The morning call., 1893-12-22
NONE OUT HERE.
San Francisco Free From
Ladies' Poker Clubs.
Mrs. Rufmann's Remark May, How
ever, Lead to an Effort to
Form One.

81 belong TO ladies' poker club in Denver
and Frisco" remarked Mrs. Zella Nicolaus
Ruhmann, the young woman whose crowning
ambition was 10 have bank account, the
thought OF which would cause memory 20 re-
vert TO George Gould, TO a newspaper man at
Southampton, England, on her arrival on the
steamship Lain on Wednesday. Whether Mrs.
Ruhmannn was misquoted misunderstood or
mistaken is matter for conjecture, for a most
dilieent search in all quarters of the city fails
to reveal the location or existence OF any ladies'
poker club or any person who has ever heard
OF any such organization. Furthermore, if
Mrs. Ruhmann was ever in San Francisco her
abode must have been clothed in secrecy.
She must have been travelling incognfto In
society circles her name Is not familiar one
AT one and all OF the known ladies' clubs her
name does not appear on the register at any
period OF years back. None OF the members
new or old, ever heard of her until her name
was hashed across the wire in connection with
that or George Gould. AT the up and down
town gentemen's clubs she Is stranger and
even the gambling fraternity have no recollec-
tion OF the fair self-accused poker-player hav-
ing lived or even visited here. Denver, so far
as can be learned, Is In as bad a predicament as
San Francisco. No festive green table, around
which the ladies sit and pledge their hat-pins
earrings and such like trinkets. is known TO
exist III the silver Stale capital by those who
are we'll versed Id society's dolngs there.
Should San Francisco have a ladies' poker
club? This is question that was answered
women's club circles In the affirmative, and the
remark Of Mrs. Nicolaus Ruhmann may yet be
the means OF DerfectiDg such an organization.
In the rounds TO discover il such a club existed
such injunctions as this were given Dy several
enthusiastic club women:
''Oh, II you DO succeed in finding such club
and II Is real nice one, Will you let me know?
l do love a little game OF penny ante, and
would join such club if l knew where Ii was,'
The idea of a ladies' poker club is not alto
gether new one here. For several years il
has been talked of among club ladies as sort
OF diversion from those OF The intellectual
order. A lady who has taken an important
part In the formation of several clubs here
mostly of the intellectual order. and who is at
present an officer in two OF them expressed her
self on the subject in This way:
There are more club women in this city than
you have any idea Of which would be favorable
TO the organization OF a ladies' poker club. We
all enjoy club life, but at present they are all
OF IaborlOus nature. We have no real social
club for ladies IN San Francisco. or course. in
the ladies' club the game would be played on
small scale and for pastime only. There
would be no real big game like the gentlemen
nave at their ciubs=say just penny ante for
amusement only. The question has been dis
cussed before, and the only reason why IL was
not formed was because some of the ladies were
afraid that IL would cause comment, for, as you
know, poker Is gentlemans game. Your
conversation has recalled balf-forgotteD MEM
ories, and now l am gong TO bring he matter
uD at the next meeting of the club and use my
best endeavOrs 10 form a ladies' poker club"
AT present Chicago is the only city west of
New York which mas a ladies' poker club regu-
larly organized.