NIGHT CLUBS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11510, 5 October 1915, Page 6

NIGHT CLUBS.

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A BISHOP'S DENUNCIATION. GAMBLING ANI> JIAtINTS OP VICE. By Telegraph—Pre«» Assoriaticm—Opyrigh'. IyOMH)X, October 4. Tho Bishop of Ijond'on mado a vigorous denunciation of night clubs in London, declaring that they mostly woro haunts and hunting grounds of sharks and loose women. Their existence in war time was a national danger. Tho London Council for the Promotion of Public Morality had kept tho clubs under observation tor months, and now v. as placing cvidenco beroro tho authorities. The Bishop urges that they ought to deal drastically with tho owner* oi: ol amusement which young t>oldi?rf? cannot visit u ithout dancer. Tho newspapers endorse tho Bishop s don .mciation. A nuinhor of clubs recently have been cloned', but the police have difficulty in procuring conclusive evidence. en ion Tho existence of a gambling resort in Connaught Sciuaro, whore a number of Armv officers played cliemm-de-fer, rovoaled in tho course of evidence t,endered at a ■general court-martial presided over by 'Major-General Lord' ('heylesniore, is a proof that tho poiioe havo not yet stamped out all tho gan> bling hells in London. Most of tho gambling that takes place now is not chouiin-do-for, which is an illegal game, but poker, which is loyally permitted providing the club wEaro it is played does not tako any portion of the turnover. Tho properly conducted clubs, of course, have no need' for any such financial support j it is tho poker clubs which have sprung up and down tho West End on winch the police need to keep thei'.r cyo. Jnie owners livo on tho out ox the jackpot, and there is one Belgravian poker club so well patronised that it niakeo £-50 a night out of the cagnotte. TOUTS EMPLOYED. Tho people who aj'o at the back of these illegal poker clubs are former proprietors of chemin-de-fer hells, and they pay a capitation fee varying from a sovereign to two sovereigns a head to mon about town for _cach player they introduce, or they will provide tout with money to play himself. There is ©very inducement for men finding time to hang on their handsi to visit thesepoker clubs, which are generally situated in ; a charmingly furnished tlat, for supper, v.'ino and cigars are all provided free by the proprietors. Ihe great thing is to get people to go there. Once on the paemisos the wine and the lure of watching the game act as an irresistible temptation. It is questionable, however^ whether as much money passes at ' poker clubs where there is a cagnotte as at chemin-de-fer clubs. HEAVY LOSSES. The son of an earl now at tho front, it is known, lost recently £3OOO in chemin-de-fer played at a house in trie West End. A notorious ex-gam bring house proprietor, <piite a young man, by the way, admitted the"other day that ho had.' £60,000 represented by 1 O IPs gambling debts of honour, one man alone being responsible for £15,000 of this amount. Presumably he would bo very glad to exchange these pfomissory notes for a tenth of their face value in cash. According to his own statement, his biggest cagnotte in one night was £I3OO, secured on a turnover or £'sooo. Not a!T the people who visit these gambling hells lose. For instance, _ a few weeks ago an officer in- the service while at dinner received an invitation to take part in u a nice game" in a house off Sloane Street. He drove up in a taxicab, told the driver to wait for him, and, with the taximeter ticking all the time, he calmly sat down and' won £4OO, although lio had onlj £lO with him to begin with. _ A woman who ran a ohemin-de-fer establishment near Victoria Station has £50,000 in I O U's. One gambing house proprietor made £40,000 before he gave it up, and then went and lost every penny in starting other businesses. A famous jockey* won £4OOO and a peer's son £3OOO at his place, in one week, though .subsequently they lost every penny. Tho heir of a weli-Tniown carl lost between £20,000 and £30,000 in cliemm-de-fer. The father of another lioir to an earl's coronet has just settled a gambling-house proprietor's huge claim against his son, paying a proportion oi the amount As the .lei't could • '>t havo been recovered by legal process, the gambling hell-own-er wa« vtvv glad to get anything. It his ! oi-n proved' that if the gamo lasi long enough the proprietor of a gambl'Ug hell practicaly collars the lot played' for. Every time a stake is won ho deducts 10 per cent for the cagnotteFrequently tho process of exhausting at least the larger part of tho money that changes hands during the evening is helped by the introduction of one or two expert players who play for the house. If they lose, they are fed from the cagnotte; if they win, so much the better for the establishment.