Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, August 18, 1881, Page 2

" SARATOCA. John Morrissey’s Legitimate Suc- 0essor, Description of the Greatest Gambling Hell in America. A Picture of a Night in the Club Houee, Charles Reed's Curlouns Cottage. St. Louis Republican The successor of John Morrisscy at Saratoga is Charles Reed, a brawny six-footer, with full beard, heavy over- topping fore-locks and broad shoul- ders. Although now the payest of sports, he was once under the sentence of death in New Orleans for having shot a Union solder. Ben Butler was in favor of hanging him, but Gen. Banks pardoned him, The club house te the Congress park is the most ing gambling hell in America, made into a gilded palace of sin. The house is of brick, with an ornamental front and an L extension, whero pools were formally sold, and where a bar i8 now kept. . The flower garden at the corner has a fountain, casting spray over beds of ferns, palms and foliage plants. There is a lawn on the opposite side of the house, in the cen- tre of which is a cistern containing live trout. Upon the cross street there are several cottages for the use of male friends of the proprietor. Reed has o small army of men in his em- ploy, and he keeps them all beneath the roof his club-house, so that when he wants them he' knows where to find them. He makes himself % factor in the politics of Saratoga, so that he is not disturbed. , Gev. Cornell’s pro- clamation against gambling houses has had no perceptible effect here, ‘“‘How is it,” I asked of an old rbsident, ‘‘that in New York gambling must be conducted 8o secretly, while here, where the same law is in force, it is almost paraded?’™ “‘Just because,” he said, ‘“‘public opinion ' tolerates it here, ed’s club hbuse is one of Saratoga's insti- tutions.* It brings many people here who otherwise would not come, and 1t brings money to the town." ‘If one does not know the side en- trance which leads into the olub house, he can enter by ringing the front'door-bell. A negro opens the «oor, does not say a word, and if the ‘visitor will put on a look for a mo- ment 'conveying the idea that he knows where he is going to, he is ad- mitted into a grand hall, richly car- peted. There 1s a restaurant there, ‘where the best oooking in Saratoga may be had. ' To the left is a reading- room with high ceiling, massive glass chandeliers, big tables and easy furni- ture. ~ The interior woodwork is all of polished walnut, but the walls are a8 yet bare and are staring white. The great gambling room is on the right. ‘It is brilliantly lighted and richly furnished, and t‘o air is filled With excitement which at once has a seductive effect upon the innate spirit of gnmblins in every man. Rich ta- bles around the reom have each a ol rout" for a different game. The tables are splendid pieces of mechan- ism. They are covered with hilliard cloth and are rioh? inlaid, A¥ each tables there sits a dealer employed by the house, One old man attracted ll‘ll{l attention. His hair and long, full beard were as white as snow. He soemed to have been all of his long life in the nefarious business, and he had a cold and flinty 100k and manner. He was alone behind a table, rattling dico in a box and exclaiming to him- welf over the good luck of his throws, No on; mmlod :o care to pha):i l;in e, but as the loungers passe he & :::?lud the dice, threw them and chuckled. The bait, however, did not catch, The reason was because all attention was riveted upon two games. One was faro. A middle- aged man with that ghastly complex- ion men who work their brains at night get, sat as dealer. A silver- iox, the size of a pack of cards with a strong spring in the bottom, wwe beforo him, The ““lay out” was of cards of ivory, set into the billiard cloth. = A half-dozen men sat sround the table, Some had charts keeping tally of the game to get at the ‘“‘habit” of the cards, and also to keep a run of the cards at each deal. ~ Each player had a pile of ivory buttons, called *“chips,” before him, and he placed these upon differ- ent cards about the table. As the dealer slipped out a eard, the one that appeared determined the fate of players. If the house svon the deal- er would rake in the chips, and if the yer won he would place a chip on one that was upon the winning card, There was not word uttered at the e, No one expressed surprise, satiefaction or regret. A young man at the end of tha table,'scarce twenty- one, who scemed to have fallen heir to an estate, was playing recklessly and twitched nervously as he supplied the places of the chips that were off. A seed-looking man of about thirty who seemed to have “*bucked the tiger” for the worse, lost all that he had and quickly gave up his seat. It was taken by an old man with a severe cast of features ‘who handed in a $20 bill and took a sfi-olu! chips. He waited for a fresh and placed a half a dozen chips ou the board. He raked in five dol- lars. He played cautiously and in about ten minutes he handed in §35 worth of chips for which he got cash. Then he lupied away, The dealer id for the chips from a blank book with bank notes and impassively handed out the money, made a pencil memorandum of the amount and went on with the deal, The seedy-looking man had raised 86 somewhere and he handed it in for more chips. In about five minutes these were all raked off and heaving a deep sigh he arose, and :.Irn( his brow with his hand, went into the cool night air. “Do blers consider this a fair | th gamel” T asked a er at my elbow, iTho. deat s (e he Tt " the house makes its money on the understands how to bring the eards together so that they split or will come out two alike.” The game that attracted most atten- tion, however, was rogie et noir, more commonly called here roulette. About 300 men were packed like sardenes around a long table, in the centre of which there was a_revolving wheol, at the bottom of a hole shaped liken dish-pan. This wheel is filled with alternate slots, colored red and black, and numbered as high as 36. Squares of black and red of corresponding numbers are laid out upon the table to the right and left of the wheel. The dealer throws a marble in an opposite direction to which the wheel is revoly- ing, and the players place their chips about upon the black or the red, whichever thoy play to win. The ball runs around the surface of the sloping side of the wheel for about a minute and a half and then drdps into one of the slots,” Tf black, black wins, and the player who has his chips upon say No. 30 black—gets 30 times the amount he has played. Tne dealer sweeps in all of the remaining chips upon the cloths While'much money is won by the winmer the chances in his favor are small. The game is now all the rage. Everybody discusses it, and neatly everyone who goes to the club-house plays it. There were beardless boys, certainly n their teens, who were playi side of old men. I saw afamiliar face in a chair at one end of the table, It was that of a speculator, who is not known to fame, but who is in fact one of the shrewdest operators in Wall streeet, having made over a million dollars by earcful speculation there. He was playing with the same care at roulette, and seemed to be a winner. Tom Ochiltree—who s it that hasn't heard of him and his stories -said that there was a Jew out west who bought all of the privileges at a county tair, and among others that of Faving ous mechanism worked by a wire stir- rup beneath the table, by which he could with his foot regulate the re- volving wheel so as to make the ball drop in black or red just as it suited his advantage. He had somuch other business that he had to leave a broth- er Israelite in charge of the wheel. a8 luck would have 1it, there came along a reckless man just then, who put down about $200 wpon the red, and won, The Jew came running u; in great excitemnent, exclaming witrx an oath to his employe. ‘‘Vat for you gif me away so for?” “Don’t hit me! Don't hit me!” said the man be- hind the table, ““You must oxcuse me, Isaac, my foot was asleep.’’ ““What is the biggest winnings you over knew of 1" I asked of an experi- enced New Yorker. “I have heard many fabulous sto- ries,” said he, ‘‘but I will speak onl, of what I know. I saw Ben Wood, former proprietor of The Daily News one night at a ‘Republican’ game of faro, that is a game made up of gam- blers, win $125,000. He borrowed $2,600 from Judge McCann to begin on, and he went away with every ket stuffed with checks and bills, 'he cigar seller in the gambling rooms told me that Wood that night smoked 870 worth of cigars.” ““That is impossible.” “A fact, assure you, He took cigars costing labout one dollar each, and lighting one end, began in his nervous way to eat the other, and in about two rifjmutes ho would take a fresh one.” Had Tom Ochiltree told this story I wouid have said so, for Tom tells some pyramidal yarns, telling events all of which he saw, and a part of which he was, but a sedate lawyer, who at the same time knows New York life, is my authority. One of Ochiltroe's stories, that of the poker ghyar with a patent vest, may be old, ut it is worth telling. According to Tom, this man cleaned out Texas, including Tom himself and the late Col. Jim Major, well known in Mis- sourl. He beat every crack poker player in the country, and the natives were perplexed. Finally he went away and Tom b:fim to think over his tricks. He 1made up his mind that the man had an improved meth- od, and getting in his track, followed him up and told him some Ochiltrec- ans and won his confidence. Then the poker player coufessed that he wore a patent vest, lined with delicate mochanism and worked by wires lead- ing to the toes; that he always exam- top of his vest and by dropping a poor card into his sleeve, Ke could work up one to suit the others from the paste- board arsenal he had next to his shirt. There is a great tendency to swap lies at Saratoga, but no omne tries to match Ochiltree, Reed's gambling house is kept open nearly all night. At 10 o'clock the next morning his force, looking tired and worn out, are pool-selling and book - making at the race track. In going out to the race course one es Reed's cottage. It is a choice it of architecture, and has the sur- reundings of a man of wealth and liberality, Some well-dressed women are on the piazza at their needle work, The general effect of the cot- tage in its exterior is to impress one that its owneris a man of artistic taste. A closer examination, however, shows that “You may daub and bedizen the man as you will, But the mp of the vulgar remains on him still,” In the strained glass windows he has enwrought in a fifteenth centur }ml(en\, pictures of himself and dif- erent members of his family, und that alongside of the dying gladiator he has pictures of his fiul‘lvu and jockeys.” Buch an affront to good taste is an advertisement of the man whose name and business would other- wise be spoken at the springs in a whisper. Reed is at the race-course early, hat tipped back and cigar in mouth. He dresses in a suit of Scotch fmy and has usually a fancy neck-tie. 1e is muscular and can 1f necessary fight his own wuy with Morrissey's old wer, The spirit of gambling infests Sara- toga. Women as well as men bet at the races, and when the former win they are so delighted that they follow e horse and jockey with loving oyes, but when they lose their money, they often also lose their temper, The poorest exhibition of merican women to be seen anywhere at the watering-places in this country is surely afforded at Saratogo. Old women with hair as white as snow, come to the races bareheaded and in low-cut dresscs, Their attitudes a roulette table. ~ He had an ingeni- || med his. hand on a level with the | would be vulgar and eourse in a pret- ty young nctress. In aged grand- mothers they are nauseating. They bet, talk the slang of the poker table and race course, and speak of men by their first name, The girls in their teens also bet, and one hears in pass- ing & group of children on the streets sophisticated discussions upon what French pools pay, and how the odds stand on the next day's races, A nine-year old boy in my hearing of fered to mateh another drinks at a soda-water fountain, Betting is all the rule. Poker parties are held late at night in the gnests’ rooms. Me about town sail through the lobbies of the hotels with a queen of the demi-mcnde on each arm, money kings hob-nob with knaves. The bell boy, black as the ace of spades, gam- bles with his fellow on the chance of getting a tip from the next call. Tt takes gold to shine at s for the waters, gold for the wine for the waiter, when you dine —every- thing yields to the magic touch of monev, but without it nothing is to be obtained. 1In short, at this gay re- sort there sce ns “Nothing nobler, nothing higher Than the unappensed desire, The quenchless thirst for gold,” Zyxo, Huadson River Tannel, New York Herald, Gen. Smith, the engineer in charge | § of the excavations for the Hudson river tunnel, has just tested the work already completed. At the com- mencement of the work, while the tunnel was being excavated through make ground, consisting largely of cinders, it was found impossible to maintain the required pressure, as the |3 air escaped through the loose material, but as the tunnel was advanced it was thought that the closely-packed silt would be sufiicient to retain the air and that there was no chance of its escaping. This proved to be so as ong as the air was kept at a pressure twenty-six pounds to the square inch, With that pressure the moisture oozed through in drops, and the pumps were always able to carry it | off. "On Thursday afternoon Gen, Smith determined to test the power of resitance of the brick work so that the air pressure in the tunnel could be reduced, and the consequent fatigue to the men working 1n the compressed air obviatod as far as possible. The men werd ordered out of the works at halt past 2 p. m., and immediately the engines wero slacked up and the pros- sure of air reduced to twenty pounds per square inch. Almost as soon as the high pressure was taken off, the silt began to squeeze in slowly between the bricks at du.- head of the south tunnel. The leakage of air increased to a greater extent than the engineer had calculated on, the overlying silt being much more porcus than that en- countered at the first part of the works, and the water began to pour in, As the air pressure was reduced still further, the silt bogan to squeeze through the interstices ot the new briok work until it reached the hard finished brick, where it stopped. The silt that has squeezed in will have to be excavated, and this will cause some delay. As soon as the effect of the reduced pressure became apparent, Gen. Smith ordered the full pressure of twenty-six pounds per square inch tobe put on again, and the leakage was lt?&ped at once. As taken from the heading, tfy, silt is puddled with clear water pumped in from a stand pipe in the shaft at the mouth of the tunnel, and is then forced out through a six-inch pipe by the air-pressure in the tunnel. As the silt is removed from the headings the iron plates are put in position. The plates are a quarter of an inch thick and two feet six inches wide. Some of them are six feet and some three feet long, and each has a two aud a half inch flange all around it, through which it is bolted to the plates on all four sides. Additional strength is given Ly ‘‘breaking the {'uin!n”na the different sections are olted together. Inside this outer shell is a wall of hard-burned brick, Iaid in cement. The wall, or lining, is two feet thick, and, extending com- pletelyaround the interior, presents the formof an archagainstoutside pressure, either vertical or lateral. The pres- ent flow of silt will not delay work more than forty-eight hours. Our Glorious Independence. What can 1 orious than to cansed by d § the stomach. by a timely uso of Burdoc Price 81,00, trial B ze 10 cents, eodlw Tunune, ng Mt Blanc. The statement which has been cab- led that the Swiss are very much in censed because the French have de- termined to build a new tunnel for a railway to Italy, through Mt. Blanc, instead of through Mt. Simplon, is no doubt true, but the fecling is none the less an absurd one. In the Mt. Cenis tunnel the French havea very fair Italian roadway, and nonew one would have been thought of had it not been for the action of the Ger- man government in putting a tunnel through Mt. St. Gothard, thus short- ening by some distance the route from the Euglish Channel to Milan, This has forced the French into a commercial struggle not of their own seeking; but, having entered the con- flict 1t would be foolish on their money in_ a way which would bring to them the best results. Mt. Siplon is quite a|i part not to spend their distance beyond the French border, and a tunnel built there wmight be seized and used by an enemy before the French were on hand to defend their property. Since the aunexation of Savoy, Mt. Blanc, on the contrary, has boen wholly within French terri: tory, and although for economical| i TeRso e line to conneet with a tunnel built there would pass through | * the Swiss Canton of Geneva, the mul- lions of dollars laid out in boring the mountains could not be utilized i the of service of an enemy, without the French had been hopelessly beaten 1n battle and driven many miles back back from ther frontier, —_— Bucklin's Aruiea Salve, The best salve inthe world for euts, bruises, sores, ulcers, salt rhoum, fever sores, tetter, chapped hands, chillblains, corns and all kinds of skin eruptions. This salve is guar- anteed to give perfect satisfaction in every case or money refunded. Price, 2b¢ per box. For sale by Isu & Monasoy, Omaha, v [ den; fter v | ter t SORE THROAT, No_ Preparation on_earth equals 87, JAcons Oir Siwren and anitive proof of ts elaitas DIKECTIONS IN ELEVEN LANGUAGES. $01D BY ALL GRUODISTS ANO DEALERS IN MEDICINE. A. VOGELER & CO. Haltimore, Md., U, ORDINANCE NO, 267, prdained by the city council of the city of C ¥ 1, That the several sums set opposite to the folioning described preinis parts of lots an pitl 3 of ground bel ] FOSTER, MILBURN, & Co., Props, ¢ of Omaha, beand th wsessed as i special © ) «aid Tots and pieces of yrov e being for one-halt the cost and Cass strect in the city of U 3 u ol under contract made by the v of Oha with Duffy Brothers, contractors, improvement béing now entirely com: B T T |1t will do a large family cum 10 O G o ke e g e A I G K e G 1g )| House 1422 Donglas St., near 15th &4 | 18 large and always the lowest prices, d pleces of ground pon said Cass strect so specially taxed aud assossed from 13th street to 24th strect (Omaha strect in Sweesey's addition) city of Omaha, to the now estaolished 1 taxes and assessments made payahle to the thirty (30) days from shall take effect and be and after ity passage, The above tax besomies delin 12th ! which date ten per NOTICE O CONTRACTORS. od proposals will be received by the Board ‘ounty Commissioners of Douglas ) 1., for the erection | Rea Estate Acency, contract and give o ¥ood and sutlicient bond tor the faithtul performance of the work ahould the smme Le awarded to him. Specifications will be application to the county clerk, parato bi woveral parts of the build ing will be considered and all ‘proposals wust bo red by the architect n to the county clerk o Fight to rejoct any oF ali wade upon schedules The Board reserves bids, By order of the Board of Count . Ouwaha, Aug’ 11, THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: 'I'HI’RSI)AY AUGUST 18, 1881. 00 n ity of the liver, and in suffering from dropsy, Bruce Tarner, and 1 to at Bitters relieved me 1 1 feel confident that th all a hottle was used, intirely cure me Asenith Hall, T red with o du 1 Y., writes: “About | k of Dillious fever, My digostive orgns pletely pros- | flos wat T was astonished. | ca do & fair and reasonable day's C. Blacket Robinson, proprietor of The Canada erian, Toronto, Ont., writes: *'For years happiest self in better health Wallnce, Buffalo, N. Y., writes: I have i Hlood Bitters for nervous and bil- es, and can recommend it to anyone cure for billiousness.” ring billious headaches, dys) plaints peculiar t0 Wy ‘sex. Birdocit Blood bitters 1 amentirely relic Price, 81.00 per Bottle; Trial Bottles 10 Cts BUFFALO, N. Y. Sold at wholesale by Ish & McMahon and C. F. dman, Je 27 eed-me DE VEAUX'S WASHING MACHINE The Only Machine that Will Do just as is Advertised. It Will Wash Faster, It Will Wash Cleaner, It Will Wash Easier, It Will require no Rukbing, ‘Washing in 30 Minutes. It Will (Wash Equally welll with Hard or Soft Water- 1t does away with wash boilers and wash boards, and will pay for itself in fulli and the wear of | clothes in a mongh, No steam in the kitchen. A child 10 years ol can do the washing faster than any woman can wring ana hang out the clothes- DAN. SULLIVAN & SONS', dim 1410 Farnham Strect, Agents. DON'TYOU FORGELTT WHEN IN NEED OF BOOTS: SHOES To examine the stock of BASWITZ & WELLS, IEHTWOLS OUR STOCOIK 882,000,000.0, ro and agenty SON \auted. C.'T. TAYLOR & CO, 14th & Douglas St, FU == DEWEY & STONE, RNITURE =T = j RARD&E, CARPETSIGROGCERSLI - J. B. Detwiler’s CARPET STORE. The | argest Stock and Most Com- plete Assortment in The West. We Keep Everything in the Line of Carpets, Oil- cloths, Matting, Window-shades, Fixtures and Lace Curtains. WE HAVE GOODS TO PLEASE EVERYBODY. REMEMBEX THE FPLA . 1313 Farnham St, Omaha. Chas. Shiverick. FURNITURE, BEDDING, Feathers, Window Shades, And Everything pertaining to the Furniture and Up- TraX:. A (fi)m lete Assortment of g ew Goods at the DON'T IT BURN! My house and furni [¢X & lith and 1 Geo.r P Bemis 7| 16th and Dodge Sts., Omaha, Neb. This agency does sTRICTLY & brokerage business. al‘w‘hnolmruhk,‘ulnlmmniluu sy bargaing n 8 are insul W its tastead of beiug vobbled up by the svem’ o 12 Edwarc-i-W.ASiimer;I,‘ ATTORNEY -AT- LAW. 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