The Progress., 1893-05-06

city Ot New Orh. neSe are tne Illus
tration of the daring of the gambling
spirit The number OF these institutions
and the number of their immediate pa
irons il no sense measures the actual
gambling evil of the city. We have
5000 barrOOms. for instance, III New
York, and in every one Of these bar
rooms there Is a room dedicated TO the
gamblers. and there Is not a night II the
wear that there i not gambling III prog
rcss III those barroomS. These are the
feeders to tn" 30 or more grand central
institutions III which the professionals
ply their trade. Many of these gambling
institutions are as well established and
as well known as the great dry goods cs-
tablishmentS on Sixth avenue. and some
of them are older. Some We're eStab-
lishcd as far back as 1885 and have been
running continuously, with brief inter
ruptions of a few weeks. during all the
years since their founding and ut the
same stand in the city.
DALY'S GAMBLING HELL.
In one of these institutions it is said
that one man lost in a single night $llS,-
900. \ young man from IA western city
recently arrived in New York and made
collections for his firm. He went to Da-
ly's gambling hell and lost all the ready
money he had in his possession. He
cashed the checks for the money he had
collected and lost that. He left Days
absolutely pennilcSS, with his hotel bill
unpaid and not enough money left to
get out Of the city. The profits Of Days
house are often as high As 500, 900 or $50
600 in a single day. When the game Is
opened at night, they start III with no
money in the drawer. Th" first money
that is deposited there is that passed in
by the player who first buys his checks.
The manager of another one of these
established institutions recently said to
n reporter, who asked him the heaviest
amount of money ever Won at his table
at ore sitting: sixteen thousand dol
lars. This amount was won by IL young
doctor who used to play here frequently.
The doctor played 500 on the COlOrs,
and a continuous run of luck put hll"
SIC, 900 ahead of the game III an evenings
play" Did lie keep it:' asked the re-
the outside ever keep their winnings. a
few months after this winning | won
500. 600 from the doctor in one nights
play. He continued losing, and six
months later" said the gambler, 1--WE
picked up the newspaper one morning
and found that he had committed suicide
after robbing his sisters estate of a large
sum-"
Such are the higher institutions of
gambling where the so called square
game is played. The great majority of
the gambling institutions are those
where tricks and liquor and sharpers
and cutthrOatS and dissolute winning
are the levers used to fleece their vic
TINS There is no trick too mean to be
resorted to- The man that goes into the
average gambling hell i'll New York
usually comes out without a dollar in
his pockets at last, and he is fortunate
if he can come out the front door.
These men do not hesitate, have not
hesitated again and again, at murder
when the winnings We're SO large that
they were afraid of possible exposure and
trouble Again and again do the papers
in New York report mysterious disap-
pearanccs. Again and again i'll every
city of America are these disappearances
reported. and again and again do the
tides bring in the bodies of unknown
dead. The rivers with their secrets could
tell the story of many life that closed
in play in gambling hell. How many
men are killed in our cities and spirited
away-thrown into the sewers, thrown
into the rivers-God alone knows. The
work goes on continuously, and the world
is practically none the wiser.
There is no brute more heartless than
the confirmed gambler. a group of
gamblers recently went into a church
and broke open vault, took out dead
body, dragged it to the communion
table, placed it on the table and seated
themselves around this CHASTITY object.
They played cards, gambling through
the whole night. This is but a specimen
of the spirit of daredevil and of heartless
brutality, of irreverence and of atheistic
Indifference, which is the necessary ac-
compartment to the gambling mania.
But the evil is far wider than this.
The gambling spirit today permeates the
atmosphere of the city. Our very chill
dren in the street breathe it. The papers
are full of it from day to day. 1t is no
wonder that it should touch all classes.
was amazed short time ago to hear
my eldest boy, only years of age, speak
ing with the utmost accuracy the lam
guage of the race track. He told Inc
with glee that he was starter; that
they had races every day out in the street.
His playground was near Central park
on Ninety-fourth street. His playmates
were the neighbors' children. They knew
the vocabulary of the gambler complete
ly. They knew the methods of starting
races, of deciding bets, and had their
race club organized. The truth is, the
air of the city is full of it.
ALL NEW YORK CLUBS GAMBLING HOLES.