San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-17
THE SHORT CHANGE MAN.
HIS WAY OF SWlNDLlNG THE UN-
SUSPICIOUS AT THE CIRCUS.

One of the Workers Is Worked by n
Newspaper Man for Description Of His
Craft-The Profitable Victim Is the Man
Who Knows Too Much to BE Cheated.
Nearly everybody knows more or less about
all the attendant features Of a eircus-the
side show, the horse tent, the cooking tent, the
dressing room, the red lemonade man and the
peanut fiend But not many people, even
among the foxy old timers who have patron
lied circuses for forty years, know anything
about the 'Short change" man. HIS victims
are many, but they prefer not to trumpet
their fishlike quality from the housetops
They swallow their chagrin and keep silent,
while they economic in number of ways to
get even on the money that the short change
man has taken.
"A number of years ago | ran across one Of
the most accomplished short change workers
in this country and got well acquainted with
him. He didn't suspect me of being news
paper man, and in the three months that
knew him didn't enlighten him. He grew
very confidential and chaty, and gave away
to me the innermost secrets of his craft.
'Well, this is the way the boys take the
noticed lot of hnstiers in the crowd selling
tickets and saving,people the trouble OF get
ting in the jam at the ticket wagon, haven't
you! Well, you naturally think they are
hired by the proprietor of the show because
they sell tickets at the regular price But
they are not. They pay one hundred cents
on the dollar for every ticket they sell, and
they depend on their ability to Swindle the
buyers out of a few dollars now and then
for their profit.
"a young man with his best g@I comes
along-or an old man alone. or Il r....,. i.,3,I
ness man with two or three C. u,~tj. !, il
doesn't matter who it is, the; i...., - "a! .--
and he sees a great crush arua.'u '.... O.. {
wagon. There isn't much cn.,.a.. ... -, -
ticket there in less than ten ..'' .,aG
here at his elbow is a yNu.,; g.. ..,u
Choice reserved seats at regular l" ...-' i "
manyf We're here to relieve tn" r,.~, ,.: he
wagon! No extra charge, sir, iIu" :u.mv'
and he says: Two, please, which, ussiunn%
that the man buys reserved seats, would He
81 He gives the young man a $40 bill ul
| maybe S2O-f there's any place on earth
where man will fash big bill and where
| he hadn't ought to it's alta circus Wen say
he offers him a $50 bill this time for the sake
| of the better illustration of the story The
young man takes it, puts it into his pocket,
| draws out handful of bills, takes ten, a
two and five ones and hands the lump to the
buyer of seats 1t is 81 short, but the man
has handled it SO quickly and counted SIS
out Of it so easily that oftentimes the man
takes it and goes, but the fa4ir is sore if ht
does. II he is a cautious and knowing party
| lG > : ftsic ~ cir
sharps' it suits the short change man exact
ly, for then he will carefully count his change
and, say:
Here, young mani You're 81 short
here Only Sl7 here
That's beautiful, and just as the akil
want5tt So he says:
" Sure of thati just count II again, please.
$50 he counts again, while the fakil
watches, and when he has turned over Oh,
last bill no SAYS. with the air Of man WHIT