St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-18
bankers nephew points out the celebrl-

bankers nephew points out the celebri-
ties.
"'That's ex-Gov. McGill blowing to
any politician, who bows effusively in
turn, as nearly all politicians are in the
habit of doing. That's Mayor Smith
there drinking champagne with his
private secretary They are worth
100000, and never drink anything
else. That big man is the hotel detec-
tive. He arrests every criminal who
dareS to come in the house. It's good
thing, because it protects a man from
desperate characters, and that's what
makes this place so popular with gentle
men and business men,
$50 rups the glib talk of the bunco
man. The audacity displayed is some
times bewildering. They have taken
their victims into the rogue's gallery,
into the mayors office, the common
council chamber and other places OF
note They have introduced HIM to
hotel keepers, public officials.
land EVEN TO THE MAYOR HIMSELF.
coincidence once gained, the operator
begins the second act of the drama.
The scheme employed in this tranSac-
ton varies. Sometimes it is the Lodis-
lana lottery: sometimes policy shop;
il NAV be the wheel of fortune, keno,
sweat, green goods, dice, poker, euchre,
cribbage, whist, roulette, rouge ct nolr,
rolling the log, three-card monte, thlm-
ble-rigging, the envelope game, or
heaven KNOWS what.
"Of the men who are sWlndled, not
more than one in five report their loss
to the police.
The rising generation of bunco
steernrS has improved on the old timers.
Two men working together now learn
the deaf and dumb alphabet before they
start out. The first man to strike the
stranger throws his left hand behind
his back, and. with the deaf and dunno
alphabet, telegraphs the stranger S
name and whatever else he has learned
to his pal, who is close behind him. In
this way the second man is able to
brace the stranger before the first man
has done shaking hands with him. ana
there is no chance left to believe that
the men are acting together. Then the
first man apologies and walks away
and the second man works the
stranger"
"Why don't you suppress bunco in
st. Paul and arrest all buncO men?'
How can you do it? They are never
disOrderiy in their conduct. their victims
seldom complain, and when they 90
complain. usually fail through excite
ment to identify the swindler. When an
old provision of law is called into play,
and they are arrested as vagrantS.lt Ger.
tainly is ridiculous to accuse man or
being without means Of support VINO Is
the best dressed man in the court room,
and who almost invariably has more
money and more valuable jeWelry about
his person than the judge or prosecut-
ing attorney. The true remedy would
be statute whereby any confidence
operator seen pursuing his business
who cannot satisfactorily prove that he
is engaged in legitimate business should
be adiuged a 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 police to use their discretion and
drive these thieves from precinct to pre-
clnct and interfere with their trade and
CALL PUBLIC ATTENTION TO THEIR
FACES.
"All OF them live under perpetual
fear of arrest. There is no more pitia-
bic object than the bunco man who sees
detective or police official approach
him whom he knows. Fear, hopeless
ness mixed with bravadO and the hope
that his turn has not come yet, are the
lights that shine in his face, There is
little buncoing Oh in st. Paul at present.
1t, like all other criminal matters, is at
a standstill." AS matter of fact, I'M
der the present police administration,
these gentry are afraid to work the
town at all, and are not molested as
long as they remain quiet and do not
operate. They make periodical trips to
Chicago and other Eastern cities, or
perhaps cross the Atlantic and return
to St. Paul and recruit and ''live de-
cent? for a time.