Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-06-01
PECULIAR BUSINESS.
The Women Who Sell Gambling De.
vices. Both Square and brace.

probably the only one OF her sex who makes
business OF manufacturing and selling gambling
tools and appliances. Compensatory goods"
Is the seemingly harmless name Of the business
81 painted on the windows Of the store.
Under the pleasing fiction Of desire to take
the road on q gambling expedition, a reporter
visited this repository Of things not generally
known A short, stout woman, of not unpIeas-
ing features with slightly griZZled hair, stand
Ing out like the locks Of a Circassian girl and
an alert, business-like manner the lady &C
knowledged her identity and stood ready for
business.
'YOu want q faro outfit, do you? Well. Won
have come to the right place. l am sure that
you can ma mere anything that you want. Look
at these checks, she said, bringing out check
rack In which were 100 compressed ivory checks
OF different cOlors. Taking out stack of these
she shfffed them with an air of custom that gave
her the appearance, at least, of a cashier for a
game OF chance She called attention duly to
the excellent quality Of the material, the size,
and the number necessary to iii the rack prop
eriy.
The subject was changed to the more import
ant one of q dealing-bOx tor faro
''Sguare OF brace?" asked the little woman
"a eooy as if a question Of honesty were not
Implied.
The visitor indicated a wish to look at a
'brace box, and two of them were placed be-
fore him.
Ing to one which, to the eyes of the unskied,
looked rs innocent as any such tools could pos
sfbly I've.
''You see you can take two cards as often as
you press here. she explained pressing on one
side, which yielded, perhaps, sixteenth of an
inch.
To those IMMERSED IN the mysteries of faro
IL may be well to explain that the deadlock is a
metal continuance, just large enough to contain
pack of cards. Ii is open at the top so as to
expose the face OF the top card. The bottom is
sustained by spring. A narrow SLOT which
ought to be just large enough to permit single
card to pass through. is along one edge and
through it the dealer draws the top card in
making turn; which constitutes an event In
the game III perfectly square box and per-
fectly square pack Of cards are used the chances
are presumed to be only shade in favor Of the
dealer The utility of the combination box con-
sfsts OF enabling the dealer to use pack OF
cards so prepared that he knows just where
they lie after shutting. If the sucker" making
bets against such q game should place his
money on card that would win il fairly dealt
the dealer presses the spring In the side Of the
box and two cards are drawn instead of one
With such box and pack of cards the player
could not win a bet unless permitted to do so
by the dealer In hopes of drawing him on to
Larger losses.
''These are the boxes sell most of for out-of
town business. You are bound to win every
cent that is played against it,, said the little
woman Then pointing to number of pack
ages already done up and marked for shipments
by express, she continued: Il am sending out q
half dozen outfits of that sort to-day"
'All of them combinations" the reporter in
qured
'Pretty much. In the smaller towns the
gamblers generally go for all the money that Is
In sight"
The subject was turned to the question of
cards.
II only keep square cards In stock" she said.
'out IL only takes few hours to fix them for
any combination you want. / arrange them
generally to play the ends against the middle
or one side against the other although some
Like them odds against evens or first four
AGAINST third four" she explained with bewild-
ering rapidity.
That the reader may not be mystifed also It
VIII be necessary to interpret these terms They
mean that one-half of the cards Of a deck are
reduced in size by cutting shade off of one of
each In shutting such deck the dealer while
seeming to cut them really separates the full
sized cards from the reduced in size. In wedg-
Ing them together again, in the process of the
shuttle. they are made to lie alternately full
sized and a small card. An expert shuffler is
thus enabled to know where each card lies and
by taking twO," where the necessity arises. he
scoops no all the cash that his dupes can be de-
luded into rsking.
In this way she ran over the entire stock.
There were loaded dice and cups so arranged
"a to enable the handler to control the dice in
the game Of hazard. There were cards and
boxes prepared for the game red-and-black
which made it next to impossible for the PLAYER
20 win The roulette wheels were all square
as the natural odds of that game are enough
against the player to make losing almost q
certainty.
The stock was especially entertaining in the
matter of helps to cheat at poker. One of the
simplest of these was cards with marked backs
but done so adroitly even an expert at cheating
would have to be furnished the kew before he
could distinguish them from perfectly honest
cards. These were in great variety. 1.-THE
secret helper" IL an instrument which the lady
described as ''the best in the business" It's
purpose Is to enable the dishonest player to
conceal cards until he has made up very high
hand 1t is metal box, inside of which is q
tongue that is thrust out by spring. The
spring is worked by cord attached to the foot
Of the player. The box is worn inside the
players vest. When he desires to steal card
he stretches out his foot, bringing the spring
into play This forces up the tongue and the
card Is inserted In its clip. The pressure being
removed from the spring the tongue and card
retire into the box. OF course the player steals
the high cards, and when a pot Of sufficient
value is made he adrotly returns the hand dealt
70 him to the pack and takes the stolen hand
from the helper"
1T is not every enc that can use the tools and
not get caught. said the lady. IF you had the
Finest set OF carpenters tools in the world IN
less you knew how TO use them you could not
make dry-goods box"
LII TIC uldtlcf Vi HduulluS CdTuS she showed
herself almost as expert as Heller used to be-
She riffied the cards, cut given numbers, tossed
them around her head in half circle back and
forth. faced cards and played dozen curious
antics with them.
The lady says that the occasional moral spasms
against gambling are good for the trade In
former times a gambling outfit would outlast a
life time Since the police have taken to Destroy
Ing the tools they capture a cheaper quality and
more perishable kind Of goods has grown in de-
mand Whom thu hnrifoa oiy ha craft
shaking up, as was the case recently in this city,
numbers OF the young men, employed In the
gambling establishments buy a cheap outfit and
take to the road. One way and another, she
says the demand keeps on steadily all the time
and business is good
Cod Liver Oil
In the Journal de Pharmdcie NJ Carries de-
seribes at length the great improvements which
have taken place of late years In the preparation