The Osceola times., 1886-11-13
"THE FIELD OF BLOOD"
A Powerful Sermon by Rev. T. De-
Witt Talmage, D. d.
mat Gambling Is. and the Great Preya-
Lance of the Evii-The Many Forms
Under Which 1t Is Carried On
Its Rulnous CONSEQUENCES.

sAceldama, that is TO say, the field Of
nlood.n He then said,
The money given to Judas for surrender.
ing Christ was afterward used to purchase
yard. As the money was blood
money, the ground bought by il was called
IN the Syriac tongue Aceldama, meaning
"the field Of blood" Well, there is ono
word | want 10 write to-day over every
racecourse where wagers are stalsed, and
every pool-room, and every gambling
saloon and every table, public or private.
where men and women bet for sums Of
money, large or small, and that is wo "a
incarnadined with the life of innumerable
yictms-Aceldama The gambling spirit,
which is at all times stupcndous evil,
ever and anon sweeps over the country
like an epidcmic, prostrating uncounted
thousands. There has never been a worse
attack than that from which all the viii
lages, towns and cities are now suffering.
Whatever your age or calling, the SUBJ
feet of gambling, about which | speak TO-
day, is pertinent. Some years ago, when
an association for the suppression of gam
bling was organized, an agent Of the asso-
ciation came TO prominent citizen and
asked him 10 patrOnize the society. He
said: "No, ! can have no interest In such
an organization. ! am in nowse affected
BY that evil.h At that very time his son,
who was his partner in business, was one
Of the heaviest players in Hernes famous
gambling establishment. Another refused
his patronage on the same ground not
knowing that his first book-keeper, though
receiving salary Of only one thousand dol
lars, was losing from fifty TO one hundred
dollars per night. The president Of q rail
road compang refused 10 patronize the in
sttutOn, saying: That society is good for
the defense of merchants, but we railroad
people are not injured by this evil,n not
knowing that at that very time two Of his
conductors were spending three nights of
each week at faro tables in New York d.
rectly or indirectly this evil strikes at tie
whole world
Gambling is the risking of something
more or less valuable in the hope Of win
ming more than you hazard The instru-
ments Of gaming may differ, but the princi.
pie Is the same. The shunling and dealing
Of cards however full Of temptation, is not
gambling unless stakes are put up; while,
on the other hand, gambling may be carried
on without cards,'or dice, or billiards, or
tcn-pin alley. The man who bets on
horses, on elections on battles-the man
who deals in fancy stocks or conducts a
business which hazards extra capital, or
goes into transactions without foundation
but dependent upon what men call "luck,n
is gambler.
Whatever you expect 70 get from your
neighbor without Offering an equivalent In
money, or time, or skill, is either the prod.
uct Of theft or gaming Lottery tickets and
lottery policies come into the same cate
CORY. Fairs for the founding Of hospitals,
schools and churches, conducted on the
railing system, come under the same
denomination, DO not, therefore, associate
gambling necessarily with any instrument,
or game, or time, or place, or think the |
principle depends upon whether you play |
for glass of wine or one hundred shares |
of railroad stock. Whether you pltronize |
"auction pools,n "French mutuals," or |
"bookmaking" whether you employ faro or |
billiards, rondo or keno, cards or bagatolle, |
the very idea Of the thing is dishonest, for
1t processes to bestow upon yoq good for
which you give no equivalent.
This crime is no newborn spritc, but
haggard transgression that comes stagger-
ing down under mantle Of curses through |
many centuries. All nations, barbarous
and civilized, have been addicted 20 it, Be |
fore 1898 the French Government received |
revenue from gaming houses In 1851 En- |
gland, for the Improvement Of her harbors, |
Instituted a lottery TO be held at the front |
door Of St. Paul's Cathedral. Four hun |
drcd thousand tickets were sold at ten shil- |
lings each. The British Museum and West |
minister bridge were partially built by sim |
liar procedures. The ancient Germans |
would sometimes put up themselves and |
families as prizes, and suffer themselves TO
be bound, though stronger than the persons
who won them
But now the laws Of the whole civilized
world denounce the system. Enactments
have been passed, but only partially en-
forced, and at times not enforced at all.
The men interested in gaming houses and
In Jockey clubs WELD such influence by
their numbers and a1uence that the Judge,
the jury and the police officer must be bold
indeed who array themselves against these
infamous establishments. The House of
Commons Of England actually adjourns on
Derby day 10 go out and bet on the races;
and in the best circles of society in tins
country to-day are many hundreds of pro
fessedly respectable men who are acknowl-
edged gamblers.
In themselves most of the games EN-
ployed in gambling are without harm. Blll-
lard tables are as harmless as tea tables,
and pack Of cards as pack OF letter
envelopes, unless stakes be put up, But
by their use for gambling purposes they
have become significant OF an inhnity oil
wretchedness.
Men wishing 10 gamble will find places
Just suited to their capacity, not only III inc
underground oyster cellars, or at the hole
back of the curtain, covered with greasy
cards, or in the steamboat smoking caoiil,
where the bloated wretch with rings IN MS
ears deals out his pack and winks IN tine uh-
suspecting traveler-providing Tree drinks
all around-but in gilded parlors ana ainid
gorgeous surroundings. God never made
man strong enough to endure the wear ana
tear of gambling excitement. No wonder
IT, after having failed in the game, men
have begun to sweep of imaginary gold
from the side of the table. The man was
sharp enough when he started at the game,
but maniac at the close. At every gaming
table sit on one side Ecstasy, Enthusiasm
Romance-the frenzy Of Joy; on the other
side, Ferceness, Rage and Tumult Inc
professional gamester schools himself INTO
apparent quietness. The keepers OF gam.
bling rooms are generally fat, rolllcklng ana
obese; but thorough and professional
gamblers, in nine cases out OF ten are paie'
thin, wheeling, tremulous and exhausted.
A young man, having suddenly inherited
large property, sits at the hazard tsoies'
and takes up in dice-b the estate won
by fathers life-times sweat and shakes
IL, and tosses it away. mtempcrance soon
stigmatizes its victim-kicking him out,
slaverug fool, into the ditch, or senuins
him, with the drunkard's hiccough, stag
gering up the street where his family lives
But gambling does not in that way expose
H. victims.
rhe gambler may be eaten up by the gam
bler,s nassion vet Won only discover IL by