The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-06-20

ana the Oulclal drawings were uetQ D,tck Dl
the accomplish until the chief schemer, who
was at branch office. was advised of the
result of the drawings, and had thus time
to make a winning play.
They did this thing so quietly that it was
nearly year before the policy men became
suspicious ami refused TO take any ''playsn
after the time fixed for the drawing to take
place at Covington. 1t is estimated that
the men cleared 500, 600 by their operation.
A very neat scheme was worked in 1852
by some operators, who were then in dis
favor with the Western Union company.
Two Of them are now prominent in tele-
graph circles, one located as agent for big
electrical corporation il London and the
other Western Union official. It was at
the time that the pool room men were
banished to Hoboken.
VERY INGENIOUS sCHKEE.
AT this period the race results we're deliv-
cred by messengers from the nearest office,
and not received as now by operators in the
pool rooms. The men who were parties TO
this affair knew the ropes we'll They
rented plain looking house on Hudso I
avenue almost opposite where the pool rooms
were grouped, purchased Instruments,
strung wire TO tap the line running to the
telegraph office and did it all so neatly that
1t puzz ed half dozen experienced linemen
and detectives to discover how it was DONE
Two men loitered around the pool rooms
and occasionally made bets on horses that
had NJ possibili y of winning. Every half
hour or so these two men relieved two other
men, who stood outside a kept their eyes
glued on the shutters of the plain looking
house across the way. When these two
were relieved they went inside and occasion
ally made BETS
Though the house was supposed to be I'M
occupied, it was noticed by passers by that
sla5 in one of the shutters would be
shaken violently by some unseen agency at
times. By a strange coincidence the
loungers, for whom the shutters had a
strange fascina ion, would always hurry
into tue pool room Immediately after one of
the peculiar demonstrations was made.
1t was peculiar also that they always, on
such occasions, had the winning horse.
This went on for two weeks until the book
makers found that they were almost bank
rupt. They suspected that something was
wrong, but were unable to satisfactorily
place the trouble.
THE BoOKMAKERS GIVE UP.
In self protection they shut down bust
ness, hired detectives, and, with the assist
ance of a corps Of linemen, finally solved
the riddle.
1t was discovered that the wires had all
been run underground from poles near the
telegraph office to the house rented by the
operators, the connections being made with
the finest of wire. The operator as soon as
he heard the result of race. went to the
window and shook certain Stat in a shut
ter, thereby Indicating the winning horse
Each morning the conspirators met and
agreed upon numbers to designate each
horse in each race. The shaking of the
fourth Stat meant that the fourth horse on
the list bod won the race. In the two
weeks the wire tappers were able to con-
duct operations they bagged $780, 900 of the
gamblers good greeobacks.
A more gigantic and hazardous under
taking was the great Jerome park swindle
10 1888. The pool rooms were then located
in Hunters Point, Kelly & Bliss, who are
now on West Twenty eighth street, having
the largest room. Tnis time house was
rented on the lice of the New York and
Harlem railroad, the telegraph wires run
ming to Jerome Park were cut and the
schemers sent in wrong WHINE in each of
the races on the last day of the fall meeting.
The bookmakers remarked that all the
winners that day were short horses, and
that four or five strangers had picked Them
all out, but nothing wrong was suspected
until late in the evening, when they met
the men who had Ueen TO the races and the
truth came out. There was great hubbub,
arrests were threatened, several operators
who were tn ought to know more than they
wished to tell we're suspended I'd Swallowed
by the Western Union Company, but moth
ing ever came of it.
FAINT HEART LOSES THE DAY.
The same thing would have been done on
the last day at Jerome last year but for the
faint-heartedneSs of the lineman employed
to tap the wires. One of Fire Commissioner
Porter's houses In Fordham had been
rented, instruments and battery had been
put in, a cable had been run underground
and groove had been cut in the pole where
the wires were to be tapped so that the con-
Meeting wires could not be seen, when the
hneman got afraid.
On the morning Of the day that the false
returns we're to be sent in, he tore up the
cable and went back TO New York. If this
last scheme had gone through successfully
it would nave been the hardest blow the
bookmakers ever received. Men had been
sent to st. Louis. Washington, Baltimore,
New Orleans. Memphis and Troy, who had
plenty of money and would have cleaned
out the gamblers there.
A dozen men with money were waiting
in this city for the word to place bets on
the horses agreed upon to be sent in as win
ners. The operators expected to clear
200 each there were six in it,, and the
men behind them would have made that
much more.
OPERATORS ARE HONEST AS A CLASS.
Some operators have made money by
''scalping" the oil, grain and stock markets.
When trading is lively the telegraphers en-
ployed at the exchanges freque thy get
quotations from Oil City and Chicago two
and three minutes in advance of the official
quotations. AT such times tip to a broker
is worth more to the operator than his
months salary.
But though every operator has opportuni-
ties at times to make money, it must be
said to the credit of the profession at large
that very small proportion take ad-
vantage of them. In no other business is
the temptation greater and the moral
grade higher. Only very few of those
that have made money out of the business
by using the information they received
have held it. As a rule they were free
spenders. They got it easy, and it went
the same way.
PERSIA'S OFFENSIVE RULER.