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POKER. SCHOLAR FINDS THEORY IS WORTHLESS 1. 'Severely Jolted in Game at Arkansas City, but is Not Convinced. By David A. Curlls. "They is some questions what's open to argyment," said old man Oreenlaw, placing both hands on the ?t?r and leaning slightly forward with mn earnest too* at a cnRtomcr, "and tome what ain't." "Oh, I don't know, ' murmured Mr. Owen Pepper, who was looking on -with a foolish smile. "I reckon lh' old ; man'd arglfy onto any on 'em If they was to be rose by anybody else.' This remark was not intended for the old man's ears and It did not reach them. It was heard, however, by ?i few husky gentlemen who, together with Mr. Pepper, were looking with much interest at the old man and his customer and they seemed to be some what amused by it, though they were careful to repress all appearance of i mirth. It was as if they looked upon It as a gibe Inspired by the personal characteristics of the old man rather than a contribution to the discussion he was engaged in. Dollar a Prink Too High. "I certainly have no desire to enter into any argument with you,-" said the customer, who was a scholarly looking man of somewhat frail physique, "but It Is equally certain thai I desire to enter a most emphatic protest against ?your prices. A dollar a drink is a most 'unheard of charge for whisky." This statement seemed incontrover tible. Certainly no one in the old .man's saloon at the time had ever be fore heard of whisky being sold at , that price, hut there were clrcum ? stances. The customer had entered the saloon with a supercilious air and had looked about him in a manner that failed to ? ingratiate him vrlth the company be fore he invited them to join him In a i drink. It was therefore with sullen ?' acquiescence rather than cheerful ? alacrity that they responded to his In vitation. Showed Ills Content ptuonsnMs. Had he been a man of wider experi ence or more discernment It Is prob able that he would have refrained from speaking overmuch, but no. After he had sipped a little of his drink he set his glass back on the bar and laid a 12 bill beside it and spake thus: "I came in here becausc 1 desired to behold all phases of life in Arkansas City before leaving it forever. I have been here now for the better part of an hour and have seen everything should be no redeeming feature, and there is here. "It seemed impossible that there my thought was that since there was none elsewhere I might find one in what I have been told is the most pop ular resort in the place. As it is, my only regret in going hack on board the boat, which is now about to leave.,, is that I ever came here at ail.'' t And he looked at (he old man as iT i expectant of the change from his ?2' 1 bill. | >eeded More to Pny the Kill. ' Strangers who sojourned In Arkan sas City were frequently stricken with madness, but few were made so des perate as he appeared to he. They looked at bim with awe. and the old man gulped painfully, but nothing was laid for a moment or so. Then the old man recovered him-, ?elf and said. "Five dollars mo'," "WTiat for?" asked the stranger, lie was plainly surprised and seemed in clined to anger. "Fo" them drinks,'1 replied the old man, and the discussion was on. "Are drinks usually sold at a dollar apiece at this barf inquired the stranger. , I "Don't make no diff'rence what s ushal," said the old man. "That's what yo' all is got to pay fo' that round." "Seems to me." said the stranger. "this is a case that calls for arbitra tion. Certainly 1 don't propose to pay1 any such outrageous price for any such whisky as ihat." Question Not Debatable. "Ain't nothln arbitrary bout it." replied the old man. "I say thats the price, an' yo' all '11 have to pay it." Then It was that he made the remark alreadv quoted about questions that were not debatable and the stranger made the protest hereinbefore noted, ! "Won't do yo' no good to p'test," said the old man. doggedly. "It might | be some difrrent if vo' all was gwine ' to stay round a spell. Yo'd git yo' drinks mo' rcas'nable, mebbe, mo' spe cial if yo' felt like settln' In at a! game o' poker. But s long as you're gwlne to leave on this boat an' ain't never comin' back I'm chargin fo | what I'd ought fo' to make on yo' trade if yo' was to stay a spell longer. ( "I can assure you," said the Strang-1 er; producing the money, "that you ?would never get any more of my trade under any circumstances unless; you should change the brand. Nothing ivould induce me to buy any more whisky like that. But when you j speak of poker 1 confess thai you rouse more of my interest than I thought could be aroused by anything in Arkansas City. Is it possible that anybody in this community is capable: of understanding the most scientific t pastime known to mankind? Willing to .Make a llarcaln. "Mebbe they ain't nobody what on ! derstandB it remarkable." said the old ; man. whose temper seemed to have I Improved suddenly and wonderfully, i ??but the boys is making an effort to git onto the myst'ries of it. Mebbe yo' all mought learn 'em somepin', j "bout some of the fine p'lnta what they ain't been showed, not yet. In that case I'd be willin' to' low yo' all a fclue chip fo' that extry JS. Not as a I matter of principle. I wouldn't, but ; ruther 'n to have no hard feclin's." | "The feelings I entertain are lnerad-! 1 cable." retorted the stranger very positively. "Certainly my resentment is not to be assuaged by any such pal try expedient sb a blue chip. "I consider ?5, sir, an exceedingly small price to havo paid for the knowl edge I have acquired of the extremes "to which a person can be induced to '.proceed by a preternatural develop V?r* pecuniary concupiscence. The ?msro ft;turn of so insignificant a sum would only serre to confuse my views of the individual without removing my original impression. "I would, therefore, greatly prefer chat CO effort be made to adjust that , matter. Vft will consider it as res ndjutlcata." Surprise 1? the (r<> ti a. "Oh, I don't know," murmured Mr. Owen Pepper again, but nobody paid any attention to him. They were al moin stupefied. The old man recovered firm, but the effort he hud made tn crimp the other's meaning had resulted only In h misap prehension of the concluding sylla hies. , ?Tli' ain't nobody round aamo o Cyarter," he said. "lint HI keep It fo him If that'H the way yo' all feels about It." And he put the money In his ensh drawer. The stranger Ignored tills. His mind had reverted to the other proposition. "I wouldn't mind sitting In for a while," he said, "if there he any who are desirous of learning ihe game." "They sho' be," said Ihe old man eagerly. _ , Chips Mnst llnte Ileal lalne. "In thnt caHC." relumed the stranger I "I will do my best to elucidate the principles of It. but one thing should be clearly understood before begin ning. The game must be for keeps. as lads express it In playing marbles. There is 110 real zest In playing for chips unless they are understood to have actual monetary value. Begin ners frequently err In the supposition j that they can learn Ihe gumc by play-; Ing for "chips." "Mcylihc lhat's the reason the boys 1 nln'l never learnt the game no better | 'n they have 'long o' not havln' never played it fo' reel money," said the old man as if seeing a new light. ' I reck- i on, though," he continued, "wimt they'd be willin' 10 put up a hundred or so fo' the sake o' gettin' 'nstruc tion." It appeared that they were willing, j and. excepting .Mr. Pepper. Ihe entire parly went into the back room. That gentleman would talk to himself If there was no one else present to listen to him. ? , Feared Ills Proficiency. "Oh. 1 don't know," he said. "I reckon If thnt yap can deal out cyards like lie does language, Jim Illalsdell '11 have his hands fill fo' to lieat him. Mr. Blaladeli. however, seemed not to be troubled by any misgivings. He regarded the stranger closely but calmly, even when the latter, having neatly piled up the chips he bought, produced from his pocket a slip of pa per inscribed with many figures and laid It beside his pile. Mr. Wlntcrbottom, however, seemed more or less perturbed. "Yo' all don't want 10 take no 'dvan lage o' we'uns in this game." he said, addressing the stranger, "looks kylnil 0' like II was playln' it low down fo to keep the rules wrote down on paper whar yo' can see 'em. We uns Is II jble fo' to make mistakes occasional, not havln' th' rules lo look at. an' yo' d ought fo' to take the same chanst "Those are not the rules." replied he stranger. "They are simply mem oranda of the percentages attached to 1 he different hands that may be held. find it somewhat difficult to remem ler readily what the chances may be 11 the draw and in the betting, and I lave written them down so that I may .ave time by looking at them, instead if figuring them out in my head each line." Willing to Take a Chance. "Comes to the same thing." said Mr. iVlnterbottom. "Gives vo' all a ad vantage 'long o' we uns bein' bleedged n figger 'em out in our heads, an nabbe not gettin' 'em right thataway. Hut Mr. Hearsall, as if desirous of ivoiding delay, offered a suggestion. "Kylnd o" looks thataway," ho said, 'but I reckon tf the gent 11 let we uns look at the paper f'm time to time so s t we c'n sec whether we're rerk'nin the p'centages right or not, same s he ilocs thev won't be no 'dvantage took. What's fair fo' one is fair fo' all." And to this the stranger readily agreed. It soon appeared that the stranger was primarily a percentage player, lie consulted his paper carefully each time he took up a new hand, and again when he came to draw cards besides looking at it from time to time as the Odds in the betting changed after a ralBe. Mr. Bassett seemed greatly impress ed by this. Luck vs. Percentage. "I reckon inobbe I done been playin^ this yer game all wrong up 10 now, he said after a time. "1 al ays reck oned what them p'centages was mo' r less liable fo' to be upsot long o' one man havln' 1110' luck a another. Mob be that ain't so." He spoke as one desiring instruction and the stranger gave it to him. "It is true." he said, "that there is such a thing as luck in a poker game. The fact is lamentable, since. it mili tates against the really scientific as pect of the pastime. It is inevitable, however, according to the immutable laws of chance, that the average of happenings will be the same in a se ries of events provided they are pro longed sufficiently, l.uck varies, but the average cannot change. Therefore the plaver who invariably follows the law of averages must necessarily tri umph in the long run over him who relies upon luck." _ "I sho'ly am 'ndebted t yo all. I said Bassett politely. "I never onder-j stood it right afo'. Mebbc I c'n do better now, mo' special as my luck ain't al'ays 's good as some." T.ncii. of Course, n Vaelor. "This question of luck is certainly puzzling.'' said the stranger, thought fully. "but I am Inclined to think that it is governed by the same law* that obtains in the matter of the distribu tion of cards. In other words, the win ning hands will fall to one man as often as to another in the long run. There is often a Beeming contradiction of this principle to be observed in the temporary advantnee Knlned by the in dividual who is favored for the mo- ; ment by an extraordinary run of the j cards, but luck always changes soon-) er or later, and since ail happenings are necessarily subject to the univer- j sal law it follows that the average luck of each must be the same, pro vided always that the game is pro-' longed sufficiently." . . J "Mebbc so." Fald Pearsall. who had listened very attentively, "but they's c'nsld'nble d'pends on who deals." "That is Bomething I have not ob served." said the stranger, as If some what surprised, "and consequently I have not studied thai phase of the game. I should say offhand, however, that tie guest Ion of the deal was ox traneoua." "Prob'ly that's It," said WlnterboU torn, gravely, "an' 'cordln' to my ?pe rlence it'n a heap mo' extraneouH *'lth come 'n 'tin with othera." To thin the atranger made no reply, hn beinK at that moment occupied In BtiKlylna hln paper ulip. Maladell hail Just dealt, and he had found four tens In his handa when he picked up hi". cardK. KlndlnK by the slip that tli? odda In favor of that hand wore i'V*r whelmlnK he wan enboldened to hut out rather freely?bo freely In fui:l that the others with the exception of Flnnsett Immediately retired from the eonteat. ItasBett, however, rnlacd him. yultc cheerfully the slranjer IpoosI ed back, and Hansen. registered dis comfiture. hut hh if oblllnutely deter mined III Bland his ground, saw the raise and took two cards. The stran ger looked again at hla slip and finding that he had no chances whatevi-r of Improving in the draw, stood pal. .Mr. Uasaett. however, had Improved hla hand and the net result was n'd'e a severe loss to the stranger. He looked first at the remains of his wad and then at hla watch. Then he aald thoughtfully: "I'll have to go. I have neither time nor money at command Just now to continue tin- game, though I would | very much like to do so. It may lie thai there Is more than I thought In i ihal matter of the deal. I shall In vestigate It further, but II will not be ! In Arkansas City." UNDER WILSON : OUR NAVY DROPS TO FIFJH PUCE When Wilson Went into the White House, Sea Forces Had Second Rank. WASHINGTON. I). C\, Oct 21.? Democratic control in the administra tive and legislative branches of the government has set back the Ameri can navy from the second to fourth, if not fifth, world rank. Now the Wilson administration, yielding to political expediency in the midst of the president's campaign for re-election, has reluctantly assented to a building program designed to un do the injurious work of the Dem ocrats and to restore the navy to sec ond place, if that is possible in view of the tremendous building activity of the other great powers. The great development of the navy which followed the Spanish war an<J the assumption by the United States of a place in international affairs swept the American sea forces up to a position next to <Jrent Britain. This position was held until the year after the Democratic party gained the as cendancy In Congress. Germany First to Pass Us. Two years later Ciermany had passed the United States in tonnage and men alike and France had seized the third place in men. The following year France took third place in ships as well. This relative position with the the United States In fourth place, is held today unless America has been surpassed by Japan, which at. the out break of the war was 200,000 tons be hind the United States, but is known to have undertaken a building pro gram of great proportions. This was the ranking of the world navies given in the last Republican naval affairs committee in 1911: Great Britain, 1,8.7.),168 tons, and 130,572 men; United States, 71",702j tons, and 60,160 men; Germany. 666. 035 tons, and 57,88." men; aud France, 556,306 tons and 56,388 men. The Kiinires in 1013, Here are the figures presented by the Democratic naval affairs committee in 1913, after two years of Democrat ic control: Great Britain. 1.07S.212 tons, and 137,222 men; Germany. 837,1,82 tons.! and 68.122 men; I'nited States, 773,1 <*7 tons, and 50,567 men; and France,! 630,760 tons and 60,1 SS men. The secrecy of war plans prevents' general knowledge of the building plans of the nations at war, but the following figures compiled by navy | authorities show the warship tonnage, | built and building of the leading pow-! ers on the day the conflict started in' August, 1914: Great Britain. 2.714.106; Germany. 1,306,577; France, 800.915; United States. 804.SSO; Japan. 600,916; Rus sia, 678,81*. Sixth in Recent Activity. Of the six the United Staie? has started construction r?n the smallest number of new ships since the war opened. For 'lie majority nf the new American ships now authorized the I keels are not vet laid. Here battleship construction lakes more than three years, often much more. In Kngland, it takes two years and a half. Great Britain following! the policy of utilizing private yards] to the fullest extent, whereas the Wil son administration has adopted the1 policy of having everything possible ' done in the navy yards, regardless of i the vast amount of work still uncom pleted therein. British warship or ders since the war began are said to approximate in tonnage the total of serviceable ships in the American navy. France completed five battleships in 1015. and at that time had nine more under construction. Japan embarked , on a three-year program of eight bat 1 tleships and eight battle cruisers. Thwarted by Democrats. : Yet the Democratic party and Presi dent WilBon continued to thwart American naval development through nearly two full years of the great war, until the persistent demand for an ade quate navy forced the pacifist adminis tration with election at hand, to shout I for preparedness. Had the Demo crats yielded earlier, the country would not have to wait four years j more for the ships now grudgingly voted by the administration. In the three years before the war England put in servtce eighteen capi tal ships, Germany thirteen, and I France ten. The Unitwl SUtes, with I knowledge of exactly what al! three were doing, authorized four ! \\rT ,rlta'n ,al11 tho keels in 3411 IJ12 and 1913 for twenty-three battle ' Sv'i Germany nine am] i l-r.incc nix The I nltcd State* planned none at all. I'nder Republican Hule. The naval general board In l'JOS lali down the policy of building two bat tleships a year. Under Kepubllcan administration thero baa been a mead) addition to the American navy ovet since the lcasonn of the Spanish war and the new duties It entailed. In all HieTe had been ten battleships bum i unci fourteen authorized. The 1003 | appropriation wan for Ave. lint in I., Penury of Congress and op i position to the preparedness view; of President Roosevelt forced a redut - lion to one battleship, although be did succeed In getting two armored crols 1 era In addition. In 1905 he obtained two battleships I "J906 onc Ml,s authorized, and In 1901'one. the latter with the approval or Mr. Koosovell. He was at the time j expecting to see T'he Hague confer i encc efTect a limitation of armaments. , and in the period when it looked tui | Jf an appropriation for a largo num ber of heavy Hhifis night be wasted he j wan unwilling to recommend great 1 outlay. Instead he asked for tho de velopment of smaller units to Increase; the efficiency of th<? whole. Tnsheil by Roosevelt, In 1907 it became apparent that The Hague conference would not sue ceed in limiting armament*, and the j program which hp,el been advanced j tentatively in 100(1 had, with changed conditions, become out of the ques tion. Resident Row vol t sent a mes sage to Congress tilling attention to the new needs and demanding no few er than four first class battleships. In this he was backed by the general board, which for th? llrst time recom mended doubling the two a year pro gram. The president and the general board also sought four scout cruisers, which would have given the navy a start at the important branch which is how so vitally needod. Similar recom mendations were advanced a vear lat er. The little navy crowd in Congress, however, would not ensent, and the best Mr. Roosevelt could do was to force a permanent policy of two first class battleships a year. This pro gram he pushed thiougb Congress in 1)08 and 1000. His successor, Presi dent I aft, with a Republican congress, gave the country two more battle ships in 1010 and two more in 1911. The country was apparently assured two a year. American navy power was second only to Britain's. Beginning of Decline. And then0 came the Democratic House. The new naval affairs com mittee reported in favor of small craft only?two fuel ship* and a tender, six destroyers, and four submarines, rnere was no proposal for even a sin gle battleship, a single battle cruiser, a single scout cruiser, or a single ar asked* CrUi*er' Not a caI)i,al "hip was A Democratic caucus had decided against any battleships. It was the first time in the history of the Ainerl cany navy that national defense bad been subjected to the control of a par tisan caucus. The Senate, still Republican, reject ed the House measure, demanding two battleships. The bill went to conference, and a small number of Democrats, with a clearer understand ing of the country's first line of de fense. announced they would no long er be bound by party caucus. Rather than suffer a loss of power the Demo-1 crats of the Mouse held a new cau-, cus and passed a new resolution mod ifying the old one. "so as to permit i any or all Democratic members who desire to do so to vote in the House for one battleship only and to permit tne Democratic members of the com mittee on the naval appropriation bill to agree to one battleship." Lett Handed Approval. Thus it was made certain thai un der no conditions would the Republi can policy of two battleships a year be continued, and as if that were not enough the caucus made this impres sive addition: 1 "So member is hound by this reso lution to vote for one battleship should he not desire to do so." The result was one battleship. The following year Mr. Taft asked for three to make up for the shortage. Net only did he fail to get the shortage remedied, but only one new ship un authorized. thus creating a shortage of two battleships. In 1011 a Demo cratic House and Senate granted three battleships, but sold the old Idaho and Mississippi to Greece, therein al a 1101 addition of one unit in l.?l.? the Democrats gave two battle ships. / The Republicans lert the navv in second place. The Democrats'have shoved it to fourth, perhaps to fifth. E LEAP III Big Increase Among Tombs In mates in Two Years. De clare Physicians. VOItK. Oct. 21.?The spread of the drug habit against which a vigoroun campaign is being waged bj the New Vork state Anti-Drug Uague, has progressed at an alarming rate ac cording to Dr. Frank A. McGuire "and vJy M- kichtensteln. physicians attached to the Tombs prison In a booklet issued by the two phy sicians they assert that In two voars Sl?''CrKCr"aC<' "f Edicts in" the Tombs has Increased by almost sev M?"y or these acquired the terrible habit through taking drugs .iJ01 |,ain during illness. The majority of prisoners, however blame their addiction to friends," the declare. They say further . Jhr> ?rofl' reaped by the dealers in narcotics ia so enormous as to war rant certain conspiring individuals to 4 <?iDCe, arrest' Almost alwavs the addict is fooled. When be l",Uys a deck (sixty grain powder), he Is sure to receive threolfourths sugnr or milk h.vi h"' cab drivere ttnd bartenders 1be?omo sscnls fnr certain indl Ts ? V? f0.Und thnt dru? selling is a highly profitable business. Those A FARM FOR I SALE! I Here is one grand opportunity to buy a Farm of 96 acres, has a frontage of about one-half mile on the Wil sonburg Pike near Wiisonburg. This is splendid limestone land and produces excellent crops, lays to the morning su n and has about five or six acres of timber. This land can be sub-divided into smaller farms, all of which would front on the pike and would sell very read ily. Theer is a splendid two-story farm house of seven rooms with all modern conveniences, also a splendid garden. The house and adjacent outbuildings will be reserved by the present owner, should the purchaser not desire them. This farm MUST absolutely be sold within the next few weeks, as the owner has other interests demanding ail his time, hence this great opportunity. Further information will be gladly furnished on appli cation to the undersigned. J. E. MORRISON BOX 16 WILSONBURG, W. VA. men are known as go-betweens. "Some people take the drug for in somnia. This is particularly true of nurses and physicians. Such cases have come under our observation and treatment. Others take the drug to ward off sorrow and care, while some arc compelled to take it to ward oil severe pains.. Most Addicts Yonng. "It is a noticeable fact that most of the addicts coming under our treat ment are young. It is not uncommon to find boys and girls sixteen and eighteen years of age who give a his tory of having taken the drug for two years. We have treated one child who became a confirmed drug fiend through the mother's milk. "Concerning addiction Among different races, we have ascertained the following: "Yellow race: Compared to all oth er races arrested for various crimes, the Chinese are probably the fewest of criminals. However, those who are arrested for tlie most part are addicts. The particular drug used is always opium and its ashes, yen shi. "White race: TCcvt to the yellow race in the proportion of prisoners is the white ra?e. These arc chiefly Hebrews and Italians. The former compose from thirty to fifty per cent of the kiddicts. the latter from twenty to thirty per cent. The remainder are ? hieflv Irish. The drugs used by the white raec arc heroin, morphine, opium and cocaine, in order of frequency. From eighty to ninety per cent use heroin. "Black race: Prisoners of this race are mainly addicts of heroin, co caine" To curb the evil which Dr. McGuire and I >r. Liehtenstein find Increasing at such an alarming rate, the New York State Anti-Drug League is advo cating amendments to the public health law. These amendments are embodied in the Boylan bill which will be introduced at the next session of the state legislature. Recognized authorities on the drug habit accept the Boylan bill as pos sessing the desired requisites for cor recting the loopholes in existing laws by which the traffic in narcotics con llnues to thrive. They do not say that the traffic will be entirely done away with if the Boylan bill becomes a law, but they do assert that it will exert so much corrective influence that at least ninety per cent of the traffic will be stamped out. WOMAN FINDS PIECE OF NEWSPAPER IN AN EGG SHATION". Pa.. Oct. 21.?"If yoil make an outcry. I'll slioot," said a masked man to Mrs. Harold L. Tupper (in the Tupper home early in the morning recently, as he rudely awak ened her. "Is that so?" queried Mrs. Tupper. "You get out of here or I'll shoot you." she continued, as she sprang out of bed for a revolver that lay handy. The robber did not stop to argue, but jumped through a window and disap peared. TAKE BONE FROM HEAD TO REFORM CRIMINAL SEVEN DAYS IN JAIL FOR STRIKING A MATCH LONDON". Oct. 21.?How strictly the | lighting regulations to guard against | Zeppelins are enforced was empha ' sized recently when it was learned : that William Brighton, of Bungay. I Sussex, hail been sentenced to seven j days in jail for striking a match out of doors at night. POTTSV! LLE. Pa.. Oct. 21.?Wil | liam Sin gel v, a boy rvho committed numerous robberies in 'his section nr.d proved to be r terror to the polic \ i will bo operated upon Jo remove lhe criminal tendency. County officials have learned that tin boy two years ago fell from a third story window while at Mahanov City, any it is said this has caused a bone in his head to depress the brain. It is confidently believed the l?ov will have different tendencies when this bone pressure is removed. Do Y m Realize the 4 Difference Between a Piano Dealer a*d the Manufacturer? The Difference Means a Lot to You A Piano Dealer?even iwhen hen's holding enormous Reduction Sales?'has to make a profit. And tho Purchaser has to pay Mm tihat profit. Tn fact, ho lsas two profits to pay?the Maker's and the Dealer's. Wouldn't you, as a purchas-i rath er pay one commission, and get a superior piano? We Are the Makers The Stleff in sold only by tho Makers them selves. There are no dealers?hence, on Dealer's commission. Our store is literally a part of the Factory. When you buy a Stleff you havo only one commission to pay?the Maker's. Corao in and let us talk to you. Ask na about our Easy Payment Plan. The StiefF Tone The Stleff owes Its popularity to It* sweet, rloli, mellow tone?and It* unfailing durability. The Stleff Piano leads I We are continually making thin piano better nothing that could make a Piano more durable and make it alwayB retain the sweet, rich tone ha? been overlooked by us. Come In and hear the "Gold Medal" Piano. Stieff Claude H. Atzrodt, Mgr. 201 W. Pike St. Clarksburg, W. Va. Gore Beildiag.