Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1894-06-29
MONTE CARLOS BANK
No System That Has EIe Bssn Do
Iisac Can Ensctually Break II.
IT IS l DELD.SURE-THIIG GAME.
The Crouper's stake on" Enrieiscs the
Stakeholder and the Prince Of Monaco
The Investment Returns Miiiions.
Uondon Telegraph.)

hoaruing IL IN an ola stochhb' """'
proudent father OF a family, anxious
10 leave a decent competence 10 his chill
dren, would not be glad TO find such an
opportunity OF placing his savings as
this business affords? The only thing
which could possibly deter him from
taking advantage Of Il, II 1t came in his
way, would be his remembrance OF
certain old saw. said to have been much
favored by the Duke OF Wellington. In
which high interest lis associated with
bad security" Prudential considerations
81 that sort might make him hesitate.
and would probably put him on inauirlng
whether the undertaking which yielded
such magnificent returns was not one OF
an exceptionally hazardous. agitating, ana
anxious character. Yet. II this were the
sole cause OF his hesitation 1t would rot
take long for the case in mind TO remove
It,
ABSOLUTELY SAFE.
II would be easy 10 convince the eau
tous investor that the enterprise. so far
from being hazardous, was absolutely
safe. that, though II was profoundly agi-
tnting TO many people whom IL con-
cerned, its directors themselves were not
included among the number; and mat IL
any anxiety broke their sleep o nights
IL would at all events have no pecuniary
origin. The business he might be as
aured. Is absolutely without risk: II makes
no severe demands upon human labor
and none whatever upon human inge-
nuity or fOrethought. Little Is needed
for Its successful prosecution but the SER
vices OF n considerable number of en-
ployees. none Of whom, however. need
possess any higher or rarer qualifications
than those which ut the cashier OF
bank for his daily duties, while the re-
malnder will be quite sufficiently equipped
for their position If they possess the apu-
tudes and the experience OF goon cluo
Snlter. Add TO these outgoings the pay
nents required. perhaps the only con-
siderable item OF expenditure. for wages
OF SUPERVISION" and we have enumerated
all the Industrial burdens which this
profitable undertaking has TO bear
If this account Of II still seems TO the
prudent investor 10 be too good 10 be
true, II he is inclined to suspect that the
business, though both splendid and safe
so long ms II exists at all. must assured
Is be a shOrt-lived one, the creation OF
some passing taste or fancy OF society
well even here IL would be possible TO
remove his fear lie might be con-
being new and probably transient FASH
ion. is almost as old as civilization itself:
that those who conduct II have built upon
no loose and shifting soil Of popular ca
price, but have their foundation on the
bed rock Of an Interchangeable instinct
and that unless man himself proposes 10
prohibit IL. their business VIII last as
long as the cupdity, the rashness. and the
folly Of mankind. For the name of that
10 under
taking whose directors have issued this
comfortable balance sheet. declaring a
profit Of sc per cent. on their capital, is
that of the Casino at Monte Carlo.
MONEY EASILY MADE.
Never. surely, In the whole history OF
the application of human intelligence
to mOney-making has money been so
EASILY made. OF course. the cost Of
plant and material and the interest of
capital sunk therein has not been reck-
oned I'm the rough estimate above. The
invested wealth represented by the sa-
Ions and gardens themselves Is considera
BILE. and the daily charge for maintain
ing their attractions Is. do ~otless. also
very great Among the annual expenses.
too Is to be rcckoncd the gift" of $4,000
= year to his serene highness, the Prince
{ Monaco. for permitting a public gam
ig-house 10 flourish in his dominions,
nd dark illusions are made to iurther
mysterious sum Of 10000 expended in
"subventlons" to European newspapers.
But these. after all, are mere flea-bites.
The management may well be indifferent
TO outgoings of this kind. which are
summed up In tens of thousands. while
II Is I'm hundreds Of thousands that their
profits come rolling in. What is OF real
though melancholy significance in the mat
ter is the large. almost epic. simplicity OF
the industry itself.
THE METHOD THE THING.
The amount OF the capital employed in
prosecuting 1t Is mere accidental Cir
cumstance the method OF its prosecution
a. the essential thing. For the purposes
of the philosopher IL matters nothing
whether we have 10 do With syndicate
OF prosperous financiers, with something
like million and a quarter sterling be-
hind them. or with a shocblack. who has
saved up five shillings' worth of coppers
to open n bank with. and offers 10 toss
his mates for half pence. on the under.
standing that once In every thirty-six
times u shall be heals he wins. tails
they lose" II the world was governed
by right reason, the offers Of the shoe
black and strictly analogous proposal Of
the syndicate would be rejected with
equal scorn. AS matter of fact. we
know that the inex.inguishable race of
"punters" fiocks in its thousands to Monte
Carlo TO accept the terms of the syndi-
cate. and we have no doubt that the
shoeblack II he held himself out as ready
To toss at all times. with all and sundry
and TO go on until his copper bank was
broken, would meet with "A Ike success.
His "droit" would be AS willingly con-
ceded 10 him in consideration cf the con-
veniences and facilities with which he
Internationally supplied his public. Nay.
II is probable enough that lie might
put his terms much higher without risk
OF their rejection.
a skilled mathematician published not
long ago what purported to be n mathe-
matical demonstration of the fact that
the actual gains of the bank at Monte
Carlo were far In excess of what could
possibly result 10 1t from its avowed and
conceded advantage. and the writer went
on To hint not obscurely that the addl-
tional profits must be earned by unfair
means. We are not aware that his arti-
Gle attracted any notice among the fire.
qucnters OF the tables, but we may be
pretty sure that II would not have di-
minished their number by SO much as a
fraction per cent Systems" are as much
stronger than mathematics as the passion
OF cupidity Is more potent than the warn
ings of the reason.
How exceedingly Unmatched are these
two last influences glance at the world
around US Is sufficient to show. We boast
and In some particulars not without plau-
sibility, that we are more amenabie to
reason and less swayed by natural in
stincts and inherited superstitons than
were our forefathers. We credit ourselves
with greater self-restraint than they pos
sessed. and declare that the advance OF
civilization has weakened the effective
force OF many mans primitive impulses.
while IL has brought Others more fully
under the control Of the intelligence. Yet
the spread of popular education and OF
scholastic discipline throughout n large
body OF the people hitherto untouched by
these influences have been attended BY at
least an equally wide diffusion OF the
spirit and the practice OF gambling
throughout the entire community.
INCREASE IN GAMBLING.
For one man who was in the habit OF
betting upon horse races a generation
ago there are twenty who indulge In IL
today. form OF gambling which I'm the
third quarter Of the present century was
pastiine OF "the classes" has become the