The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1908-01-23
About Gambling.
A Writer in the Outlook Presents
Some Pertinent Thoughts on the
Subject The Innate Desire to
Get Something for Nothing or
the Gambling Spirit in Man.

uet COmetuiHS lUE NOtHinS VI
the Gambling Spirit in Man.
Duri q the civil war | resided in
F"rre Hnut... Iniiana. This city OF
fifteen thousand Inhabitants WIS on
she direct line Of tn" great Interstate e
,ilWav between New York. PhilIdel
hin,. a'ri Ralt;mor" on the East and
! Lpus in the Sout Invest. Indian
lpOis to th.' East Of and St. Louis
to the West nf Us were the gam
bling rpnter-. anh gambling through
h,t whole section WiI II com nnon
irr In my cOHgreg alton ther. at
tended, Occasionally, very polished
gentleman who was without any rec
,gniz-d profession, and was current
:, believed to hr IL professional gam
bier H.. was unqurstiOnhbly famil-
lar with that profession, ani gave
me some Interesting information
concerning it MANY of the PLAYING
'irds of commerce. he once explained
tn me. the skilfnl expert could rad
from the hack rs well as from the
face. Gamblers hunted in couples.
Orp nf two partners would travel
along the line of the railway as a
drummer and wOnld sell playing
cards at ~ marvnlOuslv low figure to
all the hotels. Three weeks later his
partner would follow him. and would
alay the suspicious of the wary by
never having II pack Of cards OF his
own. but ALWAYS buving them OF the
! hotel for the game The issue OF the
game was Of course never doubtful.
| Coming East at the close of the
civil war. | found a different kind of
gambling going on in Wall Street.
This story of the Street was told me
| by one of its habitups. A certain
! stock speculator whom | will lrhll Mr..
Y. had a cOnsi lerable amount of I'M
dispose of He had acquaintance
with the popular pastor Of large
| and fashionable congregation who
WIS totally unable to keep a secret
The shrewd sperulator called on his
unsu-picious friend one day and i'm
parted TO him. in the closest conf
dpnce, some valuable information
The stock of the - Mining COmpa-
NV was certain to rise. 81 have been
buying some of it mvself," he said,
''and | advise you to invest in it for
Il rise How much money have you
~ot?" "A Thousand dollars in saw
ings banks. but that is my little all, y
said the minister. draw it out and
| buy the - mining stock am SO
| sure of it that ii it fails to rise l will
| take it off your hands at the price
YOU paid for it.
But remember, this is a profound
secret. Nota word to any one else. "
Surely not said the delighted min
Ister, mot word to any one" He
rev the money and bought the
stock. He told all his relatives and
all his wife's relatives, and they told
all their friends, and before the week
was out the report of the 'sure
thing" was all over the parish. and
Mr. Y. had sold his unprofitablr
stock at very good profit. 1t did
not rise; the minister came to his
cOunsplOr~with a rueful cOuntenance.
Mr.. y. was asgood az his word, took
the shares the parson had purchased
and paid him back his thousand
dollars. But when the parsOn hesl-
tatingly suggested that some of his
intimate friends had made purchases
also, he was reminded tnat the "sure
thing" was to have been kept a pro
found secret Il will keep my prom
ise and repay you," said Mr.. X, but
| can't take care of your friends. y
| Whether these stories are true or
not is immaterial. though l have no
reason to doubt their truth. Leg
ends serve as well as history the
purpose of illustration; and these
stories. whether legends or histories,
Illustrate the methods of the gam
bling fraternity
There may be some gamblers who
play the game fairly, but, SO far as
can learn, there are very few. For it
is the nature of the gambling passion
| to breed dishonesty. A truly honest
| bargain is by both parties to it in
tended to be profitable to both. Ii A
buys a horse of b for $3.50, and the
deal is II square one, it is made be-
cause 4 values the horse more than
he values the $3.50, and B values the
$3.50 more than he values the horse.
1t is true that the deal may be dis
honest on one side or on both. The
vender may palm off a worthless
| horse: the purcasher may pay coun-
terfeit money. But if the bargain is
IL square deal, it is one bv which both
parties are supposed to be profited.
In II gambling transaction only one
can profit. What one gains the
her loses One makes his money
out of the other. Gambling is SIM
ply scheme for transferring money
from the pocket of one man to the
| to the pocket of another man, with
no equivalent given in return. The
i only semblance of an equivalent is
/ rhe chance that the transfer may be
made in the opposite direction.
The honest gambler is not n thief.
He resembles the thief in one impOr-
! tant RESPECT; h. trainers his victim 5
purse to his own pocket and gives
him nothing in return. But he is un-
| like the thief in one equally impor-
tant respect: he gives, or processes to
| ri -e, the victim chance to get his
opponents purse without giving any
return for it. But whether the gam
bling is by boys pitching coppers on
the sidewalk, or by fine ladies playing
Rank fooiishness.
| When attacked by cough or a cold, OF