Daily Yellowstone journal., 1885-06-23
"FLIM-FLAMMING."
eroREKEePeas CAUGHT BY a CON-
MON SWlNDllNo TRICK.
scheme Which sadly BewiIders the shop
man Who l. His Own Cashier-How
Variations of the Game
Are Worked.
New York Herald. ]

New York Herald
One Of the many petty annoyances that
storekeepers are subject 10 is the process
of film. hamming. The word is not to
be found In the dictionary, nor, for that
matter, are some Of the vigorous expires.
sions made use Of the victimiZed shop.
keeper when be has been "tiim-hammed
The trick is best explained by relating an
instance in point that came under a re-
porters observation The reporter had
purcha.ed weed in a cigar store, and
while testing It's drawing capacity there
entered the store an Irish woman-appar.
emily respectable, honest, everyday
working woman. She asked for two bags
of smoking tobacco. They were wrapped
mp for her by the urbane storekeeper She
rendered 81 bill and received in
change, SlS4. Then began the - film.
iiamming" device
My husband, sor, says these bags is
two Tor 10 cints, she observed, land you
are charging me l6 cints, sor.
The proprietor assured her that the to-
hacco could not be sold at the price she
stated.
Then give me Jack my money.
wont take them. she replied
The man did rs she requested, she
meanwhile retaining the 81 81 in change.
Then came point No. in the interesting
swindle In came n man with mucn
hustle and asked for a penny box of
matches. and rendered quarter there
for While the storekeeper was making
change for the man. who was the con-
federate of the woman. and whose entry
Is always opportunity timed so as to
divert the victims attention while the
first operator is making the final steps
to get Out.wlth the goods. the change, and
the original purchase money rendered, the
woman kept harping on the Cearness Of
the tobacco The man having gone, the
woman pointed to some other brands Of
tobacco on the shelves and there ensued
n conversation about rrices of tobacco in
general fhe upshot was that the woman
took up the original ackages of tobacco
and loitily remarked that after all "a clint
was neither here Lor there with her |"
Under cover of alotber customer who
came In and who may or may not have
been a confederate also the woman went
out with two bags of tobacco, SIT in
change and her own 80 bill That Is how
the contding shopkeeper is film.
TANNED.
The storekeeper, when told by the re-
porter that he was minus the 81 bill. just
waited long enough TO verify the fact, and
then tore madly around the counter,
dashed out Of the door, glared wildly up
and down the street, and. catching sight
of the film hammeuse' waddling hastily
across the street, he gave chase, swooped
down upon her. and made her return TO
the store, where. upon threat of i'm
mediate arrest. she returned the change
81 tah fk..r
porter while the storekeeper was prancing
down the street how easy 1t might have
been for third confederate 10 have been
lurking around. waiting for just such Q
contingency as the proprietors temporary
vacation Of the shop and protting thereby
pull to the damper."
There are some variations 70 this
game. as. for instance. the film.
TANNER might have asked for dollar
bill after the purchase. carelessly re
marking that he or she didn't care TO be
carting around so much small change :"
Having secured the 81 bill the operator
would hand lack 81 cents. Of course
the man behind the counter would say
that the change was short Of dollar.
The swindler would then lottily wish to
know il the storekeeper was not aware
that the price of the tobacco made up the
sum lacking the round dollar. The vic.
tim now becomes nonplussed. and that Is
Just tie condition the schemer desires him
TO he 10.
40! hos asseverates the storekeeper.
who is now getting angry. with a faint
glimmer dawning upon him that all is not
right More pickering follows, until the
-fiim-fammerT gets his subject properly
worked up and then comes the coup de
grace The rogue snatches up the bone
Of contention-the ~ cents remaining I'm.
touched upon the counter-and pulling
out 81 throws IL and the ~ cents and the
tobacco down with a vicious slam. and
yociferously demands his 81 bill. and in.
Inmates that he wants 10 get as far away
rs be can and as soon as be can from such
lunkhead of storekeepeE The store.
keeper. who is now at white heat, gen
orally gets caught at this luncture lie
fires the - hill at his troublesome customer.
parting growl is exchanged. and The
-him- tanner" bolts out with his original
81 bill and the 81 bill the changing Of
which had caused all the final row. The
game is worked in this way with from a
so cent piece TO a $40 bill