one (let " the sportsman " be never so clever and
cunning), there are in addition other and more
potent reasons of force. Yes ! forcible reasons
why the respectable person should not meddle with
it, at least, until the greatest reforms have taken
place.

Look, for instance, at the class and character
of those regularly participating and taking part in
betting pursuits and attending race meetings. Think
for a moment who and what the majority are. I



THE DELUDED SPORTSMAN 109

advisedly say the majority, and I wish to emphasise
it. Ask the police ; ask the railway people ; ask
any one who has to come in contact with them.
Betting and the race meetings collect together huge
assemblies of the lowest and vilest scoundrels on
earth — thieves, cheats, ruffians, highwaymen, vaga-
bonds, returned convicts, castaways, ne'er-do-wells,
welshers, card -sharpers, tricksters, foul-mouthed
quadrupeds, villains, and the worst form of humanity
that it is possible to get together — many of them
superbly clothed and well dressed — all, all, in some
way or other preying upon the thousands upon
thousands of the fools of backers in one way or
another. This is truth ; deny it who can ! Can
any one name an attraction that draws together
one-tenth of this scum of the earth ? No ; we all
know it. Don't let me be misunderstood, for good-
ness' sake ! I am not inferring that all who attend
race meetings are to be classed in the above fright-
ful category. Certainly not. We have the very
best people — the most respectable, the politest of
persons, from the highest in the land to the lowliest
— in their thousands also ; but I should say that for
every respectable person there are fifty otherwise.

Every decent sportsman will, I am sure, cor-
roborate my remarks and join me in protesting
against the apathy that exists in not clearing the
race meetings of the human filth and vile scum and
villainy that they now attract. Every respectable
bookmaker desires it, for he is a great sufferer in
consequence. He goes about in fear and trembling ;
he has always to be on the alert against assault



110 BETTING AND GAMBLING

and robbery ; he has to pay heavy expenses to pro-
tect himself, and, above all, his occupation is uni-
versally condemned by " society in general " (I mean
by those who do not enter into sporting matters)
as a low, detestable one, and he is looked upon as a
doubtful character, as a pest to society, principally
through the doings of the army of scamps I have
referred to. A respectable bookmaker sees a welsh-
ing job going on — a downright robbery taking place.
He sees welshing in its various forms ; he would
like to expose it and the parties taking part in it,
but he positively cannot do so. He must silently
acquiesce; he must not on any account open his
mouth, or — or what ? Why, his life would not
be worth two penn'orth of cold gin, as the saying
goes.

" Yes," you say, " how can all this be altered ?
What is the remedy ? Tell the Eoyal Commission
now sitting and inquiring into this subject. They
will thank you ! " Well, I will answer these ques-
tions simply and at once.

1. You must make every race meeting " a
place," and abolish betting there as it is now openly
carried on.

Note. — The law as it at present stands is an
absurdity. If it is illegal to bet in a house or
street, it should be just as illegal to bet at a race
meeting or elsewhere. Such a simple alteration
of the law would at once sweep away much of the
human filth, and be of inestimable benefit to the
honourable bookmaker proper. There is no mis-
take about it ; it must be done if the present
awful state of affairs is to be done away with.



THE DELUDED SPOETSMAN 111

2. Betting you will never stop ; but it can be
controlled for the benefit of the community at large,
and so you must license the bookmaker. In so doing
you must not give a license to any one who thinks fit
to apply for one — such as an auctioneer gets his
license, or a person keeping a horse or dog gets his.
No ! no ! no ! The licensed bookmaker must be a
highly respectable man — never been in trouble;
and he should be required to deposit in Somerset
House or some other Government place a sum of
money — say £500 or £1000 — to prove his respon-
sibility, which should be attachable for any proved
unpaid claim against him. The licensed bookmaker
should then be permitted to make bets on the race-
course only. His license should be subject to revo-
cation for misconduct.

3. All bets should be in writing, or rather
tickets should be given similar to a pawnbroker's
way of doing business, and amounts due to either
party should be recoverable at law.

Note. — The suggestions 2 and 3 would, I
believe, positively abolish welshing : would be
welcomed by all honourable sportsmen, and, above
all, would positively purify the various race-courses,
and put a permanent stop to the hundred and one
forms of abused and nefarious betting which now
are rampant throughout the land.

4. A law should be made abolishing clubs, or
offices, or houses kept by starting-price bookmakers ;
and it should be illegal to carry on a betting business
either personally, by letter, or by telegram, except
on a race-course by a duly licensed bookmaker.



112 BETTING AND aAMBLING

Note, — My brother bookies will open their eyes
in abject astonishment at this suggestion, and all
kinds of awful anathemas will be heaped upon my
poor old anonymous noddle, quite unnecessarily
and too soon, for they would soon see that such a
step would be to their benefit. Again, be it observed,
that unless betting is to be absolutely abolished
altogether, the small sportsman, with the harpy,
the welshers, and the villains, must be got rid of
to make betting a respectable business, and to rid it
for ever of the fearful and deserved disrepute that
now surrounds it. Well, do away with the stay-
at-home S.P. bookmaker, and there is the remedy!
All good S.P. men can as well carry on their busi-
ness at a race meeting as at home ; and if they
cannot — well, turn it up ! Starting-price bookies
are the great sinners with the small backer ; it is
with them that the workman, the clerk, the shop-
man, the small tradesman — to sum up, the impe-
cunious backer, all go or do business with, and it is
principally and mainly with them that the betting
is done ; it is they who foster small betting, and
thus indirectly are the cause of nearly all the dis-
repute which hangs around betting revealed from
time to time in the police courts and in other ways.
Abolish the stay-at-home S.P. bookmaker, with
clubs, his offices and houses, and the very greatest
blessing will at once be conferred upon the book-
makers generally, and upon the community at large.
It is positively astounding to think of the thousands
of S.P. bookmakers — large and small — mostly
small, miserable, moneyless beings, scattered all
over the country everywhere ; these are the men
who do the business with the men and persons who
have not the means to and certainly have no right
to bet. Do away with this business, and the
atmosphere will be enormously cleared.



THE DELUDED SPORTSMAN 113

5. Now something must be said about the news-
papers, for they are very great sinners in encouraging
small betting. I am, however, more particularly
concerned about the small backer, the ruin he brings
upon himself and those connected with him, and the
discredit he brings also upon the legitimate betting
business. The man who can attend the various race
meetings, and there can see for himself what is going
on, the number of the horses running in a race, the
jockeys riding, and knows the odds for and against,
is, of course, in a far better position than the stay-
at-home backers, or in other words the " small
sportsmen" who have neither the means nor the
knowledge to bet on horse-racing, and simply do so
almost in the dark, on mere chance, or mere news-
paper tips, naps, and advice written the day before
the race. The morning halfpenny papers, of course,
get much of their information from the large daily
papers. " Morning betting " has been proved to be
(as we of course know) entirely fictitious, and so is
much else referring to sporting matters and sup-
posed ante betting. The small stay-at-home sports-
man absolutely relies on newspaper recommendations,
good or bad, to guide him, and so if the publication
of betting prices is prohibited, and also it be made
illegal to give " selections," and to recommend any
horse or horses to bet upon, the " good thing of the
day," " to back it win and place," and the many
other ways in which backing horses is publicly and
openly and in many cases suspiciously advised and
recommended, is made illegal and prohibited, such
a step would be welcomed by the good bookmaker,

I



114 BETTING AND GAMBLING

would cut away much nefarious doings, and would
confer a lasting benefit on the small backer in
general, although possibly he might not at first see
it. .There need not be anything to prevent the
usual reports of race meetings, including the betting
thereat, with the starting prices and the usual reports
of horses entered for the various races, with their
chances of winning ; that is all right enough, but
it is the wanton and mischievous system of " selec-
tions," "naps," and recommendations to bet that
does the harm to the small backer, and to racing in
general.

Another matter is that " tipsters' " advertise-
ments should be entirely suppressed. Of course
many of the large daily papers refuse them alto-
gether. Unfortunately, however, they are permitted
in other papers. How any person with a grain of
sense can send coin to any of these advertising
tipsters is a marvel to me. Still they flourish on
fools' money. Bead through the said advertisements
and form your own opinion. Let any sensible person
put it to himself. If these tipsters are so sure, why
don't they themselves back their predictions, and
secure the easy fortunes they advise others to get ?

Turf commission agents' and Turf accountants'
advertisements should also seriously be revised. I
am, of course, not condemning the well-known firms
doing business under the above designation, but for
every safe, respectable man there are many " wrong
uns," so the only plan seems to be to seriously
revise the advertisements, or reject them altogether.
Besides, every one knows that the descriptions are



THE DELUDED SPOKTSMAN 115

incorrect. What is a Turf commission agent ?
What is a Turf accountant ? Generally a " starting-
price bookmaker." But such descriptions are also
used by suspicious persons having no genuine occu-
pation of the kind, simply to hide their identity.
Thus my suggestion will be, I am sure, welcome to
the hona fide firms.

The Jockey Club do not now settle betting dis-
putes, nor do they openly countenance " betting."
The races are supposed to be run on the same lines'
as athletic sports are conducted, viz. the prizes
offered of themselves are expected to be of sufficient
value to induce owners of horses to compete. Oh,
what a big farce ! Of course, many of the wealthy
owners keep race-horses solely for the sport and
honour of winning races, and do not care a fig for
betting, whilst of course, on the other hand, a vast
number of owners of horses look to betting as the
means to recoup their heavy expenses, and to " win
a bit " besides — in many instances vainly so — for
it is admitted all round that owning race-horses is
a very expensive sport, and can only be indulged in
by persons having " lots of coin." It is, however,
quite impossible to disassociate horse-racing from
betting. Stop the betting at race meetings — give
prizes only — and what would be the inevitable
result ? Why, the race meetings would almost cease
to take place.

Now, to all interested in a business way with
racing, viz. the race-course company, the trainer,
the jockey, the bookmaker proper, the newspaper
proprietor, and many others, it must be apparent,



116 BETTING AND GAMBLING

that unless something soon takes place, legally, to
" clear the course," and to prevent betting by small
impecunious backers, that an Act of Parliament will
be passed to stop betting on horse-racing altogether.
Make no mistake, it will assuredly come, unless the
small sportsman who has no means to speculate in
betting is got rid of. It is the small backer who
really has caused and is causing all the mischief.
It is he who supports the host of vagabonds and
thieves I have referred to, and so, in conclusion, I
sincerely hope and trust that all my respectable
brother bookies will take all I have said in good
meaning, and as being written for the best. Let
them unite with me to bring about the reforms
hinted at in this scribble. I have pointed out, I
think, clearly to the small backer that in backing
horses he can but lose his money. Let the thousands
of them all over the country seriously consider, with
common sense, the remarks I have made, then I am
certain that they will " turn up the game." Leave bet-
ting to those with money to rashly speculate, and then
the small, petty sportsman will do himself a good
turn, and would very much oblige the legitimate
bookmakers, who would then cease to designate him
" The Deluded Sportsman."

Finally, I am egotistical enough to say that if
the alterations and reforms I have sketched out
above are resorted to, that the Turf scandals which
so frequently take place would not and could not
arise.



GAMBLING AND CITIZENSHIP

By J. Ramsay MacDonald

The devotees of the Goddess of Fortune are found
in all societies, from the Kaffir tribe to the sensuous
coteries of our own civilisation. The moment of
uncertainty v^hich lapses between the casting of the
dice and the discovery of the result, between the
dealing of the cards and the examination of the
hand, between the starting of the ball and its settle-
ment in a pocket, is an alluring experience which
rules conduct in proportion to the weakness of the
moral character and the disorganisation of the
intellectual life. The unknown must always have
a fascination for men, and that fascination, centred
on trivial things and joined with cupidity, marks
the low state of intelligence and morals in which
gambling flourishes.



Almost every observer to-day agrees that betting
has reached colossal proportions and is still in-
creasing. At the street corner, in the newsagent's
and tobacconist's shop, in the barber's saloon, in the
club, in the public-house, in the factory, the book-

117



118 BETTING AND GAMBLING

maker or his agent is ready to receive the money of
men, women, and children, and victims of the habit
are at hand to lead astray the novices still un-
initiated in the worship of the seductive goddess.

The chief characteristic of the present outburst
of the gambling habit is that it is becoming a class
disease. People of experience seem to be pretty
much agreed that those living on the marginal line
of poverty and those on the marginal line of respect-
ability are specially liable to fall victims to the
habit. Both of these classes have in common a
feeling that their lives are profoundly unsatisfactory.
The dreary drudgery of the life of a wage-earner
who oscillates between 15s. and 25s. a week, with
an occasional turn of nothing at all ; the unsatisfied
craving in the life of a man too proud to take his
place amongst the working classes but too poor and
despised to be received in professional ranks — can
only lead astray those doomed to them.

To both of these marginal groups the mental
excitement and pecuniary allurements of " trying
their luck " are almost irresistible, and, though they
join in nothing else and in every other respect are
poles asunder, they go together to throw their
coppers before Fortuna lest haply she may return
them favours an hundredfold.

That, I take it, is the most significant feature of
the present spread of gambling. It is the evidence
of social failure showing itself in the conduct of
social groups or classes. It therefore flourishes with
other disquieting symptoms, such as the inordinate
love of spectacular effect, the demand for mere



GAMBLING AND CITIZENSHIP 119

amusement, the distaste for serious and strenuous
effort, the spread of drunkenness — all pointing to a
poverty of personality, a bareness of the inner
chambers of the mind, occurring in such a way as
to indicate that we are faced not merely with the
moral breakdown of isolated individuals but with
the results of a serious failure on the part of society.
We have to deal not merely with individual lapses
but with a social disease. From that point of view
this paper is written.

Much has been written upon the gambling motive,
and I am not sure that the final word has yet been
said upon it. Certainly the simple explanations of
it as a " sin " do not meet the facts of the case.
Avarice does not explain it, because the avaricious
do not risk fortunes on the turn of a wheel or the tip
of a stableman. And yet avarice enters into the
gambler's character. The pleasure of possessing
does not explain it, because if every gambler were
to be made as rich as Croesus he would gamble the
more. I am inclined to believe that the workman
gambles to charm e7inui away from his doorstep, and
having begun he goes on partly in the hope that he
will recoup himself for his losses, partly to continue
keeping ennui away. Koughly, the same motives
influence the other gambling class — the clerks and
the other wage receivers"who would fain believe that
they are paid " salaries." ^

^ The gambling habits of the rich who do not know how to
' ' fill in their time " also arise from enmci, but in this paper I do
not discuss the problem which they present. It is : How can we
compel them to find occupations of social value ?



120 BETTING AND GAMBLING

But the particular character of the disease which
is bred by the social circumstances of these classes
is determined by the law of imitation. As we used
to imitate Milan in our millinery and Paris in our
dresses, so for our habits there is a class to which
we look. If those habits are of the nature of
luxuries, we borrow and adapt them from the
luxurious classes, and having thus become indebted
to these classes we associate our wellbeing with
theirs. A parasitic feeling is engendered, and this
feeling in turn strengthens the original motive which
started us upon our imitative course. Thus we
move downwards in a vicious spiral. We must
therefore trace the vigour of the present gambling
disease not merely to the failure of society to satisfy
the appetite for life gnawing unsatisfied at the hearts
of whole classes, but to the active existence else-
where in the same community of sections of idle rich.

Gambling is a disease which spreads downwards
to the industrious poor from the idle rich. In its
most common form, betting on horse-racing, it is
the only way in which the outcast plebeians can be
joined with their betters in a bond of freemasonry.
An elevating knowledge of distinguished jockeys and
an exhilarating acquaintance with the pedigree of
horses raise the poor parasite to the level of the
rich one and make them both men and brothers.
One has to go to some famous horse-racing event to
appreciate fully the meaning and the force of this.

Consequently, we should expect theoretically to
find the gambling habit amongst the poor break out
into chronic virulence at a time when the idle rich



GAMBLING AND CITIZENSHIP 121

had received some sudden accession in strength, and
when they were blazing forth into a new brilliance
of vicious habit. Is not that the case to-day ? Did
not the serious spread of gambling downwards
coincide with a renewal of the splendours of our
non-productive, luxurious rich ?

Within recent years this class has undoubtedly
increased in power, and with that, as has always
happened in history, its morals have been degraded.
Those who ought to know tell us that not since the
days when Brooke's was in its glory and Frederick
was waiting with impatient anxiety for the death of
his demented parent, George III., was gambling so
prevalent and personal vice so common in society
as it is to-day. I have heard on most excellent
authority of several thousands of pounds changing
hands during an after-dinner game of bridge, at a
house which was not the haunt of prodigals, and
amongst people who would be insulted if they were
called gamblers ; certain circles of men and women
not very far removed from the centre of political life,
who a few years ago spent their spare energies in
investigating the mysteries of theosophy and dab-
bling in the weird, have now turned with absorbing
interest to the ubiquitous card game, and guests
who do not join in the gamble — often the swindle —
find themselves unprotected by the manners which
held a guest as sacred.^

The sudden flood of easily gotten wealth which
came mainly as a result of the exploitation of South

^ Of. Nineteenth Century, January 1903, art. "Is Society worse
than it was ? "



122 BETTING AND GAMBLING

Africa, and also partly in consequence of the
financier acquiring control of trade by the develop-
ment of the large over-capitalised syndicate, has not
only created a new Park Lane, a nouveau riche and
therefore a vulgar one, but has brought in its train a
low personal and social morality, and has created in
our society purple patches of decadence which can
be placed alongside the rotting luxuriance of the
Eoman Empire. It was so in France when Law's
financial schemes set everybody dreaming of an age
of gold and paper money ; it was so with ourselves
when the South Sea Bubble was being blown up ; it
will always be so under like circumstances. The
influence spreads from one end of society to the
other. It colours our newspapers. The tinsel
spectacle excites the imagination of the common
man or w^omau. Our charities and philanthropies
hang upon the trains of luxurious vulgarity.^ In a
subtle way the grossness at the top percolates through
to the bottom, and the plebeian in his own special
heavy-footed style dances to the same sensuous tune
to which the feet of his betters are more daintily
tripping. From the vicious social conditions at the
top the gambling impulse finds its way to the
bottom. Imitation of the upper classes, even in the
most democratic of societies, — and ours is far from
that, — continues to have an important influence in
the life of the people. Such is the origin of the
disease. We must now consider some of its effects.

^ Recent London balls in aid of hospital funds, for instance,
where the sufferings of the poor were sought to be alleviated by
orjjies of the rich.



GAMBLING AND CITIZENSHIP 123



II

If gambling comes from a poisoned source, it
poisons the life with which it is in touch. Other
writers in this volume are dealing with the personal
and family disasters for which it is responsible. I
confine my attention to its influence upon citizen-
ship, upon the persons upon whose intelligence and
character rests the fabric of the State and the com-
munity.

The gambling disease is marked by a moral and
intellectual unsettlement, by an impatience with
the slow processes of legitimate accumulation, by
a revolt against the discipline of steady growth and
sustained action. The gambler lives in a state of
unnatural strain. Like an insane person, he stands
on the threshold of a grandiose world the high
lights of which throw the sober realities of the real
into shadow. Moreover, his vice develops the self-
regarding instincts into hideous and criminal pro-
portions. What is all this but saying that it cuts
away the roots of good citizenship. For good
citizenship depends upon a moral discipline which
enables a man to pursue, undisturbed by outward
event, calm amidst storms of fortune, some desir-
able social end ; it is dependent upon the develop-
ment of the social conscience in the individual ; it
flourishes only when men seek after the more solid
gains which come from honest work and faithful
endeavour. The people to whom the gains of life
are but the prize-winnings of a game of hazard,



124 BETTING AND GAMBLING

who flock to spectacles, whose sports consist of look-
ing on whilst professionals display their prowess,
are but decaying props of State.

Individualists would make us believe that citizen-
ship is not part of personality, for otherwise their
antithesis of man versus the State would be incon-
ceivable. But the antithesis is purely verbal, and
does not in reality exist. Man's personality is