Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-23
STORIES OF W0lOOTT


In Senate COMMITTEES room. one FORE
noon not long ago = number of clever men
who knew their subject wen fen to talking
Of thu late Senator ssIad', Wolcott of Colo
RADIO. Soma Of these man were senator's,
and others were not. They all rated Vol,
colt very high as q statesman. But they
all gave It as their opinion that Wolcott's
passion for gambling damaged his prestige
irretrievably throughout the country.
..Wolcott was. IN sort OF way. the
Charles James Fox Of this country and
era" observed ono Of the senator's In
my opinion he was far better intellect
than Fox. But his passion Tor high play
damaged him. as It eventually all but
ruined Fox. don't mean that II came
anywhere near running Wolc0tt financially,
but It effectualiy withered the great na.
u0nal prestige Wolcott was capable OF
achieving. Wolcott could do anything,
could have been anything. A good many Of
us tried to warn him about his gambling.
We tried to Impress Il upon him that the
q conservative people that they Will not
tolerate public gambling by a highly placed
public man. But 1t was no use. Wotcott
would give ds-a most polite ear. and lit-
tie while later we would hear OF some pre-
digious betting transaction in which he had
figured. The truth Is, he could never quite
figure that his gambling was any Of the
public's business. But the American people
have g way Of making the frivolities OF
their public men their business. =
"Woicotts gambling never injured his
prestige IN The least in his own state Of
Colorado. said another of the senators.
ut was. as / understand It. the supreme
indifference with which he viewed the opin-
ions OF his own following that finally cost
him his quite unregretted seat in the Sen
ate. The people Of Colorado looked upon
Wolcotts gambling propensities In much
the same way as the voters Of q certain
Kentucky congressional district looked upon
the misunderstanding penchant of a menu
Der OF the Kentucky delegation in the Housa
OF Representatives. While up for re-elec-
ton this Kentucky representative was
trapped into pool room raid planned and
carried out by his political enemies. The
opposition made great fuss over the mat
ter. Circulars were sent all through the
district denounctng the candidate Tor re-
election as a common gambler and an ha-
bitue Of pool rooms. The candidate for re-
election stood pat, admitted that he had
been nabbed In the pool room raid, stated
for publication that he'd been playing the
horses most of his life. and added that he
always intended to play the horses. Just
as long as horses continued to run and he
had the money and the energy to get bet
down. He was returned to Congress by an
Increased majority of about 5000"
The story Of Ed Wolcott's big faro bank
plunge at Long Branch in 1888 was the one
about him that gained the widest cur
rency around the country" said Colorado
man who was OF the party in the Senate
committee room. THE story was always
more or less hashed The real story Of that
affair was this: Wolcott while visiting the
Sheepshead Bay race track on Long Island
one day while on a vacation sojourn In
New York made what turfmen call a
'hunch' bet on the horse Lamplighter. On
that day the track was fast. Lamplighter
had already shown his ability as mar
Vicious mud runner. but the bookmakers
doubted II he could be at the crack field that
ne was entered with on the fast track so
that Lamplighter's price was to l. VOL
colt entertained the view which Is held by
some very keen horsemen that real good
race horse can run on any old kind of a
track. and he wagered 5000 on Lamp
lighter at the prevailing Odds Lamplighter
won his race in gallop. Wolcott cleaning
up $4,000. After beating that race Vol
colt left the track with his companion, and
went down to Long Branch. He felt
that he could get acfion' without any limit
at his favorite game-faro-at the Long
Branch gambling clubs
In the course of three hours play at the
Pennsylvania Club in Long Branch VOL
colt won 1900 bucking the tiger It was
only II O'Clock at night when he cashed in
and retired to his room at his Long Branch
MOTEL 1t was very hot night even there
on the edge Of the sea, and Wolcott found
couple OF hours, and then he rose, dressed
and returned to the Pennsylvania Club.
AT o'clock In the morning. the luck
having turned against him, he had played
In his 200 bank winnings, the $4,000 he
had won on Lamplighter on the previous
day, and $4,000 of his pocket money'-a
loss of about $4,000 in about four bours'
tiger bucking, all because he had been nm
able to get to Sleep
He was the most cheerful loser imae-
Unable, and the high play at Long Branch
was merely an incident with him. often
before, at Denver and other western cities.
ne had pressed winning or fought a los
Ing streak In faro play that ran into much
higher figures
But Woleott's Long Branch play had
Deen 50 high. even for that then Monte
Cario.of America, that the tale of It, works I'd
up into all manner of impossibly dramatic
scenes and situations, went ali over The
country-aH over the world, In truth FOR
the London Times and other English snd
european papers commented in solemn.
ponderous editorials upon the 'degradntion
or country which tolerated such e.xhIhf
lions on the part of its public men, Vol
cott chagrfned over the publicity which
mad been given the affair. was too honest a
man TO deny the essentials of tho storv
wnen squareiy put to the question. ard
thus he involuntarily received the nan,a or
the stigmatisn, of being the most distin.
guished of plunging American gamblers"