The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1894-06-28
GAMBLING DEVICES.
ELECTRICITY EMPLOYED nv sclEN-
TlFlc sHARpERS.

Interesting Descriptions OF Two ''sufe
Thingsr-Hy ra.,l,u ais',e the Current
the Dcaler caa, >e,ces chs .rrrnes Every
Tfme--But the ii y stir "a
It ia q tirne WI motto TIT q man Is
. fool who attempts to beat another at
his own game. Nevertheless there Is q
perpetual and rich crop of gullihles who
Insist upon throwing their hard earned
money away In the vain and elusive
hope that q fortune IL witntA.their easy
grasp.
The method Is to them of no conse-
quence. They sincerely believe that the
means deserve the end, and with this
harmful and foolish idea in view they
state ON their downward career, fully
believing themselves competent to get
the best of the sharper. But the sharper
In proud of his name, and he does his
best to deserve his title. He generally
succeeds and then lies in wait for an
other victim. The sharper is q cute one,
and 1t seems almost a pity that his en-
ergies are not put In more useful direc-
tions. His inventive ability Is far above
the average, and he contrives devices
which are marvels in their way; but as
Josh Billings tersely puts it, SIT il o
darned poor way"
Fresh in our minds are the develop
ments which resulted from a raid by the
police ON III Of the most prominent
gambling establishments.
Extraordinary devices were found,
and everything was conducted ON q scale
of magnificence and ingenuity that was
marvellous to behold. Electricity played
q prominent part In fact, everything
that could be done to further the aims
of the gamblers i'm q dishonest way was
carried out to O point bordering ON per-
lection.
There was one device for stopping the
passage Of a marble at a certain point,
which could be changed at the will and
discretion Of the operator in charge.
Each compartment was regularly mum
bered and had underneath IL O small
secreted electro magnet, the wires from
which were so connected with spring
contact points placed under o foot
board, which I'm turn was situated and
hidden ON the floor, that the ball could
be arrested in its progress nc any point
Here, though, was apparently o diff
Guilty In connection with it's successful
operation. While 1t is true that the
ball could be stopped, the ~suddenness
Of the stop would Immediately attract
the suspicious of the players. 1t was
evident that the stoppage must be per-
formed gradually, SO as to appear nat
ural. A quick glance at the wheel show
ed the operator which compartment was
the most profitable one for him. The
ball slowed up, stopped, and he gather
ed In his i'll gotten gains.
The gradual slowing up was by a sue
cessive number of weak impulses sent
through the adjoining electro magnets.
thus retarding the progress of the ball,
which was completed by an inner
sphere Of soft iron surrounded by q
highly polished celluloid coating. Great
skll ON the part Of the operator was Of
course required to avoid detection. But
the men who worked this scheme felt
20 sure that discovery was impossible
that their very boldness and audacity
furthered their work. Murder, howev-
or. viii out, and the secret was finally
Laid bare to q curious crowd.
Another device that attracted consid-
cradle attention was planned TO deceive
the most inquiring. A table was de-
vised the top Of which contained d
number OF squares laid OF similar 10
o chessboard Immediately above the
center OF the board was suspended q
Light metallic board by means of O slen-
der silken thread A coanpond mechan-
ical motion at the top OF o triangular
framework placed immediately over the
center OF the board caused the silk
thread to take . rather erratic course.
On the boards were placed q number OF
statuettes somewhat similar 20 chess
men, but all of approximately the same
height The suspended ball was started
ON It's erratic course while the table was
slowly revolved.
Bets were then made as to which par
ticular piece would remain erect when
all others were knocked down. Piece by
piece they dropped until but one re-
manned, and this one Of course was de-
clared the prize winner. The game was
even more audacious than the one above
mentioned, but If anything it was more
ingenious.
The way In which IL was made -
sure thing for its possessors was AZ fol-
lows: Underneath each individual
square WA o rather strong electro mag
net MI the north poles pointing upward.
Each magnet was separately controlled
In an adjoining room, d signal being
communicated 20 the operator by any OF
tho well known systems common with
10 called second sight performers
Inside of the light suspended ball was 4
compound permanent magnet with tbs
north pole pointing downward. Each
marker, which ! described - somewhat
similar 10 ! chessman, was loaded with
. piece OF soft iron passing through Ito
axis Thepieces for as many players %
we're present were placed upon the
board. The operator then, according to
hi discretion, selected the pieoe which
III desired to remain Gil the Last. The