Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-08-13

| must De kept. Meeting him one evening
on the veranda of The Films the converse,
tion drifted to the subject of gambling,
owing to an allusion to poker. The Gen
eral-he had not then received notice OF
his promotion-inquireda about the welfare
of an old st. Louis friend, lawyer, in
whom he takes great interest.
| Oh" answered the Generals interloc-
utor, he is doing very well in practice,
but still keeps up the old delusion that he
can play pokers
"Then he is dod blamed fool" The
real expression was little stronger than
this. Any man who plays poker is either
| fool, blackguard or thief
but, General army officers play poker"
Not at Fort Leavenworth, sir. Not a
dollar In money or value is played for at
Fort Leavenworth from one year to
another, and none has been played for at
that post for several years past. Walk
with me to the spring and I'll tell you my
views on the question"
The walk commenced. General Nc
Cook started on what is to him, evidently, a
favorite subject. II have seen in my long
army life" said he, "the most promising
careers wrecked by this gambling mania |
have sat up nights with comrades who
would play, simply to protect them. Before
| had authority to check the vice | have
seen things that made me bleed for the
real sufferers-the wives, the children and
other relatives, whose welfare was being
thrown into the gambling pot. | never
played for dollar myself, though know
all card games, and | never saw dollar
played for except. where l was trying to
protect a comrade. | always say to young
officer who comes to my post at Leaven
worth. it ne shows the slightest inclination
to gambling, that he must make his choice
between quitting or being considered
either fool, thief or BLACKBOARD, and
to-day at Leavenworth, out of the eighty
five officers there most of them attending
the School of Military Application, there
is not one who plays cards for money. l
wouldn't permit it."
The statement was so astounding, espe-
cially in view of what has VIGOROUSLY
been the case at some army posts in years
recently past, that it was impossible to
suppress an exclamation that sounded like
incredulity
us this SO at all posts? ?" was asked.
81 believe not at all, but it is so at
Leayenworth. Just see what gambling at
an army post means. A young officer,
probably married, in the excitement of
game, and carried away by the hardihood
which soldier always feels as one of his
principal virtues, loses months pay.
Who suffers for it? Necessarily his fam
lily. But he thinks he can win it back,
with more added Then who suffers
The other fellows family. Think of this
see-saw business of coveting your friends
money and gaining what you have not
earned, and see how it breaks up comrade-
ship. See, too, how the gambling spirit
leads to dishonor. Lieutenant A. has lost
a months pay to Captain B., or vice versa,
and the loser for the time being is waiting
for an opportunity to get even If the
loser catches the winner in a reck-
less mood, perhaps a little tire
some from the very triumph of
his gambling success, then comes
the time to get even That means
playing the blackguard, taking advantage
of a comrades weakness. Later on it will
seem simple thing to manipulate the
cards, or at least learn some special points
about them that are not known by the adj
NerSdrN. 1udt HledUS tlIel Wrllltu III DlS,
black letters. And all gambling between
officers means destruction of that true
comradeship which should enable the
soldier to place the most implicit reliance
on his brother in arms. Thank God the
whole thing is dying out in the United
States army"
"In the whole army?"
"Yes, in the whole army. may say
now, without fearing successful contradic-
ton, that where we had ten gamblers in
the whole United States army few years
ago, we have not one to-day, and the few
that there are are only to be found in some
outlying posts or in the East. There
may be some at Riley, but, on the whole,
the disease is practically cured in the
army"
"How about drinking?"
81 said just now that there is not one
gambler in the army where there used to
be ten l will add that among army Off
GERS there is not one drunkard where there
used TO be hundred"