The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-24

/ tUDlk 4 tonNtT&dllOn lnt tdIu IN
BILE Is the grave OF rational converse
ton. the bane of true friendship and
the Whirlpool OF industry"
tc) But still again, the exciting
scenes OF the card table are not designed
to encourage the cool brain and the
steady hand that is needed for the ac.
tivities of h present age. So unques-
tionably Is this recognized to be true,
that IL Is the rule of the United States
navy that no cards shall be allowed
aboard the ''men-of-war." And the
managers OF some of our large enter
prises. who employ hundreds Of men,
have forbidden the Introduction of cards
among them on penalty OF immediate
discharge from service. And why Is
this? Because II has been found that
the card table and neglect OF duty. dis
ciated together.
I'D But still another count against
the card table comes 10 us from scien-
tiic sources. 1t Is generally admitted
that the appetite for strong drink Is a
weakness that is often the result OF in
heritance from parent to child. But as
the great law OF heredity is more care
fully studied. scientific men are con-
Guiding that many other traits of char
acter besides the appetite for drink may
be inherited. A prospective mother may
come under the spell OF the card table
To the extent OF stamping upon her
offspring a love OF games so strong
that her child. IL a son. will hardly es-
cape the life of a gambler.
As the laws of life are coming to be
better understood IL is believed. upon
scientific grounds. hat the passion for
gambling Is In many cases one which
comes as an inheritance from even
Christian parents. DIR. Sinks, in
speaking upon this subject. says:
1t Is most difficult TO account for the
fearful spell of gambling which so
often hounds its victims on to their
doom. on any other hypothesis than
this"
(e) But the argument tha for n
Christian young man or woman should
be even more weighty h a these Is the
fact that the card table and the great
est efficiency in Christian life are not
associated together. ! do not say that
a man cannot play cards and be a
Christian. I believe that this is true In
many cases.
Nor do I say that a mar cannot play
cards and be a better Christian than
some who do not play. This also may
be quite true. But the world" does
not hesitate to say that the spirit of
Christ inc the law of Christ do not
govern at the card table. and that 1t IL
an amusement that is opposed to the
highest type OF piety and the richest
and purest Christian life.
DIR. Holland says: II have all my
days had a card playing community
open to my observation. and I am yet
unable to believe that that which is the
universal resort of the starved soul and
Intellect. which has never in any way
linked itself with tender. ~elevatfng or
beautiful associations. can recommend
itself to the favor OF Christ's disciples.
The presence OF culture and genius
may embellish, but 1t can never dignity
It."
1t is a significant fact that a want OF
relish for the devotional spirit and life
of the churc is often in proportion TO
the enthusiasm over the card
table. 1t induces religious laxness n
destroys spiritual usefulness.
Now these are results that associate
themselves simply with the card table
in it's most Objectionable form. as II Is
found in the pleasant parlors Of the
90 But l have still one more protest
against the ard table. i'm view not only
of h IL Is. but also in view of ten
denotes that flow from It. and of asso-
connected with IL. DIR. Cuyler
THE path to the innermost hell
OF the gambler is through the clover
blossom of fashionable card parties"
There can be no question but that
card table is the first step toward
the gamblers Fife. and while card play
Ing may be an innocent Indulgence,
gambling Is a most heinous and de-
sin. Card playing arms the
to gamble with almost re-
power. In fact some of the
games are in themselves only
! species OF gambling. For instance.
what is the difference between TIE
'forfeits' in the game of progressive
and the prizes at stake for the
gambler? And Is IL not actually true
hat by this game many of our young
men are in a progressive way led TO
become gamblers? That which trans
a game OF cards into the vice OF
gambling is not the amount or the vai-
ie OF the stakes. but the fact of stake
II all. III the element Of gambling to
he extent OF the cost Of a supper or a
pin or a volume of poems or
bouquet of flowers be brought into
he amusement of the table. then a vi
principle IL adduced which Fan
lot be questioned by fair-minded peo- ,
lie. The card player also finds him
elf continually in the presence of un-
'leasant reminders.
However fashionable the circle or
orgeous the surroundings. the card
has ever i'm his hands the tools
7 the SamDleT. the TOOLS tnat are rec Z
gnized as being at home in dens of 4,
ice and shame. and i'm the hands of !
men and women and all of the {
leasant attractions OF the hour can :
OF obliterate the fact hat the para !
hernalia of the retreats of sin is the 9
lost attractive part of the deckings. :
IL Hamlet's ghost struck terror TO I
heart OF Macbeth. surely II would I
eem that the presence of these re- |
finders nf abs mo and ain prAnlH ha IN 4
isturbing element in a guileless com
any of innocent pleasure seekers. 5
Now, while IL Is true that card play I
~ In Its most innocent form. and
ambllng. are not Identical. IL is also 7
that they are closely related. A /,
,acher who was giving one of her lit !
G boys a wholesome Illustration In re- /,
ard TO gambling. was Unexpectedly 4
by the question: do you ,
lay cards" And when she replied
she did. but did not play for /,
loney, she found that she no longer =