The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1913-05-25
Resorts in San Francisco Ere
quented not by Shoe
string Sports. but by
Leading Business and Pro-
fessional Men.


tracted to the Pacific Coast more than
one sainfuI profession and pursuit.
Among other things it transferred the
great gambling center of the western
world from the Mississippi River boats to
the mining camps.
Gambling in the early days was just as
reputable and legitimate as running q
grocery store or bank. or for the matter
/ Of that a church. There were great wide
open temples Of fortune along Montgom-
cry and Kearney Streets that never
closed. night or day, and many are the
j tales Of the fortunes won and lost there.
| I guess II we could hear the narratives
through to the end, says writer In the
San Francisco Bulletin, the transactions
/ all ended pretty much the same way.
Very lucky exceptions there may have
been.
For instance, II used to be a sort Of
| household story that way back in the
| '40's or SOS a great financier, still living.
| entered a faro game with a few ounces
OF dust In his buckskin. bucked the bank
| furiously for a few minutes with his
| slender capital. and reduced IL SO near TO
bankruptcy that II closed its doors for
| the night Then he gathered up his win
/ nings, made a solemn resolution never to
gamble again. and with the capital laid
the Foundation Of vast fortune. He
made many risky ventures later in his
long career. but not across the green
| baize.
| Most of the big games were on the
| square but obscure ruffians blew in from
Australia and other parts Of the world,
who f1eeced the unwary with greasy
decks of marked cards or trimmed them
by trick or sleight Of hand devices, very
much the same as those. employed later
by the railroad operators. But when a
man undertook &c cheat In the gold days
he likewise made ready to meet his
Creator, for the discovery of anything
| that squinted at chicane was immedi-
ately punctured with a gunshot or knife
poke and no questions asked.
Nevertheless gamblers must have come
under the ban. for when the vigilance
committee took charge Of San Francisco
| in 1856 the games were not only closed
but every professional gambler was ban
/ ished on the peril of his life. Some Of
them. in fact. had to hike out in very
| unceremonious manner to save their
necks at all. And during the four-year
rule of the vigilance committee gam
bling vanished from San Francisco.
Under New Conditions.
But when that famous reform body.
Welding to law and order. went out OF
business, gambling returned inv different
shape Laws forbidding il had been
passed. so it could no longer be carried
on in the open. The homes of the fickle
goddess were in second stories and were
guarded by a gentleman who was apt to
ask lot of leading questions, for every
now and then a reformer or clergyman
disguised as a sport secured admission
and made an unseemly roar from the
plIlpit or rostrum later on.
But otherwise the games were unre-
stricted. Their locations were as well
known as those of the leading hotels and
the police would as soon have broken up
a prayer meeting as have disturbed the
decorum of one of these well-regulated
establishments.
The quarters were always roomy and
furnished without regard TO expense. Of
which a well-stocked sdeboard was
conspicuous feature. capable EthIo-
plan ministered to the thirst of the WISH
tors. Not all OF these were players by
any means. People used to stroll up
to the bank of an evening. perhaps
TO see how one of the leading industries
was progressing. or perhaps to meet
some friends. for these were the most
exclusive resorts around town.
No shabby Sports Present.
No cheap bucks or shabby sports were
ever tolerated in these refined precincts.
The first evening ! ever saw the inside
of large bank il appeared to me that l
had never seen together many dis
tinquished looking men as the group that
sat beside or leaned over the layout
table As a matter of fact there were
leading lawyers. doctors. capitalists, and
the like, merely enjoying what was con-
sidered a sensible mental relaxation.
The decorum was perfect. Either to eX-
ult loudly in good fortune or TO lament
weakly in Ill luck was equally bad form.
Some Of the players were rather ripe
practitioners. They still chung to by
gone dress-wore ruffied shirts. for in
stance.
How did I know then gamblers had
become familiar with their so-called
"hellsr" Why, in the most natural and
innocent way ina ginable. We used to
get up hunting parties from time to time.
and very often one or more Of the lead
ing gamblers happened to be invited.
They were all right personally. No one
could have been more courteous, correct
in language. and generally considerable.
As a very keen and successful sports
man I found favor in the eye of several
members of the sporting fraternity,
from which followed a personal &C.
quaintance. and later, knowledge of
their business.
So / saw the inside Of all the leading
gambling parlors at a rather premature
age. partly from curiosity. partly because
I had a theory that to be truly success
full man ought to be familiar with
every possible human experience. But
l do not recollect that watching the