The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-17
FILM FLAM IN SALOONS.
A Novel Game Recently Worked With
Success in San Francisco.
From the San Franetsco Cau


A large number of saloon keepers in
San Francisco have recently been victim
lied by two cOunterfeiters, DIR. Whitfield
and John Mcdonald Their methods of
Showing the queer" are audacious and
amusing. Their success, too, has been
phenomenal, considering the utter base
ness of the spurious coin they palmed off
on their ordinarily shrewd victims The
trick was q combination of "fim-fam" de-
vice, with a slight effort at legerdemain.
Whitfield and McDouald both well
dressed men would enter saloon in com
pany. Whitfield would pose as a doctor,
and Mcdonald as his patient The latter
as he approached the bar would talk in a
loud voice about his gratitude to the phi v
stefan for the wonderful cure that his
friend had accomplished. The conversa-
ton would take this kind of q turn
Doctor know 1 would have died but
for that prescription you gave me-"
'Oh, that's all nonsense; you were not
quite as badh off as all that, " was the
answer
"But know better" would shout Mr.
Mcdonald. II was ready TO croak Your
the best doctor | ever met, and I've tried
hundreds"
Meanwhile the barkeeper had tossed
two little tumblers on the bar and had
bctOluS al luttESSbbu llSbGHeT.
well, let's have drink, anyway"
suggested the doctor, very cheerily, at
the same time throwing a good $40 piece
down on the bar.
The two having named their drinks
Mcdonald would walk to the lunch coun-
ter and help himself to some cold crab
keeping up at the same time his converse
tion with the doctor, who remained at
the bar. BY the time Mcdonald returned
ha "a
be ready and the doctors change counted
out to him, including good IS piece and
lot of silver. McDonald's face would
then be suddenly transformed into an in
terrogation point. Then in a voice of as
sumed anger he would shout, as he showed
the change back to the barkeeper, while
the doctor was pretending to reach for it :
THAT don't go; called for the drinks
and | amt going TO let you pay for them.
No doctor, you have done enough for me
already. His money is no good, bar
keeper The drinks are on me
Saying this the grateful patient pulled
big dollar out of his own pocket and
slapped it on the bar. Meanwhile the
two men would be engaged in n contest in
which their hands would be on the doc
tors change, the one to push it toward
the barkeeper, the other to seize it for
himself.
The outcome was always the same. Nc
Donald was the most persistent and good.
natured doctor always surrendered.
Take back the change and give him
his $40" said Mcdonald, as with one
hand he thrust his own good dollar into
the barkeeper's hand, while with the
other he pushed the doctors change to-
ward the man behind the bar.
The complacent barkeeper was salts
fed so long as he collected his tolls See
ing that the doctor had succumbed he
swept the change back into the cash reg
lister, took his pay for the drinks out of
McDOnald's big dollar and returned to
the doctor his beautiful $40 piece. In the
scramble during the controversy as to
which of the two men should pay for the
drinks a counterfeit s. coin would be sub
stituted by the doctor or by Mcdonald
for the genuine one which the barkeeper
had taken from the till 1t was not until
long after the sharpers had left the sa-
loon that the spurious coin would be dis
covered. Then the recollection of the
struggle between the two strangers
flashed upon the mind of the victim and
he knew he had been swindled