The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-04-06
Dissertation On Gaming and IFS
Evils.
With a History Of the Vice and a
Record Of Its Growth.
The French Irritated-NeW Credits
Refused-FOreign Facts and
FaRcieS.
PARIS, March II, 1884.

The card-cheating scandal, in the
crack and aristocratic club OF the
Rue Royale, is not likely to end in
smoke. The radical journals having
scented that efforts were being made
to hush the matter up, insist that it
shall be probed to the bottom and
exposed as If vulgar case of card-
sharping. The club, which is the
headquarters of the creme de la
creme If monarchy, is in fix. On
the first spur Of the moment, it
called in the police authorities, who
at once sealed up the books and
archives of the club. Now that the
matter is drifting into party politics
these records may become neon
VenieRt.
But there is yet another ugly
side; the clerk of the play.room,
Monvoisin, with whom was found
stocks of marked cards, that he
duly passed to those black-leg mem~
bers of the club associated with his
dishonesty, is still under preventive
arrest. He has maintained an atti-
tude of mutism. worthy of Trap
pist; low diet, the solitary cell, and
deprivation Of smoking mater ials.
commerce. to tell on his no.surren-
der resolu tiens. He is a Iong-headed
fellow; he has lodged with his hal
brother at Geneva, the Swiss CORES,
pendent for an extreme Republican
journal, vouchers of the moneys
passed at play, with copies OF the
betting notes by the mem bers, an ;
diary Of their manners and GUS
toms at the club in question. he
has laid il similar materials re-
spec!ing the other chief clubs where
he was clerk and banker to the play
roou. and all the documents are to be
published.
If toe truth be told there is no:muoh
pity felt for the coming troubles;
don't refer to the political Joy it
will atfori the adVerssries of the Mon
arohists and high society, but there is
a latent and deep feeling abroad that
something ought to be done to check
the vice of gaming. We only know
the misery it causes by the cases oil
ruin that become public, but the
wrecking in private. to meet debts OF
honor and save the family name is
terrible. The weekly corpses thai
stud. the precincts of Mapaco do moi
represent all the victims OF rouge Ell
no'r or trente ct quarante. There are
few fathers with sons bat in their
hearts would be delighted to see the
clubs deprived Of their police license
for gambling.
IL has been observed that play la.
been invented only for imbeciles anC
knaves, and tina! it ia the frui, OF ava
rice and ennui. It steals three gooc
toings. says proverb: Time. money
and conscience. These remarks only
apply to play when it becomes gamb
ling, a passion. profession, and 81
here,s aourcelof income. Play more Of
less brings by mental labor blood tC
the head; now that cannot be pleas
ure or amusement which eugender,
fatigue. When the end of play il
not amour propre but gain, the pas
sion extinguishes every generous as
piration. To ruin one or several in
dividuals cannot be amusement. NJ
gamblers;s said soibe happy or remain
rich after having gained. Waterloo
tresds on Austerlitz. They are tht
weak and hesitstipg who gamble ant
suffer. The strong minded mar
avoids play. The gsngrened gambler
seeks bis mania everywhere; Gamb
ling cannot be abolished tu. it can b.
curtailed; it will exist, because tn,
product of human avidity and legrety
There are plenty of games t.
amuse or to invigorate. The Lydian
bequeathed us lawn, tennis, or rackets
Nausicas sud her maids, after wash
ing the linen end spreading it on ths
grass. played with balls to the sound
of music. The Emperols of Rome en-
ljoyed rackets to get up an appetite
Julius Caius. condemned to death
by Tiberus, spent the last ten days o
his life playing draughts, and called
the execu;ioner to witness, he had
won the game. Caliguls, Ike Clau
dius. loved thimbles, but when hs
lost he ordered some knights to b.
killed and. taxing their property, q
paid his debts. The Greeks, befor;
their conquest by Rome, were pas
sionately addicted to play.
During the reign of Charlemsgne
it was prohibited to play games o
chance under penalty Of being de
prived from assooiating with tn.
faithful. St. Louis shud5ered at th.
very name OF play. On board ship
returning from Palestine, he detected
his brother, the Comte d'Aniou, a
thimbles; he siezed them and threw
them into the sea. Louis XIII closes
forty-seven bells in Paris, and tn,
parliament of 1861, prohibited game
lof chance, under penalties varyin,
from % 0)0 to $4,000 francs. But
was under Louis XIV that gamt ] q
at Versailles fourished as an institu
ltion. Grand ladies made fortunes il
THAT way OF the expense OF his maj
teatv To Nbavelier de Gramnoonf