The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-06-19
THE BILL WENT THROUGH.
POKER AND THE USE THE L0BBK
UsED TO MAKE OF IT.

~ ~
Queens Brought an Honest Man 60 Grief.
at Is no news TO the average newspaper road
er," said the gray-haired young-looking man,
that there has been q vast deal Of heavy gam
bling done in Washington since the capital OF
the nation was established In that city. Stories
without number have been told and rotold, about
famous statesmen who have buckod the tiger In
this and that resort, whichever ono happened to
bo famous In its day, and who have won and
lost enormous sums as coolly as Engllshmen of
equally high rank are said to have done when
Pitt and Fox played in the London clubs. For
one, 1 have little doubt that many Of these
stories are substantially true. though most of
them are probably embroidered around the
edges. Men who make national politics the
Rame of their lives learn to love excitement,
and next to politics, gambling is about the most
exciting thing out. Some people oven put 1t
ahead Of politics.
II am the more Inclined to believe these stories,
too, because 1 remember a good deal about
what happened in q certain poker club In that
city a little while before the Credit Mobilier
scandal. l was q youngster then, but 1 had
some reputation as q cool-headed player, and 1
was fond Of the game. 30 1t was not strange
that after / had been properly introduced and
had sat in once or twice, l got In tho way of
dropping In frequently, and finally of spending
most of my earnings In this particular club
house until after Congress adjourned and
| the season was over. My business there was
accomplished at about the same time, and 1
left the city, not to return for several years.
THE place was q modest looking house. just
of Pennsylvania avenue. 1t had been designed
for q private residence, and was used as such
by the proprietor, for, though 1t was called a
club, it was nothing more than a private gam
bling house. No one could get Rdmittance with
out q personal Introduction by some one whom
the proprietor knew and trusted, but once In
side, a visitor was made TO feel as II he almost
owned thc place.
II never saw anything but poker played in
the house, but the game was sometimes for ire
mendous stakes. Everybody Sc smed to have al
most m money who came there to play,
for money wac plentiful in Washington that
year, and.a thousand dollar bet was no moro an
occasion for surprise than one Of $50. though a
five or ten dollar limit game was common
enough, too. You could play a modest game
IL you liked, for there were several tables going
every night, but IL you preferred, YOU could gen.
orally get into q table stakes game and flash
any sort Of o roll you saw 1T. 1 never saw q
professional gambler in the house, excepting
the proprietor. He was one, but he never played
in his own place, and 30 far as ] know. there
was never a suspicion Of crooked play in any Of
the games that | saw.
ana as 10 INC Hen WuO pldIeuI OnI WeIt
1t would do no good to name names. Some
were men whom nothing could injurc in repu-
tation. Some are dead. Others are out of poll
tics. And not a fow would be sorry indeed to
be mentioned in connection with high play at a
time when their ostensiblo income was not
sufficient to warrant it. 1t was a season, how
ever, in which no man prominent in official
circles was obliged to be without money, pro-
vided he could be induced to accept it. 1t is
enough to say that one of the unwritten rules
OF the 'club'-it had no written ones-was that
any mans l. .. l.. was good, but that it must
be taken up within forty hours. And l
never heard Of an infraction of the rule.
'In one or two cases l would have been glad
to hear that the man giving his paper thus had
had the nerve to repudiate 1t and quit the game.
One Congressman in particular, l remember,
who might have been a man Of distinction &C.
cording to all indications, II he had been will
ing to shoulder the odium Of an unpaid debt of
honor instead of lending himself to the lobby
and accepting money for his vote. How do l
know it, How does n man know anything he
stances leading up TO his ruin we'll enough.
What did see was the way the lobby tried
that this particular poker club was one Of the
channels through which the crack lobbyists OF
s%G ss" we're played pht5isi to 'D' lose. in the E big parioF,
and more. l reckon. in some of the small rooms,
ways a man who was wanted for something,
or course. when 1t came TO handing over the
lar service. it was done in private. but different
mon have to be approached in different ways,
and poker affords some peculiar Opportunities
short-was particularly wanted in one scheme
that hung fire for a long time in the COMMITTEES
room. He was n member OF the committee and
for local reasons connected with his homo dis
trict could have decided the matter either way
but being q conscientious fellow he had held II
up in a way that exasperated the lobby greatly
He had been approached in various ways, hui
introduced at the club did there seem to be
any chance of winning him.
Even then 1T was not easy, for he refused a.
was fond Of the game and 1t undid him at thu
last. He was led on by de~greOsIthe finesse ant
thing almost St diaboiical until. being fairly ski
full, he found himself encouraged to plunge
"Xt first he was allowed to win. l say al
lowed, because the men against him were fal
: him suspect it. Ono night he won SO heayil,
!, that at the conclusion Of the game he hao
man the lobby had put against him, and wha
8 he had to do was to meet Smith privately mex
day and hand him the money and at tho sam
: OF course, the money could not be considered II
D any, sense a bride. but Smith. in taking 1t
could not possibly refuse conversation ant
-, would. it was thought, be inclined 10 listen ia
> vorably, to a man who lost, money, to him a
pected to know, and as a fact, he did not know
how easy 1t was for Jones to lose gracefully
o since the money was furnished to him for tn
purpose.
!. but 1t failed completely. Smith was gentle
g man enough to feel the temptation, and maj
enough to Withstand 1t. Tho loss Of the none!
{ was not considered for a moment by the lobby
They had money TO burn. But the failure 4
); get Smith was important, 80 other tactics wer
!. employed.
. give Jones his revenge ut the game, for he wa
t BY this time in The fever OF play, and he was a
the club every night, looking for the Opportu
o nifty that somebody was always ready to Civ
him. 1t did seem almost pitiful to see a ma
, of his talents and character futtering like
y hIg fool moth around a dame that was almoA
o certain 10 destroy him. but II didn't seem TO b
y my business to tell him what he on Oh
y TO have known for himself. At any rate. ne
body made II his business; ! for one. consit
!: cred that II was the part OF wisdom to say notl
r ing. It's a good safe rule generally and ! wa
70 too Young man to play mentor to one VIII
o had reached his rank.
70 Nothing was done hastily. The lobh
% never makes mistakes of ~that.sort. Smith wa
y allowed to play along for perhaps q week b.
- fore Jones was put at him again. don't kno'