Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-20
DECREE A BOOMERANG
EDICT AGAINST GAMBLING HIT
THE RESORT CASINOS.


Special CaIeGram to The Star.
PARIS September 2n.-Another govern
m"nt decree has been a perfect boomerang.
This is NJ. C!emenceau's new regulation of
gambling in France. 1t has proved a dis
astar for the casinos Of French watering
places, and wall has gone up that would
melt a harder heart than that of NJ.
Clemenceau. Vichy, Biarritz. AiX-les- Bains.
Contrexeviile, Trouville, Dieppe. Dinard
and a score of other fashionable resorts
have sent delegates to meet in congress in
Paris sort of parliament of the petits
chevaux.
The present situation is a typical exam
pie of aiming at the heron and bringing
down the goose" There is at Ostend a NJ
Marquet, the owner of the great gambling
establishment in that Belgian watering
place. When the new law regulating asso-
Citations in France was passed NJ. Marquet
was of the opinion that associations for
gambling could easily be organized.
AS he is a multi-milionaire. he promptly
invaded French territory and dotted down
gambling establishments In various CEN
ters His most ambitious scheme was the
erection of a magnificent casino on the
frontier of Monaco, few kilometers from
the world-famous casino of Monte Carlo
This was not to the taste Of the Societe des
Mains de Mer tthis is the harmless sound
ing name OF the company owning the gam
bling rooms, and they promptly began 10
use their influence. which is very great, TO
get NJ Marquet's project npped in the
bud. NJ. Edmond Blanc, the millionaire
sportsman and member of the chamber of
deputies. the president of the company. set
all the machinery OF which he disposes in
motion. In twenty-four hours decree of
expulsion was issued against NJ. Marquet
and his Belgian partners and they were
promptly conveyed across the frontier as
undesirable foreigners
Casinos Depend on Gambling.
This was followed by NJ Clemenceaus
famous decree regulating gambling. which
was destined to make establishm ants such
NJ Marquet dreamed of impossible.
But, unfortunately, they hit the hundreds
of casinos in summer resorts. At these
petits chevauX are played at the public
tables and baccarat in the cercle prive, the
club attached to the establishment, at
which pretence is made of combining the
admission to members. The chief qua,ifica-
ton for membership is to have money to
lose The casino levies a percentage on
the money staked. and this is its chief
source of revenue. Suppress the gambling
and 30 per cent of the casinos would have
to close their doors. AS the casinos. with
their gardens. restaurants. concert rooms,
reading rooms, theaterS etc, are the cen
ter of life in the various watering places,
their closing would be disaster
But this is not all. These casinos have
been built with money advanced by the
Credit Foncier the great French mortgage
bank This establishment holds mortgages
to the extent of SGo,UOOOG0 on casino prop
critics AS an empty casino is a very poor
security, the government has the Credit
Foncier against its gambling decree. and
next to the Banque de France the Credit
Foncier Is the most powerful financial cor
poratton in the country, and few govern
mentS would care to come into col ision
with it. The whole gambling system sounds
very immoral, but the sums staked on
petits chevaux is never large (Sf is the
maximum stake allowed), SO that the
amount Of damage done Is not very great
AS people Will gamble, il Is better that
they should do IT in establishments under
proper control than betake themselves to
shady tripots. Besides, p-tits chevaux
bring their own cure as the chances are
SO much In favor OF the bank in the long
run the public is bound to los, SO that
most people plot to pass the time, ana not
really with the true gambling instinct.