The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-05-28
THE GAMING INSTINCT.
Horn in All Normal Persons, Says a
Professor of Sociology.

Professor of Sociology.
From the (Phila) North American.
The inherent basis for conhict-in-
terest-the desire for potential satisfac-
ton arising from reward or gain of some
kind, are the reasons why Men Gamble
and Why All men Are Gamblers" accord
ing to W. l. Thomas, assistant profess
sor of sociology in the University of
Chicago. He has treated the subject ex-
haustively in the current number of the
American Journal of Sociology, published
at the University.
In general, Professor Thomas declares
the difference between the gambler of to-
day, whether it be he of the stock mar
ket of cards or dice, the racer, the bettor
on prize fights or other athletic en-
deavor, and the prehistoric man, gam
ing with nature for primitive existence,
is one of degree only. In their breasts
and striving to obtain something for
nothing exist and existed. Education
civilization and all the thousand and one
refining and humanzing influences have
come in vain. The fire may shoulder
but it springs into flame at the slightest
provocation.
The First Conflict.
The professor begins with the human
race when its progenitor was first in
vested with powers of locomotion. The
locomotion, primarily, was to enable the
animal to obtain food and escape other
animals in search of food. Here, in this
equipment for pursuit and escape were
established the certainty and necessity
of conflict and with this physical equip
ment in the psychic side of the creature
in the conflict as complete and perfect
as the structure itself. The development
of the emotional states could have been
only organic preparation for action.
In following this development through
it's successive steps the writer adds:
'sWe can have no adequate idea of the
time consumed and the experiments
made in nature before the development
of these types of structure and interest
of the conflict pattern, but we know
from the geological records that the
time and experiments were long and
many and the competition so sharp that
finally not In man alone, but in all the
higher classes of animals body and mind,
structure and interest, were working
perfectly in motor actions of the violent
type involved in a life of conflict, COM
petition and rivalry. There could not have
been developed an organism depending
on offensive and defensive movements
for food and life without an interest in
what we call a dangerous or precarious
situation.
Responsible for Gambling.
This interest in conflict is directly re-
sponsibe for modern gambling and the
modern gambling spirit, according to the
professor. Human nature has not chang
ed since prehistoric times nor, he supple
ments, is it wise that it should change.
AS to the assertion that we have be-
come cultured, he skeptically says that
men still stop in the street to see a
fight between urchins, that they will
watch birds in the air in contest, and
that in modern football we have the
accented example of it. No sport is more
likely to result in injury to players, yet
more persons came to the University dur
ing the year to see the game than for
any other purpose.
War the writer declares, in the light
of modern advancement. the accumula-
ton of property interests, and the re-
sponsibilities of society, has come to be
acknowledged an unsafe and wastefu
| process to be avoided. But however
genuinely it may be deprecated it is
certainly an exciting game. The Rough
| Riders" of this country and the aristo-
| cracy of England going to South Africa
| he cites as examples. Patriotism. nc
doubt. was the impelling cause for this
| but there is unmistekable evidence thai
they also regarded 1t as the greatest
| sport they were likely to have chance
| at in a lifetime.
! By the development of the human race
along certain lines. the writer continues
| conditions under which the bare necessi-
ties of life and barest comfort were Sc
cured were changed. No longer man was
compelled to go forth to the chase fol-
| food nor defend a rock cavern from the
incursions of wild beasts or warning men
He herded cattle for his food and bull
homes in communities where all were
striving together for peace and safety.
The stock Market.
Then It was that the emotional strait
| was relaxed, activities becacme- dun, me-
! chanical and irksome, and other and arit'
hcial outlets were sought. After that the
writer says. in referring to the stoci
market:
Economically it is business in the
sense that II has a value in fixing prices
and promoting exchange; but PSYCHOLOGY
| cally 1t Is gambling, with this important
qualification. that In 50 far as tho pro-