The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-06-21
MONTE CARLO GAMES
The Profits of the Casino Six
Millions a Year.
SCENES AT THE GREEN TABLES
Two Hundred Suicides Annually-Artful
Advertising-EveryT Tourist Wants
to Hit the Bank.

ence. IA large advertisement printed on
the pillar, at the corner of the Cafe de la
Victoire, one of the most prominent posi-
tons in all Nice, attracts the attention of
visitors. 1t reads, in very conspicuous
type: "Notice to strangers. Do not go to
Monte Carlo" 1t continues, in smaller
letters: "In spite of all the chances, you
must infallibly lose your money. Monte
Carlo does great harm to the commercial
classes,i in running families who come
to pass the winter on our coast. ="
Then follows i'll the large type
again, and in several languages: ''The
ruin of families" and above the whole is a
list of Recent suicides, to-wit: Mr.. TT
Thurgan, Switzerland; Mr.. La Charles
de Churras, Argentine Republic; Mr.. Br-
Charles, engineer, Columbia" 1t betrays
foreign hand, you see, from our point of
view. With our fondness for precision,
We should not expect to produce sufficient
effect with this vague Mr.. TT, Mr.. La
and Mr.. Br-; and we should have given
the professions of all the others as well as
Mr.. Br-, engineer. But perhaps they
lived on their income and had no profess
sion.
All of the matter in the advertisement
has been up all winter and have not OBJ
served that the names of the suicides have
changed; but it is believed that there are
a great many more than this, and should
think it mistake not to bulletin the new
ones from time to time. The Partisan
journal, La Nation, estimates lately that
there are two hundred a year. The
placard in question is placed among the
theater posters and such flaming an
nouncements generally as are meant to
make sure of the public eye. l don't know
by whom it is paid for or in what interest.
One comes to suspect everything of being
an artful advertisement of Monte Carlo
even when it has the air of being against
it. You have no idea of what wheels, and
wheels within wheels there are TO add yet
further ailment to the already absorbing
interests in the great gambling establish
ments over there in the principality of
Monaco. The siren of play sits on her
rock, amid the roses and palm trees. above
the bluest of blue seas, and sings now
high, now low; and even affects at times a
gesture of warning back the rash intruder,
only to make her charm the stronger over
that by no means small class to whom
touch of the terrible is a definite part
of attraction. 1t is even claimed
that an English philanthropic society,
which wages acampaign against the place,
has been innocently egged on by the adj
ministration of Monte Carlo, and that the
attacks in the French and italian parlia-
ments have been promoted by the same
administration. In what end? you will
ask. Why, simply this, according to the
supposition, that if any serious trouble
were brewing, they might be foremost
with it and control it. The stock COM
pany is munifcently profitable as it is. but
if public opinion were likely to rise in ITS
might and abolish it, then Prince Ronald
Bonaparte, Prince Radziwill, Edward and
Camille Blanc, sons of the deceased foun-
der of the establishment, and the other
principal stockholders would like to have
their interests taken off their hands in
splendid indemnity, by civilized govern
ments which could hardly afford to abol-
ish brusquely an established convention
with the principality of Monaco, but would
have to do everything in seemly and dig
nified way. Remark the artfully poison
ing quality of suspicion. If the story is
true, it is shrewd move of policy on the
part of the authorities of Monte Carlo; if
it isn't, it weakens the force of the attacks
against the place by making these appear
to be in the interest of q private specula-
ton.
The profits of the famous Casino are
supposed to be 100000 annually. OF this
income the Prince of Monaco gets $240. 600
for the amiability in allowing it to be es-
tablished upon his territory. The theater
and the orchestra which discourses delic-
ious music twice day in one of the most
beautiful theaters in the world gets 500
600. The sum allotted to the press and
advertising is 100000 It is true that
there are the natural advantages of
the place. the site, the climate and
the romantic charms of half-media-
val Monaco and not alone the Casino
that all the rest ailments. Some skeptics
even hold that the carnivals, the lovely
battles of flowers and the like, along the
Riviera are intended only as feeders to the
roulette and tTente-et-gudrdnt. The Paris,
Lyons & Mediterranean railway issue
gorgeous colored posters showing the
sunny terrace of Monte Carlo, but apart
from this it is one of the curious things
how little of the advertising fund ap-
pears in anything tangible. Everybody
fancles that the press is generally ''re-
tanned" II so, its mission must be of the
easiest, simply to keep still and make no
mention of such disagreeable incidents as
arise from time to time. Perhaps inius-
tice is done them and they only adopt the
prevailing easy-g going tone, on the Riviera.
towards this peculiar institution; or per-
haps again they find it useless to buck
against so strongly-entrenched an institu-
tien, which has its charter still for twenty
years ahead, and which by catering TO one
of the deepest-rooted impulses of human
nature undoubtedly contributes to bring
more visitors and money to the region
whose prosperity they desire.
Certain IL is that you rarely see any,
thing in them unless it be some artful
paragraph devoted TO an extraordinary
run of luck on the part of some titled yisi-
tor or daring popular favorite whose ex-
ample, even in loses, many would consider
an honor to follow. Thus / read today:
THE Duke of Dino is still PLAYING, IN
duced thereto by success; for he has won
back, IL IS declared, all his heavy losses of
the early half of the winter. Per contra.
Lord Clifton is supposed to have left
$4,000 on the green cloth-perma-
nently or not remains TO be seen :"
A certain sam Lewis" of London
Is declared To have gone away u
while ago winner of something like &sO,-
600. Sam was given the air of grumbling
a little at the croupiers for niggardly prac-
tees which prevented him from getting
away with good deal more, but my idea
Is that Sam was excellently pleased and
will come back another season and have
the newspapers say he has won again
after plucklly supporting large prelimin-
airy losses, Then we have Lord Rosslyn.
who won $4,000 on q single deal at tys1,te
Ct qtarante. and Mr.. Wynn, who broke the
bank at roulette by putting the highest