The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1893-03-23
THE GAMBLING EVIL.
REV. THOMAS DIXON DISCUSSES IT
IN HIS PRELUDE.

nnity-- Ecclesiastical Authority Human
FIction--Eorm and Ceremony.
NEW YORK, March 10. Rev. Thomas
Dixon Jr., pastor Of the Twenty-third
street Baptist church, preceded his SER
mon at Association hall this morning by
the following review Of current events:
The following news item appeared in a
New York morning paper some time ago:
Gould not pick the winners. A well
dressed man hangs himself near the Gut
tenburg race track The body Of an un-
known man was discovered early yester.
day dangling from beam under tho
grand stand at Monitor park, Weehaw-
ken. The body %as taken TO the morgue
at Hoboken by Coroner Murrer. The
suicide was man Of fine physique. He
was feet tall and weighed 22j pounds
He was neatly dressed He wore a livery
cloth overcoat, Prince Albert coat, satin
vest, striped trousers, white shirt, cuffs
and collar and derby hat. Three cents
and match were all that his pockets
contained
1T is said that no has frequently been
seen at the GuttCnburg race track, and
the presumption is that he has been un-
successful in selecting winners at the
races, and becoming despondent decided
To hang himself"
The same old story. The body was
identified the next day by the man who
had accompanied him to the races. But
a sad old story is this. We are hearing
it very often nowadays. In anguish Of
soul we cry, GLOW long, O Lord, how
long shall this Internal swindle-the
gambling race track-throw its hcllish
shadow across our Hves;" In mud and
slush and rain, through winters storms
and summers scorching suns, this trade
in souls, this barter Of damnation, goes
on without interruption. Look for a
moment on the mob Of smoking, swear
ing, drinking, bowling, jostling brutes
that call themselves men and women.
They once were men and women, but
the humanities Of life are lost in the
brutal now. One thought fills the soul
and body-the vile desire to take a neigh
bor's goods without return-called theft
in olden times, renamed "sport" for
modern uses. This thought brings all
to a common level-the bottom. The So
ciety swell and the Bowery bum are ono
at the races The leaders of the demi-
monde throb there in perfect harmony
with Ward McAllister's Four Hundred
fools, democracy of human passion, a
carnival Of hell!
If the damage done on the race track
itself were all, we would count this an
easy escape. But the race track is mere
ly the table on which the fakirs shuttle
their cards Scores Of crowded pool
rooms honeycomb the city. These are
veritabIe sinks Of iniquity into which
daily flow the life and manhood of the
people The business districts Of the
city are dotted with scores upon scores
of these gam bling hellS run daily in
open defiance Of law Into them 20 the
husbands of loving trusting wives. In
to them goes the mothers handsome
boy, hallowed from the cradle with a
halo Of diviuest prayer and hope. Into
them go the young and foolish. Into
them they go to stake at the bidding "f
thieves their money, their manhood
their honor, their hopes, their peace
their life Once thoroughly initiated
they rarely return to the world Of sanity.
If they do, they return as wrecks cast
upon the beach, bereft Of all.
A recent report Of the Society for the
Suppression of Vice gives tabular state
ment made from newspaper clippings for
! one year showing the victims Of the
gambling mania. Though necessarily
incomplete and imperfect, this statement
| gives q glimpse Of the terrible facts: One
hundred and twenty-eight persons shot
or stabbed over gambling games, at.
| tempted suicides, u suicides 60 murders
in cold blood, many driven insane, 6e
! persons, principally young men, ruined
| by pool gam bling and betting upon horse
| races. Among the crimes growing out
Of this record, committed by the victims
in efforts to obtain money to gamble
with, were Durglaries, 10 fOrgeries, e;
embezzlements while 80 &C onfidential Of
fcers in banks and other places alb
seconded. The proceeds Of these embeZ,
! elements and crimes amounted toS2 sltS,-
372. This was the price Of blood zone
that went into the pockets Of the villains
who ply their trade to the ruin Of soci-
ETY.. How many other millioE4 rolled IN
without immediate crimiIaL Lfesults God
only knows The loss in broken hearts,
homes, and beggared, lbrphan children
can only be known n eternity. Well
may a recent writer who has given his
life to the problem ay:
"WhereUer pltbLG gambling is tolerated
laics are prostityIed, justice becomes a bJ-
t1ord, the trial By jury farce, and pub
Tic officials autographed, tcIlile TliDlOrs Of
bribery are DItmpaHt on every side.
Again, History is replete with eYi-
dences int teIperecer gambling In any
form Is t6Lerdtef in any community brib-
sry and corruption protect it, while the
rights Of law abiding citizens are sub
vertedI industrious habits are destroyed,
| cop1fnon honesty undermined, and hon
st business enterprises are hOneycombed
I through employees rendered dishonest by
these glittering allurements 70 crime.
Murders, suicides, breaches Of trust, en-
bezzlements, follow in the wake Of these
seductive foes, while the homes Of the poor
are besieged with squalor and want"
/ She Western Union Telegraph com
| pany is said 70 be one Of the most deeply
Interested parties in this contest of the
thugs and thieves against decency, order
4 and the life f society.
The New York Times says on this
/ point:
''The reason they think that they are
safe now from interference rests On what
some people might consider pretty good
foundation. Tammany and the police
1 have q Iuost potent motive for standing