The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-02-15

even that is only transferring money from
the pocket Of the fool TO the pocket of the
knaye, always with q contingent reyersiOn
to the salOon-keepeT.
THE GAMBLING FEVER.
"The excitement OF gambling is the mixed
pleasure arising from alterations of hope
and fear, hope and failure Ii is a sorry re-
Election on our Christianity that in MOham-
medan countries the twin vices of drunken
ness and gambling are the least known.
'HoTse-faclug, stocks, pools, baseball
and athletic games are all means by which
Christians are stalking their respect for the
ideal life.
- will not say that we are threatened in
this beautiful city by the Golden GATE with
beng oyerpOwered by this vice of gambling
The actions OF its promoters are fortunately
neutTallZed by the few high-minded men
who are the natural leaders of society.
The sin Of gambling is, however, rapidly
spreading. All that there is of the man i'm
the heart OF the gambler peTishes by slow
and sure degrees Nor does lie perish alone
in his inquity. The heart Of the wife Is
often times broken, his children impover-
ished and his home desOlated and ruined
he dies moral paupef.
These gambling hells are often found in
the corner grocery saloons, where boys are
made acquainted with the mysteries of faro.
roulette and the like. CappeTs are paid
salaries and furnished with chips, etc. TO
entrap the unwaTy. The whole atmosphere
of the dives along the Barbary Coast is
charged with rapine and murder The spirit
OF gambling peryades our city like pesti-
leuce.
There is political gambling, gambling on
elections, and there is the great lottery sys-
tem-mOre patroniZed in this city than in
the largest cities Of the East. 1t is patronized
by thousands of the working classes, who
take money from their wives and children
aEqfai /.
maintain this evil ought to be seized bodily
and incaTceTated in an iron cage
LOTTERIES DISCUSSED.
The lottery is the most shameful swindle
In all the rolls OF eullbility The way in
which these lotteries are advertised Is in
genious indeed. Some man reads thar an
other man has gotten $500 for dollar. He
goes off with that idea aud buys a ticket.
Thousands have swallowed the bait. Ii
the working classes in San Francisco are
fools enough to spend their daily earnings
10 lOttery-tickets gulled by the reports In
the afternoon papers, they ought to he taken
care OF 10 asy luns by the State.
Go into any gambling den in San Fran
cisco and you Will see men sitting around
tables, for the most part quiet and unob-
trusiye, except when one OF them becomes
desperate Dy TeYerSes, and then he will grit
his teeth, knit his brow and mediate re-
venge. The Interest becomes so allah
sOTblng that the gamester sees no sight.
hears no sound. Men watch the turning nj
a card and tbs revolution of q wheel as If
their very lives and souls depended on IL
One young man will 20 in with 40 cents
come out with $40, and know very little of
the game, but once the habit of gambling is
formed he may as easily go in lose $4,000
and sink into the suicides grave
Gambling Is ruin To business IL isan
effort to get something with the usual re-
suit Of getting nothing for something. 1t
units men Tor real work. II casts a blot
over home life. l have looked ON faces
once Open aud manly, now haggard and
worn out. | have thought Of the home. the
wife, the children neglected, unhappy and
in want / need only eXclaim. ON, Luci-
fer, son Of the morning, how art thou fallen
from heaven
sTAKED THEIR WIVES.
"Tacitus tells us that the ancient Ger
mans used TO stake their wives, children
and at last themselves In games of chance.
So debauching, so demOralZing, is this vice
of gambling that men will even stake the
souls Of their children
Gambling begets a passion for strong
drink. Not only this, but it affects the VIC
tim in another way. AS Talmage has said,
it is only one step from the gambling. table
to the den Of the strange woman.
The systematic matchmaking SINISTER at
torney finds good opportunity in the gam
OIihB house' ne promises some victim q
return Of his lost money, obtains n small
share of the plumber from the proprietor.
and then represents to the poor dune that
he caught nothing, and so makes money
both ways.
"Horse-racing would have no charms but
for the gambling element. The days are all
passed when there was any particular de-
sire to improve the breed Of horses. Gam
bling Is the very soul of the racecourse. 1t
has taken exclusive possession of Jerome
Park There Is no difference between
money lost on the track at Highland Park,
Rockaway, Stockton or Sacramento and
money lost on the Barbary Coast. The man
who wins $500 of his neighbor's money ON
hOrse-racr pleads that he runs risk. but
so does the house breaker in the pursuit of
his aVocatiOn. In both cases the ruling idea
is 10 get something for nothing"