The Bismarck tribune., 1918-07-29
GAMBLERS PREY L.
! UPON, . |, W0MEN..As v |! J ! !: ! | 5
( HUSBANDS FIGHT
American, and Canadian AZ Officer,
Visiting London Also Fleeeed
by Sharpers.
GIRLS IRE USED IS D|EcoYs


tors Wife-Womsn Worse
Than Men. Y
London There is q man living II
retirement in, one Of those fine, up
standing old Jacobean manor houses
not fifty miles from London; a mode
country squire, popular with. hts ten
ants, 'thoroughgoing sportsman, wht
rides to hounds most religieusly AM,
entertains on the most lavish scale
He can afford it. His annual ncome
is somewhere in2the $lO0, coo line. Yel
before the war this particular mai
hadn't penny to his name.
The secretfOf his extraordinary sue
cess lay In quiet, sumptuously fur
nished hack rooms in quiet common
place houses In those somber streets
that nestle In and around Mayfair,
Chemin de fer, poker faro. sometimes
roulette wheel, and the gilded illers
Of old British aristocracy would be
swarming round like moths about
candle. They seem to have an
intuitive sense for such places.
these folk, Where the average
man would pass by without com,
ment, they nudge ones elbow and
whisper, That's old s0-and-so's place.
If ever you feel inclined for a quiet
fiutter'-that notorious "Quiet tiutter.
signifying anything from, a tive-pound
note to $500 or so. #
Among this select .coterie are men
and women of doubtful nationality,
who make best use of their business
for extracting information Of their
more highly connected clientele. This
was proved in the case Of a recent
raid, where the woman proprietor was
discovered to be an agent in German
pay. Thus they attain a double OBJ
ject. .c@s
Women Worse Than the Men,. {
But there Is also another class who
frequent these places. Manufacturers
from provincial munition districts,
flushed with their new and easily won
fortunes, and Wishing to. be in the so
cial swim, run blindly into these well.
baited tSaps. Perhaps their unp!eas.
ant experience gives them wisdom.
They never repeat the performance.
They belong to that eternal type which
thinks it can beat the thief at his own
game. They are gamblers forothe same
reason thai, ,drugtakers and dipsomani-
acs are what they are. They can't
help It,, ea. +;
The women are worse even than the
men. AT least GO per cent more Of Rle
other sex favor the green table. They
take their gambling seriously dead
seriously. To them. Is nothing Of the
sporting element Of the affair; It is
cutthroet business Of pay and receive.
Once a woman is seized with the
gambling ''bue" nothing on earth can
hold her. It is the first step Of the
many great. tragedies of life. Il
Tragedy Of an Aviator's. Wife.
! Perhaps one Of the most tragic In
stances. Of this nature was that Of the
wife of commander in the British fly
ing corps. Prior to-, the, war he was a
member Of the. stock exchange, and
they lived In quiet village 80 miles
from London. When he Joined the col
ors they sold their, home and the wife
went to live In town-in a tiny flat In
Knightsbridge. She, was little more
than q. child. and q charmingly unso-
phisticated one at that. so fell easy
victim to the gamblers Swiles.
They, got, hold, Of her through the
maltre dhotel Of the. restaurant she
frequented-eyen the smartest maitres
d'hotel and head walters are. some.
times, though unwittingly, the ,instru-
ments Of the c0nfederates, who go to
the restaurants as. part Of their daily
business to get at the lonely men and,
women with money who are.to be dis
covered In every London hotel. One
day charming woman of distinguished
appearance strolled over to her table
with polite request to share 1t with
her. Consent was, readily given, and
they got into conversation.
! The welcome stranger sympathized
with her, loneliness, and finished by In
viting har to dainty maisonette off
Park lane. After dinner cards were
produced. And the fleeing had begun.
BY the time her husband was able to
get home on leave and rescue her the
unhappy woman had been robbed of
the best part of $4,000.
Organized Like 4 Company.
That,is only one of the brilliant
methods employed. This international
gang-itss agents cover every city and
large town in the world-even in the
enemy countries-is organized like a
company, on proft-sharing basis.
There are trusted agents at every port,
fashion center and lligh-class health
resort. 1t is the business Of these
agents to live in princely style, grad
ually werming their way into the con-
fidence of the notables Of the locality,
giving full detailed reports of their
movements and business transactions
to a general headquarters.
When q moneyed man OF woman
sets out from one country to. another
the agent at the port of embarkation
wires full particulars of his-or her
N lIeXT,eneV