Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-01-26

the benefit of the bank robbery. and tho
teller and his family are paying the
penalty.
"It's the blow-off for Mr.. NJ. tonight"
is a remark frequently heard passed from
one employe of gambling house to an
other. 1t means. il is the players last
stand to reha bilitate his fortunes.
Mr. NJ" the only name by which the
player has been known to the patrons
and employees Of the place. has been play.
ing night after night for several weeks,
perhaps.
Each night his losses have been heavier.
Every attention has been paid him by
the employees of the place He is regard
ed as customer worth catering To.
Colored attendants watch him every mo-
ment to anticipate his needs:
"A glass of wine for Mr.. NJ. A cigar
for Mr. NJ "A sandwich for Mr.. Nj
Another stack for Mr.. NJ" Such are the
orders heard all the time Mr.. NJ. is In
the place.
nounces that he will make zone more
play" a colored attendant calls TO the
telephone operator: "A taxi for Mr. NJ
Five minutes pass. during which MI.
NJ. has made several plays and lost per-
haps several thousands OF dollars more
ard ne gets a little bit testy.
How about that taxi for Ar NJ! de-
mands the colored attendant. realizing
that perhaps he has gone a little too far,
for he had gwen The telephone operator
the wink to keep his finger on the trans
mitter hook when he ordered the cap
the first time. Hurry ii up, VIII you.
and them turning to Mr.. NJ, Your taxa
will be right here, sir.
r
In a moment il arrives. Mr.. NJ. leaves.
the colored attendant apolosizing Tor the
DELAY in getting the taxi with the remark:
.-Of course. sir. it might have gone the
other way-those last few turns
Tonight Mr.. NJ. arrives a little earlier
His pale face. shaking hands and general
desperate appearance tell the story. lie
has got to win tonight
..It's the .blow-off' for Mr.. NJ. The
word passes around.
Mr. NJ plays, he wins, he doubles the
stakes. he wins again. he plunges heavier
than ever before. He bets all the house
will stand, and then, when the luck
breaks and his stack of chips dwindies.
check for more chips. Then perhaps, TOT
the first time il is learned that Mr. M is
Mr.. Marvin, whom the proprietor KNOWS
to be cashier OF the Nlnety-seVenth Nd-
tional Bank. m
The man has been big loser His
check for 5000 is probably no good. but
it represents but a fraction OF the man
losses i'm that house. Doesn't even the
East Side -'stuss' dealer pay his Ng-
rresh"? The proprietor cashes the check.
Mr. NJ pays on. His identity Is sun
kent a secret 1t is nobody elses busi-
ness Early i'm the morning his last emp
gore the way of the others, Mr.. M, q
broken man, starts for the door
"A taxi for Mr. M. the colored at
NJ NJ. shakes his head and goes out
into the dawn.
That is the .'blow-of.
The next day the papers are fun OF the
defalcation at the Ninety-seventh Ma.
tional Bank. Mr.. Marvin. the trusted
cashier. is reported to be snort sf-o"Vo
in his accounts.
But don't have to refer to the expert
ence of others to point the moral OF the
evils OF gambling. My own case tells the
story better perhaps than any other
gambler since | was sixteen. / have
known the ups and downs OF a gamblers
life. | have won 10000 in a single night.
and | have had to touch my friends for
the price of meal the week after.
Nv love for gambling brought me into
close touch with the underworld. and
was contaminated. 1 began TO look on
things the way my associates regarded
them | had to pay protection to police
officials to run my business. and j came
to think that if it wasn't wrong for me
to nav il wasn't wrong for me to Correct,
and when the opportunity presented 1t
self | allied myself with the powers that
prey on the underworld and became
collector of graft for dishonest poilce-
man.
And then when events reached a stage
where something had to be done to pro-
tect my friends. / became involved in the
plot which ended in the murder of the
man who at one time had been my part
ner and closest friend. Herman Rosen-
thai,
Copyright 1912 10y Mcclure Newspaper SyndicateD