Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1888-06-07


refused to venture penny upon any
scheme. Joe, hungrier than usual,
snatched the money and ran away
committing robbery instead of swind.
ling he had contemplated.
Another odd feature of the art is the
aversion of the bunco man to remain
long in the same place, either "the Of
fee" where he does business, or the |
house or rooms where he resides 1t
Is not from fear of the police, as all OF
nearly all the worthless are known by
face, name and record to the force.
So constant are the changes that it
would require large volume to keep
their record. 1t might be supposed
that the police would have difficulty in
experimenting one in case he were
wanted for some offense. The very
opposite, however, is the fact. They
are gregarious in their habits, more
like wolves than bears. Nearly every
one knows of the whereabouts of the
rest, and being aware Of the difficulty
of conviction for buncoing has no hes
itation in giving information as to
friend or pal. A second mode Of plac-
ing them arises from their convivial
and social habits. They are debarred
from good hotels and decent bar-roOms
on the one side and on the other will
not patronize low saloons and cheap
groggeries. They, therefore, frequent
those sporting houses where q mans
character has neither value nor mean
ing and where their company, on ac-
count of their extravaganza and folly,
is warmly welcomed These establish
ments are not many in number and
are all familiar to the police.
A third method Of locating them is
based on their singular addiction to
the opium habit They are the best
customers to the opium joints, and
since these were prohibited by law, of
the private OPP UNI clubs which are scat
tered throughout the city. OF the
five or six hundred affairs of this class
it is fair to assume that two-thirds are
made up of crooks. 1t is also fair to
assume that three-fourths of all the
bunco men are victims of the habit.
10 the question that is so often put
to the police: "Why don't you sup
press bunco and arrest all bunco
menP' The only answer is the ques-
ton: "How can you do it?' They
are never disorderly in their conduct.
their victims seldom complain. and
when they do complain usually fail
through excitement to identify the
swindler. When an old provision of
law is called into play, and
they are arrested as Migrants,
it certainly is ridiculous to ac-
cuse man of being without WISH
BILE means of support who is the best
dressed man in the courtroom, and
who almost invariably has more money
and more jewelry about his person
than the judge or district attorney.
The true remedy would be a statute
whereby any confidence operator seen
pursuing his business who can not sat
isfactorily prove that he is engaged in
legitimate business should be adjudged
professional criminal or thief and
fined or imprisoned, in the discretion
of the magistrate. Until then the only
thing that can be done is for the po-
lice to use their discretion and often
club and drive these thieves from pre-
cinct to precinct and in everywise
both interfere with their nefarous
trade and call public attention to their
faces and characters.
Though the buncoist has fair seas and
smooth sailing compared with other
criminals, he has but one end--the
state prison. Hungry Joe is in Sing
Sing and Cigarette Harry in Buffalo
Lew Martin and Sheeny Doc have just
completed terms in Moyamensing, and
John Palmer in New Haven. A dozer
others of lesser note are out on bal
and all of them live under perpetual
: fear of arrest and conviction.
There is no more pitiable object thar
: the bunco man who sees detective OF
. police official approach him whom hi
:, knows. Fear, Bringing and abject
. hopelessness mixed with puny bravado
a despair and the hope that his turn ha'
not come yet, are the lights that shine
over his cunning face. There il
= another end for some of them--deatl
from morphinization. These votarie
:. of the eastern drug finally reach
stage when the sharp brain refuses t.
. act and the supple body to longe
= move. Beyond this is Bellevue, Black
y wells Island, the morgue. Potter
field is the next and final steps. Ii
- the past five years fourteen coniidene
: men have thus terminated their career
= and at the present moment over thirt,
others are following in the same awfu
= footsteps. - alexander s. Williams, IN
: spector of Police, Of New York, IN Gu,
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