Imperial Valley press and the Imperial press., 1906-06-09
,ourue gre Mold Co rresiae coles.


 believe. be powerless to move any of these suave officials into betlaying even a momentary gleam of interest in the mere mortals he thus adjures to plank down their ready"
 The casual frequenter of the salle de jeu pays but little heed tO these things Indeed takes them as matter of ourse-nevertheless the croupier Is made" not born, though he may have inborn qualifications. He is a creature of selection, and. given can didate of seeming promise, there fol low months of training and trial-aye little temptations which shall test his honesty-before the three chiefs who watch him and consider all his points decide upon his actual election, and he is carefully nodded into the right form" that of the quiet, courteous yet ever alert gentleman. whose we'll kept hand spins the marble ball and throws the coins so dextrously across the green cloth.
 It may be interesting to those who do not already know to hear that no more than thirty-six men can go up at . time for election. Thirty-six-the number which exactly corresponds with the numerals on the board-and of these. again. only the very Attest are chosen for final training and ap- pointments.
 The making of the croupier'' takes place during the dead season-that Is, from about August till the end of De- eember, by which time 1t Is calculated . smart man may be considered fit to try his paces in public. The training Is indeed no play, but consists of regular attendance at the classes of the "ecole tes croupiers' for six hours day, the exact time being from 8 to II in the forenoon and from 2 to in the after noon. Before admittance to the ''school," however, medical examina- tion has to be undergone as well as ex- aminations in viva voce arithmetic and tests put with regard to correct and fluent French and refinement of ac- cent. Yet would all these avail man nothing should his antecedents and
 
 most searching scrutiny. During this time of probation coins of the value of those they will have to handle at the tables are not used, notes being repre- sented by squares of paper of much the same size and texture and the louis dor being "understudied" by one franc pieces, while the smallest stake 4ho olT1 HUn franc piece, remains the same.
 As we have. however, already ob- served. tests of honesty are at times resorted to in order to make sure of the mans qualities in this respect. Yet in order not to strain this point too highly the management pays the pro- bationer a sum of 15O francs d month salary during his period of training The daily lessons" consist naturally enough principally in the requirement of a nice manipulation of the ball and the rake, in quick head reckoning" and in dextrously pitching the coins across so that they seem to fall in an orderly golden row. each separate and distinct lAs
 <A WlSllhCllOu IS tuduC DcLWScA SAAOl 'sdatek for the trentc7et-quarante tables and those devoted to the more easily grasped game of rouiStte. The men serving the former are, as may have struck any observant visitor. of dis tiuctly better class, higher mental caiiber. Their salaries, too, are prOpor7 tionately higher, ranging from 400 to 800 francs a month, while the sehef draws 725 and the inspectors and sub directors from 750 to 1000 a month, with a bonus also at the end of the season and the comforting prospect of a pension when old age or sickness comes along to lay them on the shelf That these men are also well worth 1t goes without saying.
 A lesser grade of intelligence is re- quired at the rouge-et-noir board, yet here. too, the salaries are such as many a civil service clerk might well envy earned, too in a lovely climate and bearing in mind that, given fair health and a steady devotion to duty, the ap- pointment may be considered good for all the mans working life-leading also to the ultimate pension inrecOgni- ton of faithful services. The salary of the roulette croupier starts at 250 francs a month and may rise to 400