The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-03-22

ers and artisans, and their wives and
children, of quarters, dimes, nickels and
pennies through alleged lottery draw
ms that are in reality cunning assign
ments of small prizes where they will
boom the fraud. 1t is estimated that
the income from policy has now mount
ed to $4,000 a day. Think how many
gamblers that means, even if the av-
erage bet is so high as 25 cents!
Then there are the women of more
or less social pretensions The Wall
street woman is no new phenomenon in
New York. But she was as a rule a
sexless-looking creature, skin tough
and sallow, toilet careless and dowdy;
she sat about the ladies department"
of the uptown branches of big bucket
shops, making her bets and winning or
losing with perfect self-control; as full
of tricks as a fox was she, but not
fascinating to behold, or in any way a
measurable factor in public morals.
The new Wall street woman is not of
kin to the old, does not suggest her
except as all human beings suggest
each other through the possession of
universal traits. She comes in car
riage or cab to the ladies depart
ment" of these brokerage firms that
have the courage to take the extra
risks of feminine trade; she spends an
hour or so there, her eye on the tape,
her hand on her smelling salts; hav-
ing won or lost all she cares or dares
to risk that day. she goes on her way.
At Saratoga in summer, at Palm
Beach in winter and at Aiken also, the
more or less public gaming table-the
private club or the private room in
the gambling house-is not only per-
mitted, but fashionable.
Stock gambling, of course, as yet at
tracts fewer of these fashionable wom-
hn 70 II oal1C
for study, for a long and tedious edu-
cation; and women of fashion have
too many drafts upon their time all
ready. There are some who intrust
money to men friends to bet for them;
but that is not gambling for the wom-
an. The gamble" is altogether for
the trusted man. who would hardly be
so ungallant and even cruel-not to
say imprudent, for that would sound
cynicaI-as to let confding and help
less woman lose througe his lack of
luck or wit. The real stock gambling
woman of fashion, doing the gambling
herself using her own judgment rein
forced or confused by tips" gathered
at random, stalking her own income or
her fathers or husbands allowance to
her, is as yet a rarity. But she is an
interesting rarity, as she lies abed with
her telephone at her indolent elbow
and with smiles or frowns-in great
crises in the street." tears-upon her
petulant face. Thanks to the tele-
phone, she CANDLES at her ease, in the
seclusion of her home, of her bedroom.
And apparently she is the heralding
swallow of the oncoming flock. There
are still few husbands with tales of
how scantily they are fed because my
wife came a cropper on steel last
month, and dropped her house money
as we'll as her personal allowance"
But those few. unless all signs fail,
also are heralds of a flock-a mourn
full flock.
This gambling craze Is the latest
phase and extreme of an extraordi-
nary, incredible development - the
trar sformation of New York from a
rich, rather sober city into a world
capital, within less than fifteen years.