Morning journal and courier., 1884-07-29
DECAY THE GREEN CLOTH.
An old Professional Laments the De
 cline of Gambltng.


 l now, and unless the tide soon turns in their favor they will be forced to abandon the green cloth and seek other vacations to secure even the accessories of life"
 The speaker was veteran gambler, an in
 telligent Englishman, known as 'Reddy,'
 with probably as many aliases as cat is ex- pected to have lives. For the past twenty
 years he has lived by his wits, making and | gusndering thousands annually. He
 can play an honest game if circumstances
 compel him, but his aim ever is to have the
 odds immeasurably in his favor. He is an
 adept in dealing a brace game of faro, or in
 swindling at short cards, but the height of
 his ambitoin is to transfer an innocent mans
 money into his own pocket by means of some
 confidence game. In the last named role he may be classed as an expert.
 F'I have just returned to the bay" contin- ued the disconsolate sport, "after two years professional tour playing brief engage ments at all the leading sporting centres in the country. I had hoped to find things blooming in San Francisco; but the hope was sadly blasted, for I find more broken gam l blers here than I found in any other city. l High rollers who only few years ago squan- 1 dered their hundreds weekly are now glad to capture enough money to lodge in twenty
 five cent room and subsist on a beer and 1 lunch. Where one gambleris in funds ninety nine are in distress"
 ''How do you find the situation at other points?" asked the reporter.
 | ''With very few exceptions, just as bad for l the fraternity. About two months ago I made tour on the Northern Pacific road. From St. Paul to Helena and Butte there is consld- | erable sport, but controlled by few men. Then I went into the Occur d'Alene mining region in company with some other sports, and found that country dead fraud; there were actually more gamblers there than there
 were dollars, and our party had tough
 time to get out of the internal country. I
 visited all the leading points in Oregon and Washington Territory only to find business dull everywhere. At Portland there were
 several lively faro games, played wide open, but the limit is small that an outsider can't make a winning of any size Then l took
 steamer for Frisco, expecting to make some
 money on the passage. Again I was disap- pointed. The only gambling on board was at whist--a quarter @ corner for the rubber The degeneracy of the times actually mad @ me sick, and I took to my berth and remain ed there until the boat reached the dock"
 | mountains?"
 At Denver the game is lively and the 1 doors are wide open, but the bets are small and the same is true as to Salt Lake The glory of the gambling camps in New Mexico and Arizona has departed, and even a slick gambler couldn't make enough down there ! now to feed a crow. At St. Louis and Kan | sas City, for years the leading sporting cen ter of the West, not single gambling house 1 is open; in fact, the laws of Missouri make it | a felony for anyone to run gambling game ! within the limits of the State. The same ! severe law is in force in Tennessee, and the ! chances are that just such a law will be en- acted in most of the States within the next few years And when this change comes l about there will be an end to professional gambling, for even the bravest gamester will | throw up his hands if he sees that the doors of the Penitentiary are yawning for him. | On the Mississippi river, once noted for it's I heavy games, there is very little played, and l on most of the boats gambling is positively prohibited. In Chicago, where the heaviest | games have been played of late, the Mayor has announced his firm determination to shut 1 up every gambling house, and of course he 1 can accomplish the task if he means busi- ness. In New York city gambling is under | the ban, although faro games are constantly | run on the sly In Philadelphia there has | been very little gaming for years, and at l Washington only few faro games, and skin | ones at that, are under headway. Boston and I Providence are the only two points in New l England patronized by professional game sters, and at both the betting is very tame. I Throughout the Southern States there is very
 little betting in faro, and at the favorite game
 poker) the stakes are light. In New Orleans
 gambling is licensed, and in the winter
 ! months the betting is very lively, but not a
 ten-dollar piece is wagered on the green cloth
 now where q thousand was ten years ago.
 The fact is that gambling in public houses is
 rapidly on the decline throughout the coun-
 try, and the signs of the times indicate death
 to the green cloth at no far distant day" 1 Fashions in Bathing Suits. From Harper's Bazar.l
 ! An unusual variety of designs is seen this year in bathing suits, and there are several ! changes that are real Improvements The popular materials are twilled fannels and ! serges, with lighter twilled woolens among the imported suits, and Jersey webbing for childrens and mems suits. The foreign | fashion of wearing short sleeves when bath | ing is one of the changes adopted here by many ladies, and the short trousers reaching [ just below the knee are now preferred to the \ long Turkish trousers gathered about the | ankles. A light gauge undervest with long ! sleeves may be worn to protect the arms { from the sun when the bathing suit has short ! sleeves, and long stockings are worn with the l short trousers, or else the new bathing shoes with long stocking tops laced on the limbs 4 are uS6u. w u6n Sle0V6S dT0 IQdQ6 long they { are now in coat shape instead of the loose baggy ones of former summers, and they are neatly trimmed with rows of braid or with \ cuffs Some of the new suits have the waists | fitted by darts and side bodies either to form | Jersey jacket, cuirass basque, or 8 round waist; there are also pointed plastrons, pom padour squares, and regular vests set in these \ closely fitted garments. Just below the waist line the trousers are sewed on firmly, and around the waist buttons are set to fasten in | buttonholes of an inner belt that lines the belt of the skirt, and thus the buttons are ! concealed. Sometimes the skirt is quite plain, with slightly sloped sides and is gathered to the belt, but the preference is given to a scantily pleated kilt skirt which falls just below the knees. The deep square sailor collar is seen on almost all suits. White and blue are the favorite colors; the blue may | be either the darkest navy shade, the brighter royal blue, or the palest sky blue. Mohair
 braids, either blue, red, white or black, are < the trimmings, or else bands of flannel or of cashmere of contrasting color are chosen. The yoke blouse Mother Hubbard suits of ! flannel are worn by girls from six to fifteen years of age. Some machine embroidery or else rows of pretty bright braid trim these For boys and very small girls are one piece suits with waist and trousers together, made of stockinet in narrow stripes, or else of fan \ ne1. Gentlemen are supplied with heavy net \ suits of pure wool that consist of Jersey \ like shirt, short trousers, and 8 canvas belt | These come in dark blue, or in stripes of blue and white, or else in brown with narrow blue ' stripes.
 The oil silk mob cap for protecting the ' hair is made quite pretty by front ruches of the material pleated and bound with braid New hats to wear over this cap are of waxed rubber of light quality, colored to match the
 suit; they are made with large, soft, puff | crown that takes in the cap easily, and have a wide soft brim which shades the face and s is tied down over the ears. French shoes of white duck have eyelet holes in each side to let out the water, and are provided with Ma nila soles. Three kinds of bathing shoes are { made here, viz: The low sandals, the half ! shoe that reaches to the ankle and long combination of the shoe and stocking in one The sandals of unbleached duck with heavy cork soles. The half shoes lace up the z front, and are made of bleached duck, at 50 cents pair. Waterproof cloth is used for < the shoe and stocking in one, with soles of oil cloth covered with canvas; these cover the Z limb to the knee and are laced up the out ! side.