The Tipton advertiser. [volume] (Tipton, Cedar Co., Iowa) 1856-1962, 1869-05-20
Machinery Of Gambling Den
6ingular Discovery.
From 4 he Was h tngton S

Il y > 2 e
The building No. 4I4 PENNSYLVANIA
Congress ClotlIing Stare, y is now
being pulled down to make room for
extensive improvements. In taking
down some of the partitions to remove
a gas pipe, daylight was let In up n
some secret wires, which, being traced,
were found to extend through the
rooms Of the whole upper portion of the
building, and, with other apparatus,
forming one Of the most remarkable
pieces Of machinery for gambling swim
ding ever exposed to view.
This machinery, as now laid bare,
shows that immense sars ans, , ladk8Ei adk83.i were Seg
paSaliHSn. pss3lHf. pfn6He pf6e gambling rooms were in
the second-story front. Over them were
two garret rooms with dormer windows.
In the flooring. of each of these upper
rooms u ,.rap-door had been cut about
six feet In length and three in width.
The trap being taken up shows an ap-
erture between the floor and the ceiling
Of therooin below of size tn acco,nlno-s
date the gamblers confederate !; and a
seriesof Small perfOrations in the ceiling
afforded him full view of the cards
held by the players at the table in the
room below. By his side was the end
of thin wire, which. passing along un
del. the tporinEs of the, attic to thesHAlls,s
ran down. to TIE Mobging of the room
below aplaying suPt,a nicely adjusted
pulleys at the angles, and SO "n until it
reached point directly under the card
stabte. Here asvery ingenious peial ar
rangeq1snt came into play. by which,
with springs Of spiral wire, a triangular
piece of iron was made to work up
through a miniature aperture in the
floor, under the foot Of the swindling
gambler.
, The viAim, in this operation, 1T will
be seen, had no sl0@ Whatever. Green,
the reformed gambler" ha, shown the
system Of cheating by marked cards,
but that was "a clumsy and inefficient
motfe Of ascertainlng what the opposite
player has in his hand, compared to this
system of, telegrapliy, which, by tle
way, can claim priority in time over
Morse's inventions. This system would
not be Of much use to the faro sharper,
but must have been fatally etfectivetiis
the gambling games of twenty and
In following the course of the wires it
is noticed that a packing Of soft wool
been placed at every point where the
working of the apparatus would posi-
bly, make \ noise calculated to warn the
victim. The operator of the machinery
was as silent as deat.I, and not an indi-
Gator appeared anywhere to give him
suspicion Of the network Of villainy in
which he was entrapped. The pune
lures in the ceiling, which gave view
of the cards to the oonfederate overhead
were screened from view by an orna-
mental oval of green figured papering,
and the aperture in the floor under the
card table, through which the spring
played, was concealed by the carpet. !.
iE azl--------> - A44 ft8E y ~
A Case Of Circumstantial Evidence.
In the year 1923 young man who
WAS serving his apprenticeship in Lon
don to a master sail maker, got leave to
visit his mother, to spend the Christ
mas and holidays. She lived few
miles beyond Deal, in Kent, .He-Yalk-
ed the journey, and on his arrival at
Deal ia the evening being much fatigu-
ed and also troubled with the bowel
complaint, he applied to thee landlady
Of a public house, who was acquainted
with his mother, for nights lodging.
Her house, was full, and every bed occu-
pied; but she told him that If he would
sleep with her uncle, who had lately
Gsn1ps6orH; and W# boatswaii .lf An
Indiaman, he should be welcome. He
was glad to accept the offer, and after
spending the evening with his new COM
panion, they retired to rest. In the
middle Of the night he was attacked
withfhk colppllist, aud wakeSings his
Con- Panion, he AAlzed him the way 10
the garden. The hoatswain told him to
60 through the kitchen, but as he would
fnd it difficult to open the door into the
yard, the latch being out oforder, he de-
sired him to take knife out Of his
pocket, with which, to raise the latch
TIE young marsiid as he was directed
ana after remssining nearly hal faiI hour
in the yard, he returned to his bed, but
was much surprised to find his compan-
ion had risen and gone. Being impa-
tient to visit his mother and friends, he
also arose before day and pursued his