Omaha daily bee., 1883-04-11
A "FAKIR"

w L wan Stiipi0tCiy pt'oN'n'tu |
MRS. MARY STUART.
A Rh,FORMED "FAKIR"
Who Gives Away Some OF the Alleged
Secrets OF the show Business.
Cleveland Leader. I
Il am q reformed fakir," said q
sleek.looklpg young man, as he drew
the reporter over into a corner, land
I s'pose 1t won't kill me If l give away
some of the secrets of the business.
Do you know, cir, that the smallest
show on the road has to carry eigh.
teen thieves alopg2 Yes, sir! and the
bigger the show the more numerous
the workers. I know of one Zig show
last season that had sixty men at work
and received 90. 0C0 a week In privi-
leger. OF course the proprietors of
the show disclaim all relationship with
the fakirs. but every Monday morning
the poor thieves have to come down
with the dust. 1t is wonderful how
many privileges there are with q big
show, aside from the legitimate. Ono
mao contracts to work the big Joint,
and pays from $3.50 to 81, COO a week
for the privilege.
"Don't know what q big joint ISL
Why, 1t Is where q fat guy drops his
Doodle on q represent. You never
hear about 1t unless he makes q \ lex,
and as the chances are he is a deacon
In a church, or q model man In the
community, he keeps quiet, bearing
his loss in silence. The big Joint is
only worked for big money, a greedy
lawyer, or whoever Is spotted, Is In.
duoed to 60 over to the chow grou. DIS
by two finely dressed, moral looking
men, whom he has met on the street
while watching the procession. As
they sidle around the side,how tent
talking about the weather, or
the crops, or something, No 3 is given
the signsl, and he comes up an
begs the strangers D to come In and
SEQ his line of curiositles- no Charge
merely wants to advertise hts show,
etc, and the victim goes In. He runs
against q brace His new acqusint.
ances tell him how to win. If he he's
the money In his clothes he lays 1t
down, and If he hasn't he goes to the
bank and gets 1t, No. 8 accompanying
him. or course, the poor man 'aees
the show before he comes out. These
fat guys are worked for from 500 To
81 500, according to the amount Of
credit they have in the bank, and you
can bet your life that the big joint
has 1t all sized up before the meat is
tackled.
"lf the gilly makes q kick then the
square has to work. A square IL one
of the most important men on the
joint. 1t 10 his business If he sees Q
Kick made to 'squsre' the authorities,
and then If the victim attempts to
have anybody arrested he cannot sue.
coed. In some places We we're In the
square would 60 around In the morn.
Ing and square the town, that Is, he
would fix the mayor, police and jus.
tices, and then the boys could work all
day aid night, and II any u threat.
ened they would laugh at him. I re.
member In an Indiana town the square
had fixed the place, and the very first
mar roped Ia was the high sheriff of
the county. The lads got Sc, COO off
him and he kicked. By paying back
81, 200 they got 1t settled. I know a
man who mad the big joint with a
show last season who cleared $50 600.
As soon as the season wasover he went
to CHICAGO and bought ont q clothing
store. He says he'll never go on the
road again, but then We all say that
swell, there's the 'little joint the
drop case, the 'go-out,' and dozens of
other privileges for thieving In q small.
er way, and the show gets q big share
of the plumber. The reason they rent
these privileges is this: These thieves
would 60 right along anyway and the
proprietors might as we'll have a bene.
fit. You have seen the man who sells
tickets swsy from the wapon2 Well,
that fellow pays fifty cents a piece for
every ticket he's got, and he sells
them for just the same, and besides,
pays from $15 to $50 q week for the
privilege of doing 1t. How does he
make any money? In making change.
The man who sells tickets for the side.
show works In the same way. Lots OF
butchers work without any salary
whatever. One man pays from 800
to 5000 per week for the privilege of
working the go out'--picklng pockets
In the jam sfser the show"
"But I thought the large shows car
rled detectives ~slongl"
"Ha, ha, ha-aw! SO they do, and
those detectives are paid their salaries
by the other thieves. All they have
to do Is to keep outside thieves from
working on the ground. If an ont.
slider Ia detected he Is handed over to
the police. The privilege men are
never detected, ! was a detective part
of last season, and the big shows are
glad to bill the detective feature
largely, as II shuts up the eye Of the
masses. But I've quit the business
l do think that some mon are so green
hey ought to be knocked down and
their money taken from them, bat
somebody else may do 1t hereafter"
"What is the reason 30 many ap.
parently well-informed men bite at
the big and little j%ointl'
because everything Is done on q
represent. You make q man believe
that he can get something for nothing
and he's pretty sure to come In"
IL -