Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-06-27
GAMBLING MANIA
ENGLISH SOCIETY AFFLICTED
WITH 1T.
NY GAY PLUNGERS
MANY
Women Enthralled as Well as the Men
Speculation Rife en- All Manner Of
Subjects-Soys Go Wrong Over the
Fascinating Craze-Many Embar-
RAISING Episodes.

Gambling IN fashionable society APP
pears to be exciting heated comment
in England as we'll as on this side OF
the water. Many family quarrels have
arisen there over bridge debts.
One young woman in London lost
her whole quarters allowance in one
| evenings play at the house of a
friend. She hadn't the courage to
confess to her fatner, au1 cooked UP
; story Of street robbery; but the
truth came out later and the young
plunger as sent to the country. An.
| other young woman is seriously i'll
with nervous prostration, and her los
! ses at bridge and her inability to
make them good are responsible for
her illness.
One college boy OF good family
forged his fathers name in order to
pay large sum lost in playing bridge
with society women. The father of
another young fellow settled a note
for $1,000, which the boy had given
to his hostess in payment of gamb-
ling debts contracted during four
days visit at her country house.
1t is question whether Americans
have ever taken up the problem bet
ting, of which a writer in one of the
recent English magazines tells. He
prefaces his story by saying that the
pastime, as a fad, has given place to
other fads; but that it was much in
vogue a few years ago and is still pop
ular in some country houses. AS an
Illustration of the principle of the
game, he tells an incident of his own
experience.
At a dinner in a private house one
Of the guests happened to express
wonder as to the height of the dinner
table. Immediately the problem was
taken up and pool made, with G5
shares. Every diner made q guess at
the height of the table, and wrote the
guess on a piece of paper. After din
ner the tables height was measured
and the pool went to the person who
had made the best guess.
This problem gambling becomes a
mania. There was never a time nor
a place when it wasn't practicable,
and thousands of pounds were lost
and won on the pools. The practice
fell into discredit, however, when it
was found that it opened the door to
trickery, and that many social lights
of considerably brilliancy were not
too scrupulous to add to their income
by the tricks.
One old gentleman, so says the
writer measured the number of yards
Of wire in the net of a French syphon.
The sight of a syphon always led him
to wonder how many yards of wire
were in it. That usually started a
pool, and the old gentleman, who was
a most respectable business man of
excellent reputation, invariably peck
eted the pool.
Another story told by this chronic
Ter of problem gambling concerns a
willy old man OF much wealth and
fame. He was staying at house in
the West country, near which a mar
row windin lane ied between
high, perpendicular banks, to the top
of a small hill. The other guests in
the house were young and aggressive,
and the old gentleman grew tired of
the staggering and reckless drinking
and betting Of young England. One
day he looked from the billiard room
window toward the lane and remarked
carelessly that a man could not gallop
from the bottom to the top in less
than twenty minutes.
The young men laughed him to
scorn, and, with some contempt for
conservative age, offered to bet him
any money that it could be done in 10
minutes. The mild-mannered old man
took all bets, and one of the young
men agreed to undertake the ride on
the next afternoon. The entire house
party met to see the start. All the
youngsters felt sorry for the poor old
duffer, and plunged recklessly.
The rider started. Five hundred
yards up the lane he met a flock of