Dive Practice | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 23, 1883

Dive Practice.

A POOR man has just escaped from a six months' job as bar-keeper in a city dive and has gladly accepted a very low-priced employment elsewhere. He says he was horrified at the shocking robberies committed at the dive. Men would become intoxicated and, surrounded by the painted women of the dive, would treat them at the bar, throw down a $10 gold piece and in place of getting back $9 and more in change, the bar-keeper's duty was to put two or three dimes in his pocket, clap him on the shoulder and call him a good fellow. Another game was when a visitor who had $100 or $50, and showed his money, became tipsy, a kind friend belonging to the concern, perhaps the bar-keeper, would take him tenderly one side, saying, "My dear fellow, you are careless, you will lose that money or be robbed to-night sure; let me take care of your money till you come for it tomorrow when you are all right." Greeny hands over his money without counting, reserving a little small change. If he does happen to remember having surrendered his money, he comes for it, and when he is calmly told the sum was only $5.25 in place of $25, $50, $100 or more, he has no means of recovering more, and either don't remember or knows it is of no use to complain.—S. F. Rescue.