The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-11-10

draws an annual salary Of from co.
600 to 10000 francs, and his floating
profits amount to from 300 to 500
francs. The wise one" he who
| spends his days at the club to save
outside expenses, fights shy of the
! green table. However. he presents a
fine appearance, and his perfect man
ners are awe-inspiring to the guests
of the runner, so that the managers
are willing to have him live 81 the
house. They care for nothing except
their profits, and the home-ofiee is
Liberty Hall. The employees are al
lowed free hand, and each in his own
sphere rules by his personal judg-
ment and makes what profit he is
able. One Of them, a man having a
cigar stand at the club, charged such
exorbitant prices hat he retired to
the country after ten years, built an
elegant house, and lived on the inter-
est Of his money.
The life of the employe Of a club
is as easy as he makes it, but the Ia
borer earning sixty sous per day does
not envy him. The moral atmosphere
Of the life is narrowing, and tragedies
become closed incidents as they pass.
Now and then a woman falls in a fit
or a man goes mad.
II have seen," said a Partisan club
man, "a strong man, thirty-fve years
old lose his last coin, rise from the
table, stand an instant with eyes bulg-
ing, wipe his face with his soft hat,
crush the hat into his pocket and
rush bareheaded into the street to dis
appear from earth. What became of
him? No one knows!"
One night when the incompatible
dancer, "the beautiful o." had just
lost $4,000 francs the club was raided
by the police. When the commissary'
entered with his aids the assembly
stared. Then all together, men and
women, rushed at him bowling, and
he did his work amidst the outcries
of the mob. In another place, where
the triple-locked door opened only to
the counter-signal of an electric bell,
the police entered five minutes after
touching the button, only to find
themselves in a room full Of men and
women dancing on a waxed floor to
music played by a long-haired artist
seated at a piano. 1t had taken the
agile and energetic employees just
those five minutes to stow away ia
bles, carpets, machines and stakes,
thereby changing a gambling hell into
a ballroom.
AS a general rule the house gets
the stakes, but whoever wins gets his
money, for the bylaws of the club
make it impossible that the successful
gambler should fail to receive his
winnings. If the loser should have
no means of paying his debt the club
pays It for him. Because of the many
possibilities opened by this obligation
in some of the houses the would-be
gambler is required to show his
money before taking his place at the
table. If the cashier is certain Of his
man the depleted one Is allowed to
open an account at the l1cG' bank.
The administration has but n way
to close such an account; credit can
be discontinued only by the clearly
expressed desire of the debtor. A let
ter must be written by him, person
ally, at his residence after the excite
ment of the gambling room has
passed. The missive must show that
the writer was in a calm state of mind
when he wrote it, and that his desire
to close his credit was sincere. Al
account thus closed may only be re-
opened upon the receipt of a formal
written application.
Gamblers are ofall classes a. ! tenn
peraments. Some men in possession
of fortunes of 40, 900, 900 francs an
nually increase this by 100000 at
the green table. Some, who have
nothing to run on but their grit, live
moderately we'll by play. Others, far
from resembling the heroes Of the
melodramas, are matter-of-fact, every
day. philosophical plodders who play
low. win small sums occasionally and
live happily in easy poverty.-Har-
-o-1- UY1oJru