Crime -- Illinois -- Chicago; Police corruption -- Illinois -- Chicago; Political corruption -- Illinois -- Chicago
Gambling, although condemned by all moralists as a degrading vice, is
recognized by some as aiding the development of certain qualities of
immeasurable service in the intensity of the struggle for business
existence prevailing in the aggressive commercialism of this age. Lecky
asserts: "Even the gambling table fosters among its more skillful votaries
a kind of moral nerve, a capacity for bearing losses with calmness, and
controlling the force of the desires, which is scarcely exhibited in equal
perfection in any other sphere." Whatever may be the meaning of the phrase
"controlling the force of the desires," it is certain that among the young
men of today, in all classes of society, the desires for intoxicants and
sensuality are past control when associated with gambling. In its most
seductive forms its principal aids are the gilded saloon, and the harlot's
enslaving smile. The necessity for means with which to gratify aroused
passion in both respects, comes through contact with the gaming table;
hence, the houses of ill repute, assignation houses and the innocent
looking "Hotel" nestling in the middle of the down town business blocks,
are the direct allies of the gambling hells in the development of
crime--in adding to, rather than in "controlling" the force of the
desires. "Sensuality," said a distinguished writer, "is the vice of young
men and of old nations." Another, tracing the effects of gaming on human
passions, wisely observes, "the habit of gambling is very often allied
with, and is even an incentive to, the practice of other vices, whose
darkness is beyond dispute. The ordinary aspect of a return from a race
meeting will fully confirm this. There we find that drunkenness,
licentiousness and gambling go hand in hand, a well assorted trio whose
ministry to separate passions is not inconsistent but consistent with
mutual incitement and co-operation in the destruction of the honor and
purity and strength of men."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account