The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-01-30
HOW GAMBLING BEGINS.
A Plain Talk with Young Men.

A Plain Talk with Young Men.
How gambling often ends is illustrat-
ed by the recent suicide of young man
of high social standing who was well
known in the sporting circles of New
York. Tampering with cards and the
roulette-table had aroused in him the |
same insane Juror which tampering with |
the bottle arouses in the victims of
strong drink. We are told that this
wretched young man married; but
''even marriage did not cure him of
what had become a positive disease.
Little gaming parties in his rooms at
the hotel, and reckless plungingSat the
public tables soon ran away with all his
winnings, and with the greater part of
his fortune besides. At last few
months ago, he found himself ruined.
His former friends fought shy of him;
and in a pitiably depressed frame of
mind, he said: 'rll go to Philadelphia,
and either make or break myself. To
Philadelphia he went, with a revolver
in his trunk. He played nearly the
whole time that he was there. The
record was monotonous. His old luck
had deserted him; and one night he
went to his room at the hotel and put
bullet through his brain"
Such is one of the latest tragedies
perpetratcd under the insane infatua-
ton of the gaming-table. But their
number is legion. Many of the myste-
rious suicides which fill the records of
the morgues, or haunt the depths of the
rivers around our cities, would tell the
same story. Gambling is prevalent to
n degree which sober, quiet people
never dream of. It is practiced- often,
indeed, in q small way and for moder
ate stakes-by thousands of young men
in all our cities; practiced in the pri-
vacy of their rooms at their lodging
houses, as well as in houses for 'pro-
fessional' play. Employers little sus-
pect-alas! fathers and mothers little
suspect-what devilish mischief IL go
ing on under the cover of secrecy.
Many of the larcenies committed in
stores, counting-rooms and banks (some
of which are 'hushed up" in order to
save reputations) are committed in or
der to cover up the losses at the card
table. On the other hand, the illegiti-
mate winnings at the same tables will
account for the fine equipage or snowy
turn-outs of certain fast men whose
legitimate income is too slender 10
maintain such extravaganza. Gambling
is moral pestilence that ''walketh in
darkness" and therefore its terrible
prevalence escapes public observation.
1t is not decreasing.
This perilous practice, which so often
becomes fatal to character and TO the
soul, begins, Just as drunkenness be,
gins, with playing with fire. At the
bottom Of the first glass OF wine which
the tippler tampered with lay an adder
Underneath the first dime that is ever
thrown down in a game Of chance Il
concealed a serpent. When young
man makes his first bet, or puts up his
first wager on a match or race, ol
when he risks his first penny at card
table, he puts q coal of fire into his
bosom which Is not easily extinguished
lt mdy kindle into conhagratioT
which, in the tremendous language o
Scripture, twill burn into the Lowest
hell" The step that costs is the frs
step. Gambling for penny is as es
sentially sin as gambling for thou
sand pounds. No sin is a triile. Ny
Young friend, the moment that you
conscience excuses the slightest de
parture from absolute right as ''mer,
trihe," that moment you have let tn,
enemy slip in his little finger. 1t will
not be long before you are in his grasp
When you lay down your first stake
even II it Is only "in fun" you ar
actually gambling. Remember tina
there is always first inch ut the top o
every precipice.
/ am not addressing these "plail
talks" to young men as an extremist o
a fanatic. do not affirm that ever
one who ever plays a game Of cards is
gambler, any more than every one VIII
drinks a glass Of wine is tippler. Blu
Il Is equally true that he who '1eve
touches an intoxicant can never becom
drunkard, and he who never plays
game of hazard can never become
gambler My own personal practice, a
school, college, ETC., was one OF entir
abstinence from cards as well as froI
wine-cups; and have never repente
t either. All games Of chance, whe
played in earnest, have a dangerou
fascination. As Canon Farrar we
says, there Is a gambling element !
human nature" and we have got
watch against it just as W
watch against Unborn sensual AZ
petites. With the excitement OF
game Of hazard comes the stron
temptation TO risk stake on the game
as soon as the first stake is laid down
conscience goes with it, and LITERAL
The Devil has hand with you in th
game. SO strong is the fascination Of thi
spell OF sorcery that have seen in Oh
public "Conversaz on-halleP OF Baden