The New York herald., 1921-07-24

then pocketed their losses stoically These
new money kings come determined to win,"
said the croupier; they put their money on
the baize and then try to slip 1t off If they
see that the game is turning against them.
They win noisily and make a racket when
they finally lose. German stolidity does not
show itself now at the gaming table,"
At this table there was a Russian noble
man who was playing his last jewel. Dur
ing the last two years many Russian exiles
came here with diamonds and jewels, con-
verted them into paper marks and lived
hard and fast. But their money has fast
been ebbing away. One of the last luxurious
Russian gambling clubs located Inter den
Linden, recently failed, and was closed by
the police for falling behind in paying the
usual rake Off" to the members of the po-
lice gambling squad, 1 am told.
These Russians have been a strain on
our ingenuity" a croupier declared. Their
card morality is that anything goes In
order to protect ourselves we have had 70
learn their tricks. and to use them, too, on
occasion Every one here talks about honor.
They give their words of honor to pay back
debts tomorrow This may mean next week
or not at all. OF course. when we hold the
bank in old conservative clubs we remain
correct But when we operate in these So
called wild clubs we do not hesitate to fix
the cards to secure our gain"
Heavy Losses Seldom Drive
The Stoiid German to Suicide
The path of the loser in Germany is not
suicide, as is often the fate of gamblers in
Monte Carlo and I'm other Latin countries.
The German, 1t seems, must suffer much
greater misfortune before he loses his inn
passivity. Losers often disappear from sight
and turn up a year or two later with more
money again. Sometimes they themselves
attempt to recoup their fortunes by turning
their homes into clubs and trying on others
what succeeded on them.
II they are foreigners who lose and have
no profession in Germany, they find their
way TO the various internment camps. There
are thousands of undesirables now I'm these
camps mostly Eastern peoples who, like
moths fluttered about the bright lights OF
Berlin, only to fall with their wings singed.
The gambling epidemic in Germany Is a
side of the social Generalization following
the war. The craze reached its pinnacle
about the middle Of 1919. when the German
people were still in the midst Of their polit-
ical upheavel and were trying 10 forget that
they would have to bear the consequences
OF defeat. The gambling plague began 90
decline when people decided TO go back to
work and factory wheels started turning
again. Gambling is now getting a new short
lease of life through the new heavy taxation
burdens. which irresponsible people now seek
desperately to evade. None the less there n
a gradual decline In numbers and a real de
crease in the amount Of money wasted IN
this way. This indicates that there is less
money being made now than there was a
year ago. and consequently less to be thrown
away The ranks Of the German proletarat
are increasing.
This does not mean, however. that the
gambling craze is dying out On the con-
trary the number Of penny roulette wheels.
race tracks and slot machines is larger than
ever throughout Germany. but the Eldorado
days Of the gilded gambling den are passing