Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-04-11

IN A LITTLE STREET.
A Phase of New York Life Not Seen
Through the Windows

Through the Windows
Special C"rrespondence.I
NEw YORK. April My passion has al
ways b~em 10 study all the phases Of the so
ciety of a great city. I>ay phases. not strata
for society, think, Is one, and each of us Is
i'll a degree, responsible for the vices of our
neiGhhOrs and II more agreeable thought has
a share in their virtues. | have spent many
years in this study and my success has been
as great a> that of the mnnnow that tried to
devour "A vi hale
Yet have mixed more or less with every
large set in New York except that most e1
elusive of all. the pruft SSiOnal criminals. IL
is hard for anyone not criminal or a Grim
mai lawyer to force his way into this set,
which. judged 10y the test which is usually
applied IN such cases, must lie composed of
our very h..st SuCiety.
The study OF the society of a large city has
a much kccmer interest when united with the
study uf the development of mankind from
sayagrrN t" such civilization as they have
thus ian. reached The most useful handbooks
of the latter study are the tables prepared at
SO great expense under the direction of Her
bert Spencer. Strangely enough our own
native races span large are in this growth,
and give America what. until recently, she
never dreamed Of possessing, an important
place in the real history of mankind
In tht~e parallel studies began with a
theory that ! have never seen amy strong
reasons for changing or adhering to. that in
every large city You find survivals from
every stage of growth through which man
kind has passed
Perhaps agreeable way as any other of
studying d city is To take each street and re-
gard It us an individual, though this method
Is subject to the objection that death will
overtake You before You have got half way
through one street, or indeed one house
Thorough people therefore. had best begin
with short street, and Of short streets
know of none where the muraiIst sociologist
and artist will find mUre food for thought
and fancy than III Ann street, the little street
that runs east from The Herald building
This street Is one of the centers Of the fakirs
the small street peddlers-and the rag
dealers trade and Is the Wall street of the
down town gamblers
This last class who form a sort of natural
arist~.rary III the region dominated by the
Rocky Mountains, are looked upon with less
favor in the east Though their standard of
morals is somewhat higher than that of
stock brokers' they have never been held So
GldliN llItu dltiNt NlltIll lueN cannot, now
ever. fail to he of interest to the student, for
they arr clearly survival> of the period when
men first began to worship changeless num-
hers Most Of them are martyrs 10 the creed
of Pythagora>.
lTtNS through the crowd of bunco Steerers
buOtblacks. mudarks. gutterSuiIss and news
boys that block up your way and enter one of
the narrow passageways on either side of Ann
L.,
you have passed the IRON barred gate! You
So a club room with roulette table and a
faro bank IN opposite corners, If it is about
or ) i'll the afternoon YOU are asked to par
take Of an excellent dinner
What is the strange fascination of the
green cloth 1t is hard for a mathematician
10 understand it, for a very slight AuU =, ledge
Of fractions proves that player would save
II great deal of time by throwing his green
backs into the fire
But You wish u dig beneath the surface Of
this smiling scene You pick out the most
courteous Of the devotee~ around the gaming
tables and ask Uncle 81 TO play for YOU.
He translates YOUR s. bill into ten blue chips
he pla'T~ half of them ON the corner of the
ace. to take in the trey; they double and dis
appear. Somehow YOU can't help noticing
what becomes Of them The other five double
once. twice. Call turn cries the dealer:
four for one. gentlemen" Alas, your little
fortune Is again swept away
Uncle 81 >hrugs his shoulders as YOU offer
him cigar. ami ieginS to retail the current
gossip of the place. As he GOES on the air
seems t" grow drnSrr the gentlemen standing
around the tables grow spectral You begin
to realize that the inferno is moral place.
tnd that You are there. There Is the whee;
# lNlun. there l. the river of Tantalus, the
stone of But not ~ fast What is Uncle
81 saving He smiles As he sees how inter
e>t"d N"u are. His smile is marred by the
absence of four front teeth. These teeth he
lost IN a singular manner He was drinking |
4 glass Of hot rum punch when a large bet, I
TN" last Of many such. went against him /
lick In his frenzy he bit piece from the .
-laS> at the cost of four inCiSors
A. nrl- 81 s.es that YOU are to he trusted /
and have still wad of greenbacks i'll your /
b est pocket, he grows more and more conf
i"ntlal This bank, il seems is owned by a
Ianitnr who grew rich in the employment of |
Two old brothers. VINO used. year after year
10 star at each other across a large m8
hOcany table in their office in Wall street
The lam,tor l. wei! known for the severity of
his morals and his contributions to charities
hut hr keeps one little corner of his life sacred
{" Mammon Square gameF "Oh, per
fectly square for small sums Which is
rrIe enough: that is for sums smaller than
he smallest stake which they allow you to
play.
"S''e says Uncle 81, pointing to a man be
''d" whom AN Egyptian mummy would look
i e a rosy checked country lad. and who wan
ierN about with one chip in his hand like
hen with one chicken There is Brown; he's
a strange fellow. They call him Brown be
'auSe he always PLAYS on the queen. He has
4 system, ON whiHh he has spent some 81, 600
and th' best part of his life in trying TO
AIRY out. See. he is playing his chip open
IN the lady. If anyone speaks to him before
here is decision Brown will snatch up his
ret and abuse him roundly. He thinks it
polls his luck"