
cards are played at the League not Most of them
good poker players themselves, but they don't
to come to the League to amuse themselves in
this way having other resorts. The politicians be-
long the League to help them in politics. and of
they always hope to turn the club to account
by inducing it to take part in local affairs They
in the minority yet but it worries the old boys very
much think that they may some day obtain con-
.rol of the club
THE YOUNG BOYS.
The third element is the social club element They
are the boys of the club, the young and lib
eral spirited middleaged men. who believe that the
being over, the great patriotic mission of the
League is accomplished for the present and that it
should become a social club. permitting innocent
card playing as one of its attractions, just
as other clubs do. and that the existence
of the club depends upon the carrying ont
OF this plan. They laugh at the fears OF the cold
fogiesf as they call them, that card playing would
make them all gamblers and point to the inconsis-
ng suore and Sson The Leaders, Of the social
club party are H. p. Smith, of IL. 7. W. r. Smith;
Robert Egn Bgo@n a ou, and law
George H. Boxer. the new president OF the club, is
also in favor OF permitting cards but he takes
tive part in the discussion.
DISPUTED VICTORY.
The social club young fellows claim that the
suit of the recent ballot really victory for them.
The membership of the League is now about eight
hundred. There ii7 votes polled, of which 2i7
were III favor of cards and $50 were opposed-a ma
jority of only Is against the boys. one Of their
representatives puts it in this way
''Of course, it's victory for There $50
members who didn't vote many of them our side.
but they did not think it worth while to vote. be-
cause they did not know how strong II
there should be another ballot would unquestion-
ably beat them. But il won't be necessary to take
another vote of the club members, for the majority
of the Board of Directors in
favor, and they can pass resolution allowing
card playing. at any monthly meeting. We could
put il through next Monday night il chose. It's
only question of decency with when viii
begin TO play cuchre. We don't want to crowd the
mourners. The old fellows think they have beaten
us. and we don't want TO destroy the Illusion
THE "eLoRrous MISSION" BUSINESS
"lt's nonsense to imagine that the League is in
the position IL was during the war. The patriotic
work the club did then is accomplished. Let it be
nursery patriotism for the next national emer-
gency, but in the meantime the club must live,
and 1t must DE made attractive a social club.
You cant recruit an army from the veterans.
You've got TO take IN the young soldiers new mate
rial. That's where have the advantage over
the old boys. We young men are beginning to out
number them, and We intend to keep lite in the old
League by making IT what 1t must be If II hopes to
keep together gentlemans social club
why didn't the politicians vote with you r.
the time. They didn't know strong and
they wantea to keep in with the old boys because
n Sii de pyOIlr
politician always likes to be- ON. The politicians
made mistake. Now they will have to around
to our sdc They didn't care much about the card
question anyway, because they can play at their po
like Iago when lac says to lioderigo Whether he kill
Cassie or Cassie him. or each do Kill the other every
way makes my camel"
III we hadn't had such splendid weather on Mon
day and Tuesday the old boys wouldn't have come
out so strong to vote and the result would have been
the next two days. rheumatism. lumbago aud
gouti" While the young fellow was musing over
this diabOlical thought the interviewer left him.
The sentiments Of the young the card
question are embodied in the following circular.
which was aent out about ten days ago:-
~ ArPEAL CARDS.
To rnE MEsrkns or rus rsioS LEAGvK:-
moral. but simply ~ domestic economy G"' rIoss
tion AN additional .oeia amuseneni;r y
~, ~ o. a. leading to sisaa, Gae II his ses
s" i H' & game aSa.. e. not a'sE". s e OF rhe ss
renders tnsm sia la j. zoe approHriaeness Of anase
baseball IL grass,ard o ,sgss, shooting church would
yet In Their appropriate places they are heaIthfa ex
hiaraiiug bsuehcial The necessity v gaines as re
taxation the mind he
nf business lie has recognized eyrrywhore TLo..
associations nei-calied "clubs'were bv
have thrivcn upon that necessity. IN such old there
every which does shock or
violate the law yf the lana o the uawrtten LAW good
ruclety. : admissible Appropriate then
should cards bo prescribed while the tniutReuce
in other games Is cncOuragedf II may be
the pejudiced mind. may lead to gam
bling" may billiards aud pool aud chess yei these
countenanced w the honest. but Illogical
Who shudder at the sight Of cards,
The " cards" Is almost universal
L. n is recog.
a1sd IN all liberal families as a social accom-.
plsnmeut uduiged Ia by the refined,
fsgisHs We have all heard read ~ champion
bard players ehampon pool players and champion chess
players yet beard Vf champion card players
tUis laay be ased. % u true, Tor gambling