The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-07-07
The Great National Game.

The Great National Game.
The headline may suggest base ball. II
II does, the suggestion is erroneous. Base
ball is a great game. 1t numbers its de-
voices by tens Of thousands. But Il T.
not the national game. In the brOadest
sense. That distinction is reserved for
poker. the sOlace Of the politician. the
delight Of the senator and the pastime
OF a great proportion Of the people Only
few people. comparatively speaking.
play base ball. and the most Of those
who play are professionals. Thousands
go 20 see the professionals play. and get
their moneys worth in the majority Of
instances. But the thousands take no part
In the game. They are spectators merely.
With poker it is different. The thousands
the millions-play poker. They do not
sit by and watch somebody else play Il.
Poker is the great American game, ana
wherever two or three Americans are
gathered together. at home or in foreign
countries. there will the game Of poker be
found.
The influence Of the game upon the des-
TIMES of the nation is incalculable. 1t IL
played in congress and in campaigns. The
occupancy of more than one office has
turned upon a game Of poker. Senators
and representatives, play it. II IS also
played sometimes by cabinet ministers.
and there have been Presidents who were
experts at It. From these positions IN
high life the game runs on down through
the social scale 70 the tramp, and to lie
darkey, where, however, it is superseded
in Importance by craps" Upon American
literature. too, poker has made it's mark. 1t
has been the subject OF some of the most
vivid descriptive writing. and the inspira-
ton Of the most pathetic portrayals. If
the poker literature were all wiped our,
American letters would sustain most
Serious loss. These few suggestions Will
Illustrate the importance of the game.
But, unhappily. there is one thing lack
ing about the great gsme-rules. There
are rules and rules, of course. but the
most of them are merely local in force
Thus. while every section plays poker, no
two sections play it precisely the same
way. The gentleman from Georgia and
the gentleman from Maine, when they 81.
down to a little game find that there are
in the rules which obtain in the two sec
tions differences that seriously interfere
with perfectly satisfactory play. BY the
making OF concessions, which amount to
the adoption of new rules for the time
being, the Georgian and the Maine man
manage to have their game out; but the
loser almost always feels that he was at
a serious disadvantage because he could
not play according TO his home rules.
There are "skips" and "blazes," and va
rious kinds OF Pushes that have different
meanings and different values in differ
ent localities. And then there is the 100
loo" hand of the far west, which wins
only once in a hundred years, unless the
holder holds also a gun. and which hand
needs to be explained authoritatively.
To provide for a perfect and ironclad
set of poker rules for the nation at large,
it has been suggested that a national po-
ker congress be called. Base ball rules
have now been perfected by national con-
ference and agreement. The same is true
Of foot BALI ruies. Should poker be be-
hind these? The spirit of the times
seems to be running towards national or
International conferences and congresses
en- all sorts of subjects. hence it seems
that the present is an auspicious time to
agitate the poker congress. 1t should be
held at Washington, of course, aud shoull
be elected by popular suffrage. If on
ly experts a. the game were
selected as delegates, the chances
are that the congress would compare
more than favorably with any con-
gress that has convened at Washington
since it has been the capital.