Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-17
GAMBLING AT OSTEND.
Business Of king" Marquet Again
Broken UP.

Special Cablegram to The Star.
BRUSSELS. May 16.-The Bruges cor
rectionai tribunal has given Judgment In
case of the greatest interest not only
to Americans and others who have been
accustomed to find at Ostend those gam
bling facilities which form for many the
chief attraction OF that typical continent
tai watering place, but to all who regard
II as an agreeable seaside resort. NJ.
Marauet. the keeper Of the Ostend Club.
who was recently prosecuted for infringe
ments Of the law against games OF
chance. has been found guilty and SEN
fenced to three separate months imprls-
onment, and three fines of 500 with re-
spect to each of the years 1905. 1905 and
1907. Costs are given against him, with.
in default an additional months I'm prls-
onment. and the club furniture has been
cOnfiscated. s..
The two main points to be decided were
whether the Cercle Prive was really a
private club and whether baccarat. as
played there. was game IN whlch the
chances were in favor of the bank On
the first point the court holds that Mar
auet Systematically exploited the tables
for profit and that the conditions of the
members club were a blind. On the
second point. after hearing an amazing
mass of contradictory evidence from ex-
court finds that the bank had an advan-
tage-a conclusion which would seem to
be confirmed by the enormous profits
made by 1t. :.
Unless this decision is reversed on the
probable appeal gambling will be sus-
pended at Ostend for the second time
during recent years. There Is no doubt
that of the million V. ;itors during the
season a large proportion were of class
which rendered the place unsuitable for
young people. On the other hand. the
town profited largely by the income de-
rived from the tables and some municipal
witnesses went so far as to say that
without gambling Ostend would be ruined.
This seems an extreme view. but II
may be doubted whether the decision Will
commend itself TO those even higher cir
Giles which regarded the development OF
Ostend as a proper object for the ex-
penditure of the revenue received from
thu kongO rubber forests. II will be re-
membered that among the works intend
ed by King Leopold to be carried out by
the Foundation de la Couronne were 1.-The
creation at Ostend of the museum prom
Used to the town. the establishment of q
great covered hall intended for agricul-
tural. horse and cattle shows. the join
ing. by an architectural ensemble. of the
Rue Royale With the quarters OF the Cal
leries and Hippodrome in such way as
to make Ostend. few hours from Lon
don. bathing city unique In the world"
Now that the Foundation de la Couronne
is suppressed. Belgium Is called upon to
spend over S4JOGO on these particular
works of establishment. and many Bel
gians would prefer to spend the money
otherwise.
The King of Ostend." as NJ. Marquet
was once called by King Leopold. admit
ted during the case a profit in 1907 of
$l35. 900 from baccarat and of $4,000 from
roulette. In 1905 NJ Marquets profits
were 100000. Most Of M. Marquet' s
profits came from the Cercle Prive (Pri-
vate Club which in 1907 had a member
ship of ss64. Its dividends were 40 per
cent in 1904. 60 per cent in 1905 and 80
per cent in 1906. NJ. Marquet is one OF
the wealthiest men in the country, though
he began his career in poverty. He has
q controlling interest In large number
of the casinos and kursaals in Belgium.