The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-02-19
GOUGING GREENTES.
TRICKS AND DoDGEs OF THE CIRCUS
HANGERS ON.
The YeII-Known PaIming Trick Cheat
ing In the Change" Both Ends
Against the 3IiddIe''-"F1ip" and
Observation-Disclosures a Fuss.
Chicago News. ]


why, bless your soul, the innocence
of the average hsy-seed granger would
knock spots out Of e 5-year child. City
people are easy enough to get away with
ct times, but your country jakey takes to
being robbed as natural as mutton chop
to the grid-iron. Just you travel with
circus as have, and you'll find the pig
cons flock around faster than you can
pluck EN-.
In the way back time the scooping was
done with thimble-rig. three card monte,
sweat-cloth and such like games. but
they've all got played out and nowadays
they don't even give a fellow a little ex-
In without his knowing he's lost
It. There's no end of ways for
doing this, just as chance offers,
but there are several regular standbys
that are played day after day and don't
fail once in twenty times. One of these
10 the palming trick, which can be done
by anybody after little practice. The
sucker hands you bill for So say, and
you count the change all right into your
left hand, taking pains to have him see
you count it Then you turn your hand
over and empty the change into his hand
and he naturally puts it into his pocket
without a second counting. while the fact
captured that half-dollar in the palm of
your left hand.
sIDE-sHow TRICKS.
There's another way of making e
small squeeze that's all the time being
used ct the box otce or the doors of the
Bide-shows. A man calls for two tickets
at 90 cents each. we'll say. and pass up a
SO bill The ticket-man says hold out
your hand, sir; tickets. $1.20; chicken
feed, 50, 50, "a, So; next Now, the
man has got his tickets and So In silver or
notes. but the chicken-feed amounts to
only 80 or 30 cents in nickles and dimes.
The crowd pushes him on; he sees the
tickets and dollars are all right. and in
his hurry to get into the tent never thinks
to count the small change This is about
the only trick the door-men or wagon box
chaps of snide management can Afford
to play, but when the crowd is big they
often make more than SO on it per day
for each ticket seller.
Every man in the gouge racket gang
Is pretty good judge of human nature.
and from long practice is able to pick out
o green horn at sight With such a fell
low they try the dodge that seems best
suited to his case, and the three methods
most usually adopted are as follows: One
Is called both ends against the middle,
and Is only worked on a greeny who is in
big rush, and who is so furried that he
don't know what he is doing. He passes
over So bill and the scalper hands him
the ticket, which costs 81 say, and three
81 bills and says quite sharp, as though
he has no time fooling: here you are, sir,
your check. two, three, four dollars, and
your ticket five On that deal the
scalper makes 81, for in nine cases out of
ten, having sized their man right the
sucker jams the change into his pocket.
and slides off without an idea but that
IT'S all square,
%When a chap looks more cautious
l. = -
Is pretty game, and if played right will
capture most anybody. In return for a
IS bill the scalper hands over the ticket
and the right amount of small change,
and says, Let's see, l still owe you 81.
Here they are-one. two, three, four,
counting the money under the mans eyes,
and then folding up the notes and hand
ing them to him. The man really only
gets So, for the scalper has folded one of
the notes between his fingers so that when
he counts both ends of that note repre-
sents dollar, while the man, having seen
the counting, puts the roll into his pocket
without opening it.
The boss game, however, Is known to
the trade as push back and is only
played by men who have practiced it till
they are slick as eels. The sucker comes
up to scalper, who is standing around
with tickets In his hand for sale, and
forks over So. $40. or 500 bill, as the
case may De. Inc Scalper taxes the OH
IL his right hand. in which the tickets
are. and goes down into his left pocket
for change, bringing up some, but not
enough Take this back, says he, L
can't change it. Haven't you something
smaller2 The sucker puts the bin back
in his pocket, all crumpled up as it was
handed to him, and either brings out
enough silver to pay for the ticket or
SAYS he hasn't anything smaller. In the
latter case the scalper says all right, you
look like an honest man and I'll trust you
with the tickets I'll have some change
before you come out and. you can pay me
then. OFF goes the sucker, tickled to
death, and that's the last of him. Now,
the beauty of the business is that the
scalper had 81 bill crumpled up in his
hand under the tickets. and he made that
change places with the big bill while he
was apparently looking for change.
"Once in while man finds he's been
swindled and begins to make kick about
It, but it never results in a row nowadays,
for the scalper is always ready to square
his man rather than have fuss. This
last don't pay, for it attracts too much at
tention and spoils the further working Of
the little games.