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Show T THE lyWEAfflHMWGHMD GAMBLING . . . Gambling is inherent in human nature. Some there are who consider con-sider gambling the child of avarice avar-ice and the parent of prodigality. Books have been written to warn the masses against this so-called vice. Preachers have lashed themselves them-selves into a fury of eloquence appealing to men to shake off the shackles of this tyrant and thus free themselves from what they have been pleased to call the "mother of liars and perjurers." Gambling establishments have j been termed ".the secret houses of sin." There is not a nation which does not. have laws against gambling, ,but nevertheless it thrives, and one may say with safety that as long as two men live there is a possibility of them gambling regarding the outcome of some disputed event of personal per-sonal interest. I believe that the greatest gamblers in all the world are the Chinese and. I am inclined to think that the Hindoos are their close seconds, if not their equals. I have often had Hindoo mer- chants offer to gamble with me whether I would pay a less price than asked for the goods I had inspected with a view of purchasing; purchas-ing; and when I now and then won, they accepted defeat with a smile. Even Hindoo cooliesi whose incomes rarely average more than fifteen cents a day, will gamble on anything upon which a bet can be made. Incidentally, they have perhaps the fairest gambling game in all the world a game in which the hand of man cannot alter results. re-sults. During the monsoon in India In-dia that is the season of great storms and heavy rains which take place every day a group of coolie laborers will gather about a tub or large bucket placed beneath a rain spout. These rains invariably start at three o'oclock in the afternoon af-ternoon and continue for from two to four hours, the downpour being intense. The owner of the receptacle has a piece of chalk. Anyone may take the chalk and mark a spot on the inside of the container where he thinks the rain will come, using his initials or a mark to identify himself; and the banker bank-er will pay three for one, provided the rain reaches that particular spot. 1 |
