Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-03-08

in the. world, the province of Monaco Is
entitled to the honor of being the second
smallest, but 1T is thousand times more
famous. The little tract of land of five
and three-quarter square miles, not as
big as the front yards of some of the
great Texas ranchers, and with minia
ture army of 126 men, is the center of
more gold than the wealthiest bonanza
mine ever discovered: 1t Is only nine
miles from here, but those who visit the
Riviera solely for the pleasure of play
prefer to stop at some of the hotels
Astounding in the tiny dominion of the
Prince of Monaco.
Each year the gambling house gives
big sums for yacht racing prizes To win
one of these the cleverest and richest
yachtsmen in Europe fit out their racers
and sail down to the Mediterranean.
Royalty and nobility and all the offshoots
of aristocratic Europe take part in these
races and thousands come to mingle in
the gay crowd. This year the managers
of the game have appropriated $4,000
for yacht and pigeon shoot prizes. If they
do not get it back again 1000 times over
ut will be regarded as a failure.
A Misleading Title.
There is no hint of the real business
of the company operating the gambling
house in it's legal title, of which the En-
glish translation Isl THE Company of
Sea Baths and Club of Foreigners.
There is a bathing house at Monaco, but
IL
holders depended upon 1t for receipts
they would not get 40 per cent dividends
ON their investments, as they have for
number of years past even after the
stock has been watered in most gener-
Gus fashion.
Much gold is expected to flow into the
strong boxes of the bank while the
yachting crowd is here, and unusual
preparations have been made for accom-
modating those who have fancy for
4lo oIA nj
have been remodeled and redecorated
and are more beautiful than ever. The
roulette tables have been readjusted and
balanced to the thousandth part or an
inch. Big play is expected, and 1t is al
most a certainty that before many weeks
have passed the outside world will hear
of some fabulous winnings or losings
News of winnings will travel more widely
than the news of losses, for 1t is part OF
the Monte Carlo system to magnify the
winnings and hush up or minimize the
losings 1t is a clever bait to set before
the world, and more gold pours in as a
result.
Much has been said against Monte
Carlo and the evil it has worked. 1t has
q few things in its favor, however, wnicn
are generally lost sight Of The first OF
these is that every player, whether he be
prince or pauper, must play with cash.
When his cash is exhausted he must
stop. No credit is given, an o U is I'M
known, and a note Endorsed by Roths-
child would be politely refused.
The unintiated perhaps, can see moth
ing commendatory in that. But just look
into 1t a moment. The man or woman
seized with the gambling fever and ven
turing into a stock exchange can get
credit, give notes. mortgage property, and
do anything until his or her fortune Is en-
tirely consumed. In this kind of gam
bling there is no limit to what the player
NAV risk But when the player Is con-
fined to cash, as at Monte Carlo, there is
hard and fast limit. Few persons go
there With their entire fortunes in cash,
other Use rich man might go there and
leave oauper. How many fortunes this
rule b protected it is difficult to esti-
mate. player cleaned out of his cash
NAV leave with the intention of going
away to convert his property into cash
and return as speedily as possible. Some
of them do this, but with great many
common sense takes the place of the gam
bling fever before they are many miles
distant from the play room.
OF course this rule was not established
for phiIanthropic reasons. The business
of the bank is to make money over the
green cloth. Sentiment plays no part In
the transaction. 1t was simply estab-
aished to protect the concern against