Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1892-08-28
GAMBLING AT RACES.
THE COURSES HAVE TAKEN TIE
PLACES or oLo-TlMe fARo-BANKS.
Headausrters OF tho Two Great Political
Parties--stock Speculation Moro stag
nant In London than In New York.

thereto. The fact is the raco-courses
which abound here have practically taken
the place OF the old-fashionei fa-o-banks
and roulette-ta tables. They are open to
everybody and are accessible every day IN
the year. When one stops TO think OF tho
vast capital invested in the tracks them
selves, the breeding and training OF
horses, the tax upon bookmakers. etc., II
c n readily be seen that the public must
yield very literally TO make this pastime
profitable. In fact, one cannot help won
dering how long the public will be able to
stand the drain.
Ii can only endure upon the theory that
when deluded citizen gives out fresh
victim takes his place 1t used to be the
theory in Wall street Tint fool was born
every minute, and that so long as this
benefcent system in nature prevailed the
Wall-street shearers of lambs would -four
ism. But, rs q matter OF fact, Wall street
is not fourishing. and it may be assumed
that some of the lambs who used 10 De
heeced there are now being taken care or
on the race-track. We have here in this
city thousands of persons who certainly
do nothing else but gamble on the horses.
You con see them, both men and women,
on racing days moving toward the ferry
and steamboat landings on the elevated
trains. pencils in hand, studying the en-
tries for the day. | can walk through
the trains any day about IL O'clock and
pick out the habitual turf-gamblers at
glance.
They usually have their eyes intentlv
Fixed on the sporting page of some news
paper, and the processes of concentrated
thought are lined on their faces. l saw
on the porch at the West-End Hotel, Long
Branch, last Sunday, that typical pluneer
of tho race-course known as Pittsburg
Phil" The fact that Phil" IL not his
name and that he never lived in Pittsburg
is somewhat remarkable. This young gam
bier, with smooth face and hsh-like eye.
is said to be the most daring foe OF the
bookmakers that this country has pro,
duced, not excepting even the immortal
Walton. He does not look to be over 80
years of age. and yet, | presume. he has
lived something like 100. / was told that
on the day before he had won something
like SS5 600 at Monmouth Park, and would
have done much better but for the dlth-
Guilty of getting his money "on" IN the
time allotted.
At some stages of the game he is re-
ported 10 be $4,000 behind aud at other
times $780, 600 ahead but from my cursory
inspection of the young man l doubt
whether he cares very much where ne
stands financially. so that he has the tun
Of gambling. With him. of course, bet;
ting on the races IS now o mania. Like all
men of his kind, he is absolutely certain
to wind up in poverty, tor it is we'll
established axiom in the gambling fra
ternity that only the man who keeps the
game con even hope for permanent financial
success.
GREAT POLITICAL CENTRE.
One things testifes very clearly 10 the
prominence OF New York city as an intel
| 1arftol an1 financial oapfra md that ia
the common consent by which both the
great political organizations in this coun-
try make their campaign headquarters
here. It would naturally seem that Wash
| ington city, being the capital of the re-
| public, would be the centre Of our political
machinery. The time was, / know, when
| everything in the way Of political inspira-
ton came from Washington, but of late
years the political managers, like every
| body else, have found that q financial CEN
ire is more important. to them in CAM
paign than purely political one. Besides.
pretty much everybody who travels at all
or amounts to anything finds ii convenient
| to visit New York at some period during
| the year. Both the great political parties
have set up here on Fifth avenue hand
some and commodious quarters for the
| transaction of their campaign business.
The Democrats have surrounded them
selves with considerable elegance. They
| have TO some extent violated the princi-
| pies OF the old-fashioned simplicity which
| il supposed TO surround the organization,
| but which, in fact. never did exist except
in the minds of few fervid orators. The
Republican headquarters are supplied
with everything requisite and are in O very
| swell section of Fifth avenue up town. For
| the next ten weeks pretty much every
working politician IN the country Will be
seen at some time around one or the other
of these headquarters. Every man from the
| country who shows up aud who Is dis
posed to exploit himself and his section a
| little bit will find a reporter ready TO lend
| him willing ear. and all these potential
gentlemen will be freely advertised IN the
New York newspapers. The principal in
| dustry at these headquarters, aside from
| sending out documents and arranging for
| speaking is collecting the money and
| fighting off the gentlemen from the remote
| districts who need few thousand dollars
| to make a doubtful State quite certain.
am given TO understand that both par
| ties will be pretty well supplied with the
sinews of war this year, and this, of course,
guarantees lively contest.
EUROPE NOT SPECULATIVE.
If speculation is stagnant in New York it
| is still more so in London and other foreign
who had rather bet and "go broke" than
not bet at all. has taken to hunting tor
sure things. There is not now one big
| French speculative bubble floating where
there were a dozen ten years ago. London
was hit such terrific blow IN its Argentine
| speculations that it will be many days be-
| fore IL RECEIVERS. There appears 10 be but
one form of speculation these days that
| has any claim tor an Englishman, and that
| is horse-raclng. He is still " blowing
| himself against the bloody bOokmakeYs, +"
and of course. gradually approaching a
point whore he will lose the coat of his
! back. As plentiful a. money IS in Eng
! land, il is not taking any chances except
among the turf patrons. Not so much OF
1t is coming TO America in the shape Of
syndicate capital as formerly. The small
ist is obliged 20 accept almost brings tears
| to eyes unused 10 weeping.
A friend recently returned from bust
ness trip abroad tells me that money in
| London is almost unlendable at any in
| terest. Bankers with difficulty restrain
themselves from kicking customers
into the street who want any in
| terest even on longtime deposits.
| My friend cites q case where bank
| has loaned money at the rate OF
| one-quarter of l Der cent. Those OF
my readers who were skeptical regard
ing a statement IN this correspondence
that 800, 600, 900 could be raised in New
York IN twenty four hours on any scheme
| that promised per cent. per annum are
invited to give some thought TO this Lon
don loan. get the impression that if this
| opportunity referred 10 were offered TO
London it would produce the money IN
about fifteen minutes.
OUR srREET-RATLwAY SERVICE.
People from the West coming TO New
York are amazed TO find the metropolis SC
| far behind in the matter of surfaced railway
| transportation. While the pushing cities
| of the West are nearly oil supplied with a
cable-car system, we are Just beginning
| to discard the poor old car-horses fol
| the cable. We have one cross-town line
IN the upper end of the city in operation
and for more than year our streets have
| been torn up, undergoing tine painful pro
cess incident TO putting down the cable
plant. We are promised cable-cars or
| Broadway on New Years Day. After see.
| inc the massacre of street-car horses here
| during the hot term am sure there ia not
| a New Yorker who will not gladly welcome
I the cGble-car.
Despite the fact that we have spent
nearly four years here declaring war OF
overhead electric wires, q lot of scheming
| spectators are trying TO introduce The
| trolley system, q most excellent one fol
suburban use. but entirely unit tor such az
urban community as ours. The true solu
ton of the electric surface railway Is an
| electric underground wire. All expert.
/ "a ga 80.