Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-13

high honor
| remember one day, when I owed
my partners personally considerab BILE
money and when the day after an un-
usually successful show at one of our
clubs we were settling up, asked them
if they would please favor me by let
ting me have my share in full and per-
NIT my indebtedness to them to stand
until the next show.
| gave as an excuse that a matter of
great Importance down in New York
required my immediate attention.
needed, | said, just about the amount Of
my share to straighten it out. They
readily agreed, and one of my partners,
a prominent hotel man, said;
why, Jack. if when you get down to
New York you find that you need more,
don't hesitate to draw on me-" | got
my share, about $500, rushed and got
the 5 o'clock train out of Bridgeport.
Seven o'clock that night found me oc-
cupying a front seat at the faro bank"
Twelve o'clock that night l walked
out of there penniless, with the colored
attendant helping me on with my over
coat, mumbhng away at me about
Have a cigar?" and all the other
things they keep saying to a loser.
was all in a daze, as my affairs
were coming to a crisis. could not go
on much longer; my good friends in
Connecticut would soon begin to sus-
pect the truth.
Begins Hunt For Money,
l walked out into the street and i'm
get more money to play the bank"
with.
would have sold my soul for mon
ey to continue playing. l thought OF my
friend who that very day had told me
not to hesitate to draw on him if l
needed money, but that wouldn't be
good until tomorrow
SO I went into the hotel, got on the
long distance telephone and got him
out of bed, told him something terrible
had happened and couldn't he suggest
some way that he could get $500 to me
at once
He said, Go over to so-and-so, >"
naming a prominent hotel keeper and
ask him to get me on the phone" This
| did.
The result Of the talk was that the
hotel keeper handed me five 800 bills,
and | was back at the faro bank and
broke" again before a. m
l got up from the table and again
had to pass through the torture Of lis
tening to all the trained attendant had
to say to me about how they will run
against a man when he has a streak of
bad luck"
Couldn't Bear to Face Friends.
walked out on the street like a
drunken man. l realized then that to
go back to Connecticut was out Of the
question. I couldn't bear to face my
friends and creditors there. NV in
debtedness then in Connecticut repre-
sented several thousand dollars. all los;
in gambling, a. We'll as the large sums
had made in my many sporting ven
lures
sat down in the hotel and wrote
several letters to nv partners and
others in Connecticut. making a clean
breast of everything That ended my
career in Connecticut, a golden oppor-
tunity thrown away TO be a man
among men, and all through my love
for gambling"
l remained in New York and gave
myself to life Of gambling" Dur
ing the racing season l played the
races. At other times | frequented
gambling houses" All l was acCumu-
lating was reputation that gam
bling had taken such a hold on me
that mine was a hopeless case" and |
could soon see that their attitude to-
ward me had changed
Becomes Gamblers Associate.
Then I became the associate of gam.
blers exclusively. and made my head
quarters downtown, where gambling
went on in a smaller way. But just as
soon as l accumulated a sufficient sum
to enuue me to gamble in the more
pretentious houses uptown, where the
chances Of winning a large sum was
the bait l made for them.
At times l made large winnings. and
With the exception of paying a few
pressing things. always kept the bal
ance intact, and would make my ap-
pearance promptly at opening time and
play Almost invariably I finished
broke.
When these periods Of. as We term
them, bad luck" come along, l would
be overcome with a feeling Of remorse
and regret and begin TO plan and figure