St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1892-04-06
HICH-R0LLlNG SHARPS
A Trio Of Clever Gamblers
Who Won 100000 With
Cards.
Manager of a Hotel Said to
Have Fleeced His
Guests.
United States Senators Said
to Have Been Shining
Marks.
Swindling Of Gigantic Pro-
portions Reported From
Wicked Gotham.

clever card sharpers in this country,
with headquarters at Chicago, who
number United States senators. con-
gressmen, English lords and few of
New York'S most wealthy and promi-
nent citizens among their victims.
Among the gentlemen who have been
fleeced by the sharpers to the extent of
many thousands of dollars are United
States Senator Mcconnell, of Idaho;
United States Senator " olcott, of Col
orado; United States Senator Squires,
of Washington; Albert Weber, Six
teenth street and Fifth avenue, New
York; l.. b. jackson and 6. n. Yale, re-
siding at Hotel Brunswick, New York,
and W. c. Murphy, the stock-raiser of
Montana. Twenty or thirty wealthy
Engiishmen and other foreigners.
wealthy Fasteners and Westerners and
many others who have stopped at GER
tain first-class hotel in Chicago, If their
names were known, could also be num-
bered among the victims.
Vast Money Won at Cards.
1t is conservatively estimated that the
smooth trio of card players during the
ldSG yCdl udpC WOl lIO lCOo tlIGU sfOO,OOOs
and even at the present time some of
the people who were swindled out of so
much money are not aware that they
were i'll anything but square game, all
the time believing that the card sharp
ers were wealthy and honorable gentle
men.
The prime mover of the trio of swim
dlers was up to short time ago the
manager of big Chicago hotel, where
senators, wealthy Englishmen and
wealthy guests of every nation nearly
always engaged apartments during
their stay in the Worlds Far city. He
was manager of the house for about two
years, and prior to that time for about
six years was the chief clerk. The
wealthy guests during their occasional
visits to the house came to know the
manager very well, and ne. being man
of pleasant manners and good appear
ance and OH familiar speaking termswith
Senator Jones, OF Nevada; ex-senator
Fair, of California; Stuyvesant Fish, OF
New York; Henry Hyde, of the
Equitable Life Assurance Society of
above, found many easy and rich vic
tins. 1t cannot be said that Messrs.
Jones. Fair, Fish and Hyde were ever
induced to become victims of the man
ayers swindling; in fact, it is pretty
we'll known that these gentlemen never
did take part in any poker games with
the manager, but were often Invited to
do so. The manager. however, used
his mountaineering with these wealthy
men to forward his interest in his
swindling games with other prominent
people.
Up to the time the chief swndler was
promoted from clerk to manager it is
believed he was honest in his dealings
with the guests. He frequently en-
gagged in little social games of poker
with the wealth visitors, but no cheat
ing was done.
The Smooth Gentlemen.
But about the time he was promoted
TO the position of manager of the house
he met two smooth gentlemen who could
handle the cards we'll, and from that
time on the wholesale and well-organ-
lied cheating game began. The two
gentlemen" engaged permanent apart
mentS at the house, and the manager in
troduced them to the wealthy guests as
young Englishmen who were in this
country on pleasure trip Their vic
tins were easy to find and easy losers.
Any game the manager proposed was,
of course, supposed to be square, but
with marked cards and the three men
playing into one another's hands the
money soon left the victims, and as they
we're PLAYERS who could always sign
checks for thousands they lost money
by the thousands.
Senator Mcconnell, of Idaho, was not
among the first victims; there were hun
dreds taken in before he fell into the
trap, but the senator is one of the num-
Der who lost heavily about one year ago
when in a game with the three swim
dlers. In January this year, too, he
was again induced by the sharpers to
take part in another game. and this
time he lost several hundred dollars in
cash, and at the end of the game, being
in debt, he gave the hotel manager a
draft on his own bank at Moscow, Idaho,
for 81, 2S0. and the draft was duly &C
knowledged and the money paid. The
senator is not aware today, it is said,
that he was the victim of well-organ-
lied swindle.
Another victim of the card sharperS
is w. G. Murphy, the wealthy stock
shipper of Montana. He did not stop
at the hotel where the hotel manager
and his two confederates made their
headquarters. He had apartments at
Cores hotel, but in some manner the
manager got acquainted with him and
the mountaineering cost Mr.. Murphy
81, 800. This was last October.
BIed the New Workers.
The next victim whose name is known
was l.. B. Jackson, of New York, who
makes his headquarters at the Hotel
Brunswick. G. n. Yale. friend OF his,
was at the same table and was also
l,,,f charnarc IanKcnn
learned that the deal was not square
one when he was $1,000 out of pocket,
but his friend Yale lost over $4,000 be-
fore he left the game. The victims
were always treated to plenty of cham
payne at the hotel managers expense,
and when under the influence the
guests became easy victims.
Don Luis Huller, the wealthy Mexi-
can; Senator WOlcott, Senator Squires,
j. G. Higgins, Mr.. Moncrieffe, brother
of Lord Hamilton; several English no.
bIemen and several others were
swindled in the same manner, and all
this time the proprietor of the hotel,
who is most honorable gentleman, was
not aware that his manager and his
1.-TWO English guests" were robbing the
wealthy patrons of the house.
The Manager Came to Grief.
But the time arrived several months
ago when some of tue facts became
known to the proprietor. Two wealthy
tobacco-raisers from Cuba engaged
apartment at the hotel one day. and
few evenings later they were induced
by the manager to take part in ''quiet
little game of draw" The men were
Cubans. but they knew how to play
poker. But they couldn't play sue