Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-01-27
IN THE OLDEN DAYS
When the Slid" Was Off in the
National Capital.
PUBLIC GAMBLING HOUSES
Big Faro Games Patronized by Mem
bers of Congress.
SOME OF THE BIG PLUNGERs
The Change From the Old order-To-
day the stcover" is soldered and
Riveted on Tight.
SOME OF THE BIG PLUNGERs

Every year the lid" is being more firmly
soldered on the city of Washington. The
nations capital has gradually become one
OF the most rigidly regulated cities in the
country. The town is closed as tight as a
drum at midnight. There are plenty of
other cities of the major class where this is
supposed to be the case, but isn't There
are few cities of the first class in the
United States where a traveller can't get a
shave on Sunday, and Washington is one
or them. The newsboys have to put the
soft pedal on their tonsils in calling their
papers on Sundays in Washington. AS for
gambling, Washington is shorn, shaver and
shrfven of that. Public gambling rooms
there are none. The pool rooms in the out
lying regions have all been put out of bust
ness, one after another. with small chance
of any of them getting going again for
years to come. An occasional faro game
OF the brace" variety starts up in some
wooded shelter near Washington, but they
all get swooped down upon sooner or later,
so that there is no longer any profit in the
business There are a few piking poker
games a-going, but the people who run them
for the kitty" profit are taking big
chances all the while and are liable to be
ccrralled at any minute, with severe pen
atty to follow. The anti-gambling law of
| the District of Columbia is so framed that
l
In their own fiat for a game of penny
ante and two-cent limit poker they are la
Bile to be "pinched" and sentenced to jail
terms for setting up gaming table.
Washington is the town with the soldered
and copper-riveted lid" all right, but
there was time when it wasn't.
The man who perhaps remembers more
| about the time when 1t wasn't than any
other now alive is John c. Martin-"Cole
Martin. Martin remembers the hdless
Washington and all of its garish glory be
Co. n trror n
| to 1857, he was one of the main chance-tak-
ers in the Washington game. He was
most of the time, behind the box, 1t is true
and there are some modern gamblers VINO
maintain that the man who deals his own
game can't be beat But in the zenith OF
the day that Cole Martin remembers the
| men who ran the game really did take
chances for the sky only was then the
| limit of most of the Washington faro
| games, and the big players had their chance
| to get 1t all back al one turn.
One Of the old-Timers.
Cole, Martin is one of the oldest profess
SIGNAL men of hazard living. He's seventy
eight now, but he's pretty chirky yet, ana
probably strolls over more miles OF wash
tngton streets in the course of a fair day
than most Washington men or business
II is a mighty unusual thing to see man
who has been more or less connected with
the sIip-out box all of his life verging upon
his eighty years. and still more than able
not only to sit up and take notice. but 10
strou around and watch the smali mahlles-
tatiens of piking epoch.
| Cole Martin for example, is old enough
to have been in the Mexican war. re
served throughout the war, and was on
the snot when most of the big battles were
in nroeress He was born In Virginia, but
went west at an early age and drlfted INTO
the conflict between the United states ana
Mexico from the state of Iowa
Martin wards off all attempts 10 pump
him as to how he originally drifted into
the deal-'em-out business. He says thats
| another story. But he Is wiling enough
to talk about the Washington that used TO
he The pot was bubblng and the steam
was mounting high when he got to WASH
ington, more than three years before the
opening of the civil war.
You could gamble in washington then
inst as easily as you could buy a pound
of pork chops Even then there was a
law on the books against gambling within
the precincts and confines of the Distrlct
of Columbia, but the beauty OF that law.
from the gambling house propr1etors
point of view, was that the penalty was
so severe that few juries could be found
to convict, and when one OF the 1ur1es
did convict the President of the United
States could generally be relied upon TO
pardon the sentenced man.
Pardoned by the President.
For example, the first man ever convicted
in the District of Columbia under the old
C1nle dHtl-SdLlDlHiS law "ohS "a iitNA- -ANN''~N
Marcus, who ran faro bank, and who
wasn't sin good" with the authorities.
Marcus was tried for his offense and SEN
fenced to two years in prison. No less an
Individual than Abraham Lincoln pardoned
Marcus on the stated ground that the pun
ishment was, as he deemed, far too severe
for the offense When Lincoln paruonea
Marcus the gambling house people easily
perceived that they were going to have
cinch of it for a long time to come. The
penalty as spead on the books. was of such
a severe character, taking into considera-
ton the spirit of the times, and the in
diligence with which gambling was regard
ed by virtually all hands at that era, that
they knew juries couldn't be mustered that
would convict men accused of running
gambling establishments. And the gamb-
ling house propTietors had it dead right.
There wasn't another man sentenced for
running a gambling house in the District OF
Columbia until 1863 This man, too, was
given a prison sentence, but he. like the
man before him. was promptly pardoned,
this one by President Grant
Gambling of all descriptions was prac-
tically wide open in the city of Washington
until the year 1888. In that year the kibosn
was put on the proprietors of gambling
houses and they went out of business in
sets of tours. There has never been a
public gambling house maintained for even
a brief space of time within the limits of
the District of Columbia since then. The
anti-gambling law that was then passed
maze the running OF a San1DlHS mouse OF
the setting up of a gaming table msde-
meanor instead of felony. as it had been
before. Big fines and jail sentences were
provided for under the new lay. Juries
would promptly convict gamblers of mis-
deneanor. where they would never convict
them of being felons. and when that twist
was given to the District anti-gambling
law the end arrived for the big gaines of
Washington
When Cole Martin first came to Washing
ton a little gambling was just about as
much part of the average mans daily
game as eating All hands gambled There
was no disgrace attached to It. No odfum
attached even to the professional gambler.
The proprietors of the big establishments
were considered men of the best repute
and, far from suffering social ostracisnl.
they were cordially received everywhere
that other men of business on an equal
plane found a welcome.
Ned Pendieton, for exampIe, ran one of
the mightiest faro banks and roulette games
in Washington. His establishment was on
Pennsylvania avenue a few doors below
the old Globe building. Pendleton was
looked upon as gentleman and scholar
In his day. and his wife, an extremely lovely
and accomplished woman, was welcome In
the highest social circles of the Washing
ton of that day. and was often a welcome