Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-10-11
STEAMSHIP GAMBLERS.
How Time Is Killed in Crossing the
Raging Ocean.

From the New York Times.
Petty gambling on shipboard has always been
In vogue as relief from the tedium and monoto-
ny suffered by passengers, and men who would
as soon cut off their right hands as play cards
for money on shore, on board ship would not
hesitate to take hand in the seductive game Of
poker or 'vingt-un,' while betting on the ''run''
Of the ship has always been freely INDUCED in
All this was very harmless when one knew ones
fellow passengers and risked sums altogether
| insignificant. but now that ships passenger
list often foOts up a couple of hundred not
more than half a dozen of whom know any
| thing of each others antecedents, what was
formerly an innocent pastime is fraught with
danger. The smOking-roOm has now become
gambling-hell, and not in miniature either,
with all the accessories Of choicest wines and
spirits, which flow like water while from imme-
| diately after breakfast the very demon of play
seems to take possession of its occupants. Pools,
sometimes to the number Of four or five are
gotten up ca n morning. and an auctiOneer OBJ
tanned ribaldry and basphemy which would do
justice to Wall street den. and often aggregate
twenty to thirty guneas each. and, of course,
the winner would be looked upon as very
''snalf If he did not stand half dozen Of cham
payne; so that gambling and drunkenness go
hand in hand. Into this atmosphere the young
men who are sent abroad by commercial houses
naturally gravitate Gin fact it is the only place
OF refuge In Storm and very soon become
initiated and active participants and their
employers would be astOnished not only at the
value Of the stake, but at their deXterity and
| familiarity with all gambling devices. In fact
beardess youth informed the writer that he
had realized enough to pay all his personal ex-
penses for the four weeks during which he
should be abroad. And gentleman informed us
that having watched young man whom he knew
playing "poker" losing heavily, called him out
and, after demonstrating with him for his folly
threatened, unless he at once put stop to it,
that he would, Immediately on his arrival,
''cable" his employers, and subsequently had to
lend him f1O0; but the worst feature of all is
that the card sharp" the professional gambler,
smelling gain from afar, now frequents the
ocean steamer as he formerly did the Mssis-
sippl boat. and systematically pucks the
unwary. and it is only within a few days that
atiiadavits have set forth that the fraternity,
having been made aware that Mr. James
Gordon Bennett was going over in ''White
Star boat" thereupOn took passage in her with
the avowed purpose OF despOiling him. We
leave our readers to imagine, then, the moral
atmosphere of a tirst-claSs ocean steamship in
the height of the season after the passengers
have recovered from sea-sickness. and the effect
OF it upon young men whose business requires
them to make constant voyages. Naturally Of
buoyant spirits, attracted by the bonhOmmie
which the roue and gambler we'll affects,
with plenty of money in his pocket and a gen.
erOus letter of credit. is it any wonder that he
falls ready victim? The large sale Of liquors
is, of course, great item in the economy of
steamer, and one almost shudders at the
amount consumed the supply of brandy alone
Of the City of Rome gave out on her outward
vOyage), and the officers rather wink at the
eNcesses-and we are told that the post Of
smoking-rOom steward is eagerly sought after
and premium paid therefor. On both the
outward and homeward voyage the subscription
alone, on board the vessel on which the writer
was a passenger, to the smoking room steward.
exceeded $125. while his actual receipts were
probably five times that amount, as successful
winnings