The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-01-09
new ORLEANS'S GAMBLING.

New Orleans correspondence new
York Sun: The slot machine, the lat
est form that gambling assumed in
New Orleans, finally has been sup
pressed and prohibited by the city
council after a long and vigorous cru
sade. New Orleans is a sporting city
and takes to gambling as naturally as
duck TO water. What from Of
gambling viii succeed the slot ma
chine remains to be seen. Now that 1t
has been banlshed. Il will be a surprise.
indeed, II the sporting people here do
altogether without the excitement Of
some game Of chance. Up to COM
.paradvely short time ago. faro, rou-
lette, keno and craps (Which. is q ma
tive Of New orleansl we're played. more
or less openly. Gambling was for some
years licensed by the Legislature; then
tolerated and practically licensed by
the city under the Shakespeare system
Under this system limited number Of
gambling houses were allowed to OPP
crate on giving fixed sum annually,
$1,000 to $500. to charity, and submit
ting to close police inspection.
In 1855, New Orleans got too moral
for all this, and gambling was sup
pressed or at least compelled to run
secretly as a blind tiger. Lottery, or,
rather, policy, took its place, became all
the rage and proved worse than the
outgoing gambling, for the reason that
it was free and open to all. Women and
little children played 1t. The negroes
took to It naturally. Dream books
we're sold everywhere. and a very COM
siderable proportion Of the population
invented systems" that were declared
to be perfect. There were $50 policy
shops and they were so many gold
mines to their owners.
A second moral wave struck New Or
leans in 1892. and lotteries were abol-
Ished and declared against the law. An
attempt has been made to keep up the
policy business since. and a number
Of saloons exist even to-day, but the
business is illegal and subject to raids
and very few persons venture to play
1t under the circumstances.
Policy was followed by debentures.
This was a rather slow sort Of
gambling, for it took a long time to
get rich under 4. sun, the gambling
feature appealed to persons Of sport
i've turn Of mind, and for a time the
debentures throye. Thirty-one COM
panIes sprang into existence and sew
era: million dollars were invested in
debentures. The evil was growing seri-
Gus when the attorney general inter
fered, and in the name OF the state Of
Louisiana, demanded the suppression
of the debentures companies on the
ground that they were gambling con-
Germs and that they could not honestly
carry out their promise to the holders
Of their debentures. The courts agreed
with the attorney general, Cunning
ham, in his view Of the matter. declared
the debenture plan a fraud, and placed
the thirty-cne companies in the hands
Of receivers.
Then followed the slot machine craze,
which ragged worst OF all. The favorite
slot machine in New Orleans is the
poker hand machine, which pays prizes
for the hands rolled or ground out by
the machine. The machines soon In
creased to 5000 in number, and were
in constant operation. They were to
be found in bar rooms, cigar stores,
groceries, and nearly every place where
many persons congregate. and proved
very popular and profitable. They re-
oulre no SKIN, ana very small capital
to gamble on. The machines began
paying in cash from 50 cents for pair
to 81 for royal flush. Every one, more
or less, gambled at them, An investiga-
tlon showed that they were earning
100000 day for their owners, and had
actually caused'a famine in small coin.
The attention OF the legislature was
called to the evil and laws were passed
prohibiting the operation OF slot ma
chimes which paid prizes in cash on
w. 49,, quad ,hot m WINS gambling pure
~ s ",D.,,a 80 ronlstte itself and also
4nL ' S'',s' , !. from nlnvInr The
pl s.,...,, iaa,,oS a. Tho matter from a
S S.-.,., 'C ~. ~ VIEW and required
n ., .Da..-,o,,, =, ,,csns. an slot ma
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olilliSl' W."
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tne "O' " -, ,''s s.s,sas HIo,y n, Tho
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owhers VI H'.iieS N - -,.a.
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