Telegram-herald., 1890-06-27
no FEAR OF BULLETS.
Nal SarDsnts AAas - . fhit~ceiPhiA
Mala 4Da His Vie ana sola 1850.

f@-- @14 Hts vile ana SS-~ A~1 ~-~U
A little. dark -couaple1loaed msn .
walked intoa gambling house on Broad .
nay -4sl snt, alth parcel under ais
arm. He found the proprietor, and
VAS .ed oy nial MO = private room.
WRen the Little man came out ne BAD
80 - hls pocket, and tae gambler H4s
tDe F0sseSSof ot mailed slit.
inquiry - J9sarssQi reporter showed
Il - oc al astonishing i2St tnAl AeaIll
al tls gamblers aad private detectives
IN the city are IL the habit CT Wearing
chan amor. II not next 10 the SKIN Al
least very close 10 4.
TIE calling OF these two particular
Glasses OF society frequently places
them q the position Of becoming tai
gets tor friends and enemies. As 10
gentleman is anxious 10 exper ience the
resa.ts OF bg plstOi bullet ploughlng
through his slIals, or Keen KNIFE han
dle,l ~ an angry adept IN carving, TIE
mailed shirt has been almost unlvefs-
ally adopted.
.Nhy,A said the gambler, whom the
IoAraQi reporter saw buylng the amor,
Il gOt snot at aoOut once every SIX
months, aud the sensation OF looking
INTO the muLzle of pistol that seems
a. blg a. barrel IS not pleasant. l an
generally sitting AT table when some
crank VINO has lost ms money ON sure
thing jumps mp and begins 10 pepper
nae. Ii have my shirt | am lnyulner-
able, except in the head, and every.
body knows that Is hard place TO
/ hit"
"W.ll the armor turn bullet|'
asked the reporter, incredulously.
Tie gambler led the way INTO the
I private room. There, lying on the
/ table. was the defense against lead and
steel. The gambler picked II up, It's
/ steel links rafting muslcauy against
/ each other as he allowed the folds 10
softly slip through his hands. A care
/ ful examination showed each link 10 be
as fine Is the head of an ordinary pin.
I The whole SHIRT was flexible and could
almost be concealed IN one hand. Zach
Ink was welded TO the next one,
ana ali were composed Of the finest
/ steel.
Ii was sleeveless, high in the neck,
and was longer IN front than on the
sides, which carefully covered the
points OF the hips.
( You see" SAID the gambler going TO
drawer and extracting a garment,
''ths is Il chamols-Skln vest made 10 go
next 10 the skin. over this the armor
is worn and then your ordinary gar
ments are placed abOv 1t doesn't
impede man motions IN the slightest,
and the links are so fine that no rat
tling can be heard, Notwithstanding the
motion made by the body. 1t cost
me $3.50, and it is worth every cent |
paid"
Further investigation showed that
the armOr was serylceable. The gam
bier, spreading the shirt on the table.
took long dirk from a drawer and,
raising the knife To the height Of ms
, arm, brought 1t down with all Is force
on the tiny links. The point OF the
knife snapped oil cleanly, and mi
mute examination or the SHIRT could not
discover q single dent. The wood
table bore just II scratch, evidently ow-
ing 10 a movement of the shirt when
| struck.
AT the private detective offices il was
! admitted that few of these garments
were kept on hand for the operatives to
use when particularly dangerous man
| had 10 be arrested.
"Of course, the idea dates back TO
I =
Wilkinson Bureau. "But we utilized
] it on suggestion of one OF our operatives
who Is an Australian. He knew a BUSH
, ranger there for whom a reward was
| offered dead or alive. The desperate
| had often been shot at and presumably
| hit, but never fell. One day IN close
| fght the robber was seen to fall and
| was captured. 1t was then found that
be had been shot IN the leg below the
chain-mail shirt which enclosed ms
/ body. We thought it a good idea, and
as we don't care 10 lose good opera
| tive. ordered a couple of SHIRTS and
have never regretted it.
The little dark Complexloned man
| who makes these shirts is n resident of
| Philadelphia and spends SIX months OF
the year at his forge manufacturing
these tiny llfe-savng Inks. He gener-
| ally has orders enough ahead to keep
him busy for a year, but the work Of
! manufacturing is tedious and very hard
on the eyes; consequently nothing will
induce him to do more.
| He wife fits the shirts and also makes
the chamols-skin vests, which, being of
the best brand of leather, cost an addi-
tional $50. Each shirt is thoroughly
| tested by knife and bullet before being
| delivered to the customer, so that no
( mistakes can occur. In six months the
little man can make about twenty-five
garments, which, as can be easily seen.
produce good income for half years
work. The shirts are deliverable only
in Philadelphia, unless the customer
pays the little mans expenses to and
from the buyers home.
Dealers in gambling houses rarely
own one, but the proprietor always
does. and generally the man who is
dealing the game where the most
money is at stake wears it. Should the
proprietor SIT down to deal he will as
sumo it, and SO it goes the rounds.
The suits are very light. though some
are heavier than others. Ii is said that
Eugene Case, who has just gone abroad,
/ possesses the llghtest one known, only
weighing three pounds and six ounces.
The ordinary weight is from four to five
pounds.
They are not uncomfortable either in
summer or winter, as the perforati0ns
in both shirt and vest allow a free cir
culation of air.-N. T. Morning Journal
The Toss Up Cgar is not a competitor