The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1868-01-04


\ essenpoz-r. SAYS the s. Louis Dezsoeat.
draws a -tsEn. picture q tie financial condition
e the E2mh5eE Il ;he city. repreenfing = HaaSr-
ify u the sports a. : dead broke and unable d
zi@ TIE wind. Tbere must be SINE mistake
about this ANY enc who MI exaEnIne Tie NJ
- tic wei known sporting men Who 1unSe On
Fuur-h sfreS-. G>ylavinE diamond rinES. massive
not infer that ths~e men arc On tie list ~ hank
ruV-s. To 80 them drivins as- hO-S< % the
Ath-y rood- earInE ice cream with their Women
IN tie fashionable Sloons and drinking ulcrs AZ
KIM. ooe would imagine that they had 81 lcSs
retained n = nes 60" from TIE aGsh tines that
are sid - he -u1e by-
Frln vhzt VIC can Earn. re anc StisScd thAt
TIE Cnble-S are dong . pretty lively business
The rolicr have Destroyed $me thousands Of
Golars worth tf ~tcoh.' II : tue. but theS
articles can K 7eplacd - E>t - tie policemen
can break them O. \ XIV houses IN Fourth
ss7ee; have h<cn vacated y their former ccu-
PANTS. bat the ti-vr be- f1Gn1 new quarters We
lave u from god aEts,Ticy tflr one - the lead
ins -zmhlcrs. wbC~e bouse was -aidcd a week u
Two a-o. made 5000 tic next day after his i'm
Tlel-utS vc7c G>tTcycd-
Tie gamblers are not tools. bur are = god deal
>hrcwt-r than mot oshcr men In facg IL take
4 s-4aIt u-an - nakca sucoc--ul gambler. Tbev
~ l1ncG keep open house, where Tom. DIX
and Harry cza enter ~ pleasure and police spies
nay - f- hours kin note nor 30 they give
ua-uitcrnt hot sCVre-> - every luafer who truvs
IN AZ midnight; box they carry on their business
With nu-e cirz-DSrSCuca- One tiger. we under
sand. las hsG Eve - sx hundred latch KEYS
made - his dor, giving one - each u the ini-
tiatcd. and : number q his agents - - roTe-s.'
Nho distribute them among travellers stopping al
The hotels and - such other persons a. VIII make
= ju6irious uS Of them An55he- house has
V70cGrei = namm5Tb iron safe. which l. keps IN
The faro nom. aCl the momen; the policemen
are heard coming up sairs. al the gambling
implements. except the tables, are thrown hur-
rielly into tie safe, which l. locked. and the
raiders End 10 booty. except one OF Two common
pine tables. worth about q dollar and 4 Ealf
apiece- Tie secrecy with which gambling l.
carried on in these houses requires the assistance
% an additional number OF stool pigeons, rOpers,
OF whatever may be the name Of tue dulmmeTs
for the gaming houses To be god drummer
requires q man Of more than ordinary cheek and
address. Tins elas Of persons i described in i
New York PAPER. and the description viii answer
f0r the 00IS-s VI this latitude. The Work gives
tie following account OF the gamblers agent;
IEE EoPER-IN.
4 rope--in Is q man so-callei who seeks =. fats
OF victims. and when be finds them he entiees
them u enter a gaming-bouse, where OF course
they Ice their money, be receiving from the
gaming-hOuse a certain per eenta-e, SINE times
oDe-half Of the funds distracted from the purse
Of those whose eonfdenee he has betrayed. 0ca-
sionaly roperSin work IN IaiTs OF gangs, trans
ierTing their victims from one - another. and re-
civing :. considerations for the transfer. Ibus
\, a rJper-in, has victimized b; having fssced
him a. much a. Il will endure, be hands him
over - G, another rOper-in, who bleeds him on
some Dew device Z paying \ z certain per cent
age Of his gains az the price Of his introduction
or goodwill And thus the game goes on. As
mO-t Of the houses that they represent are CON
Quoted on the skin" plan-i. e., on triekerv
and dishoneSIy-tbe roper-in Is practically, in
nine cases oOt Of ten, simply the agent of thieves,
and therefore = thief himself.
WHO THET ARE.
As a rule, rope--in are Of genteel address: the
very nature Of their OCCUPATION requires a pleas
ing personnel. They affect a certain amount Of
fashion IN attire, and are not averse 10 the display
OF ewelry and ornament Many Of them present
special Characteristic OF appearance, but a
large number have that indefnable expression of
face and eve known a. tie gamblers Look"
They are conyerSaiiOnali-ts OF ability and discre-
ton. and q few Of tie higher grades poses social
accomplishments. and would rank In other pur-
suite a. educated men. AS class they are not
TO the use Of tobacco, and are specially
sIaring II the article Ofwine and piritnOus liquors,
q zine qua non % their profession being the pos
session Of steady nerves and q clear head. Their
with women, however, are generally Of
the loo-est possible description
Their powers Of observation, owing 10 ling
and severe practice, are extraordinary, SURPRISING
the acumen Of a detective They never lose sight
Of their prey: from the moment they mark him as
their own. tall the hour when his doom j. seaki.
their . evil eve l. upon his every movement.
And sometimes, as the denOunment approaches.
they will not hesitate 70 Use their hands as well
a. eyes: if the victim happens TO posses u watch
Greater value than their own. they viii subsii-
the latter for the former, and in other meth
Dds viii take advantage OF the unfortunate who
hes fallen into their clutches.
The species Of criminal, Of whom this article
i gregariOus by necessity. He Iives IN a
rrowd, by 4 crowd, ond on 4 crowd. He haunts
specially hotels and billiard rOons. These two
,las-es of establishments are his ayOrite fields of
operations. There i afforded ample scope for
knowledge of the dark side Of human nature.
FOR his quick observation his Increasing vigilance,
plausible address. and his deyilish assurance.
The ST. Nicholas, Metropolitan. LIfar-e. New
FORK and Fifth Avenue Hotels are especially in
ie-ted by him and his associate Here, notwith-
all the vigilance Of the PROJECTORS. be
with the thrOng, and reap a rich harvest.
tanning houses are generally selected with an
I'VE 10 their proximity TO leading hotels, billiard
-U0Ins, bar rooms, and consequently every facility .
: afforded 70 tine rOper-in for the playing Of his
F~oeaiiOn. the party who Is 10 Re plucked and the
parties who are - pluck him, alike being cOm-
prised within q small radius. Occasionally a
-oper-in Is 10 be seen az q theatre or place Of
public amusement, but he Is always there prOf-
personally his tastes are not dramatic.
xoDUs oPERASDL.
The greatest point TO he gained BY the rorer-in
: the confidence Of his intended victim: and this
confidence Decessarily assumes previous introduc-
ion The methods pursued 70 accomplish this
IRE various
The device Is as follows: a merchant from
New Orleans visits New York, let Us imagine.
md registers himself a. q guest az an uptown
hotel. under the name OF lillian Brown. A :
,e1tlenanly, f~rst-elas roper-in chances 70 stand
~ the once desk while tie registration take= !