The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-10-02
.IS A SUICIDE TABLE,
ONE PIECE OF FURNITURE Al
MONTE CARLO HAS IIS
VICTIMS
TT EXERTS A FATAL SPELL

Players at II Usually Lose Their
Money aud Quite as Usually Take
Their Own I.ivcs-Rctired Officer
og The Casino CompHny Gives the
Facts and Tells OF Prominent
Incidents.
The suicide table at Monte Carlo stands
to the right OF the Moorish salon, which
is The second from the Casino entrance.
In ten years | have seen lis men and
women rise from that table and so out
and kill themselves, and as that number
was exactly one-half of our entire suicide
crop the ominuus name Of this particular
piece Of furniture seems well deserved.
was chief oil tee detective and police
agents il the Moorish room during the
period mentioned and bound not to leave
my post for single moment as long as
the game lasted from one end OF the sea-
son TO the other. Hence my capacity Tor
observation which was further augment
cd by the fact tAat 1 was not Obliged 10
wear either the uniform OF the company
or that Of the prince, and that on the
contrary, my employers paid me liberal
euuipago moneys to enable me to follow
the fashions with respect to clothes and
ieweErv. SO L might mix with visitors
without attracting attention.
Nv business was to prevent scenes
i'm the Casino, acts Of violence of one sort
or another. and 10 that end most elabo-
rate arrangements prevailed. Above all,
nv ncognito was absolute, and 1t was
never necessary for me to ever address
one of the guards in public. As matter
OF fact, I never took the least notice oil
my men, while on their parts they were
instructed to keep their eyes upon me all
the time and follow the direction OF my
movements. If 1 elevated my broWs,
waved my hand, or adjusted my eyaglass
in a certain fashion when 1 gambed or
suddenly paused in the midst OF a Win
ming or losing campdign-such apparently
meaningless or caDricious performances
signaled to the detective specified orders
with respect to certain persons, circum-
stances or general Indications
The suicide table is new and bright
invite visitors to the Casino to compare
its cloth covering with that of the other
roulette boards. Its alluring green viii
be found 10 be brighter and cleaner, its
yellow figures to stick out more promi-
nentIy Everybody can see that the cloth
on the suicide table is ofy more recent
make than the rest Yet the Casino COM
pany is only 31S francs the poorer on that
account l know, because I audited the
bill myself
Here are the figures: Cloth for double
table. $50 francs; painting of yellow fig
ures. so francs: mailing down, IS francs;
total 31S francs.
CASE OF VOTING RUSSIAN
AGAINST these figures there is an offset
of GOO francs, which the Casino company
would have been obliged 10 pay the
young Russian who made the muss on
the old cloth for travelling expenses. AS
it was, this Muscovite prince refused to
become a pensioner of NJ Blanc's heirs,
and blew out his brains over the very
table where he had dropped his ali
100000 francs
1t happened two years ago, and it
nearly cost me my job The circum
stance that one of the directors Of the
company drew me into corner to talk
about the same Russians persistent i'll
luck and its probable cons Quences, just
a minute before the shot rang out over
the clangoT Of voices and the shutting of
Fod-that alone saved me from official
disgrace.
As to the incident itself, it was soon
forgotten. and it had 10 bearing what
ever on the game 1t has really nothing
to 90 with the sorry supersttiOns at
taching to the suicide table. The i'll
reputation of that piece Of fUrni ure was
already Of many years standing when
the Russian committed his fragrant
breach of Casino etiquette To be pre-
else he was No So on my list Ct unfor-
Inmates who got their coup de grace
under my watching eye in the Moorish
room.
Though my duties confined me to he
Moorish room the whole princtpaIity was
under my jurisdiction. When I saw a
man or women approach the suict;le
state-experience made me a fine Judge
of emotons-my first care was to prevent
him or her from spelling more cloth.
To that end I signaled my men to press
around the party, if necessary, forciblv
prevent him or her from putting a hand
in the pocket or from striking the crou-
pier, doing damage to the table Or any
body.
Many desperate cases 7 approached in
my capacity of a private gentleman and
fellow gambler, Offering 10 assist them
out of the country and pay their home
ward journey. The company, you know,
has the reputation of being rather wgly
with people demanding railway fares and
money for hotel expenses; sensitive per-
sons, therefore, hesitate about approach
ing the officers. 1 dare say my interven-
tion-which cost me nothing, as the com
pany, of course, recouped me-has saved
many a poor devils life.
But there were the hopeless cases-va
banque PLAYERS by destiny-somc having
come TO Monte Carlo with the fixed IN
tention of killing themselves unless they
should win larger or smaller pot of
money Fate pushed them to the suicide
table. and it was perfectly clear to us
professional observers that they were
doomed the moment thew staked their
first lO-franc piece Nothing could save
them, neither advice nor money advanced
and though the company schuddered at