Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-01-20

4eoesr lsey Fss( yseoe nsx- lfsFn
oyt9oe,ees,lrs 0amhlise-pssS
&l9clnuett special ssys' An epi-
~ q SUBSIDIES and defalcations has
nlle0 hfr ior several wceks. Il
ent - The caae better to put the
s qeIeacatlon I" First. and say " dclAlca-
1leAe end suicides for that hss been
- usual order. The suicide business
1eteR In . magistrates Office, in
vA>eb instance . lover attempted TO
>exe the life o. his sweetheart,
1ro, 5eillnE. killed himself THIS was
evreStnsly simple case OF suicide with
ec< ncins preceded py adeisicatvn, ex-
- 20 mr ~ beng a1sesdcd oy DEFAULT
= VIC isay anections. linen came
another AMIR N the United states
<oost-'oom, ~ winch -. george pest
x.seF RECEIVING sentence 70 serve IN .ne
cSsse prison Tor publishing ana senuins
snIeuen tne mans obscene hIera'ure,
look 1auuanum IN the eours-roon, ana
escaped death only by the promptness
with which physlcians were brought
upon the scene. lfrceulres no effort Of
The imagination to connect q Default IN
moral principles with Jas case. st.
George Best was saved ,ad sent to the
penisentiary, where he ioing service.
hut before the attempt ey st. ueorge
Best CAME Tire suicide 81 hvfoiphe
Schicke by prussic aed IN the pre-
eence Of his employers, and while
under arrest for trouble about
his accounts. Schicke was book
keeper on q sslary Of 1000 year. 1t
Was his style and his habits that first
excited suspicion against him. A cir
constance that attracted public atten-
ton In his case was the fact that he was
10 have married an excellent young
woman in ncighboring Kentucky VII
lsrc the very slay after that on which
he committed suicide The next. and
n many resncets the most surprising
enc n ali was The su;e;de ef Henry NJ
Guild an cr-bapk cJerk whose bad
habits were his bane. He was a Young
man Of social standing, of slmost ex-
traordinary business ability. and withal
generally ponular- No charge of fraud
was prelerred against him. IN fact, his
employers said his accounts were
straight when he left the employ of the
hank. His case was a melancholy one
Of "might have been.'
Herman Mack, who slipped away
from the store Of Zciller & Sons when
be found they were employing an ex-
pert TO examine his books, was not seen
for three DAYS by any'ose, and then was
discovered hanging by the neck dead on
the stage of Allemania Hall, where, as
nm amateur actor, he had many time
performed his part in mock tragedies.
At first there wasan effort made by his
employers tZeiller & Sons) to save the
dead mans good name. But Zeiller a
Sons have since failed. and have admit
ted that Herman Mack, their book
keeper, had in his last statement OF their
liabilities deceived them. Beyond this
they have not ssidanything on the sub
ject.
All these cases, frC.n first to last,
have occurred within about six weeks,
the greater number iof them, however,
within the last three weeks. After
them crop Of shortages in money and
distress on account OF debts Tor money
spent in gambling at faro and poker
makes IFS appearance. The Police-Court
clerk, Il. +. TAFT, is just now the most
conspicuous example. lie has not been
able TO turn over TO the City Treasurer
the money he received in his office
for the city, and he has been
arrested ON the charge of en-
bezzlement. Only two weeks ago
an assistant chief operator in the
Western Union telegraph office of this
city. left secretly and Unexpectedly be-
cause he could no longer face his friends,
of whom he had borrowed money that
. he lost at faro, poker, or grain gam
bling. He was competent, sober, at
tentiye TO business-in short, he was q
valuable man, with the one fault of
being too fond of the excitement of the
raminp-table. With scarcely an excep-
ton, the victims of the tragedies, the
agents in the defalcations, and the suf-
ferers from financial troubles in the list
presented above, have been fascinated
by the anurements of gambling.
This leads to a survey of the facilities
for gambling in Cincinnati. They GER
tainly never were greater than at this
very moment MANY old citizens say
they were never before so great. On
the highways most resorted to by nigh.
one cannot get away from gambling
houses. All such houses lay high
rents, and several of them run fare,
keno, and poker in separate rooms in
the same building. Peker-rooms are
by far the most numerous. There are
several classes os these. Probably
thirty poker games, pure and sim
pie, in which high stakes are played,
flourish near the centre of the city
Some Of these have gorgeously-
furnished rooms. Others have only the
bare floor and rough fnrniture. Some
play without limit. and some With q
limit ranging from five to fifty dollars.
This class generally occupies the second
or third floor of building, and neither
a 4 n