Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-07-02
SIMPLE IS THE RAcEaoER.

He Submits ts Being Swindlsd on Every
 6and-Even Plays the Shell Game.
 One of the most notorious swindlers in this country once said that New
 Workers were ths most provincial peo- pie in the world, and that it was easier to separate Gothamite from his money than to swindle farmer out of s cent.
 How true this may be is question, but one thing is certain, and that is that ten New Workers, if not more, fall vic tims to confidence men to every one out-of-towner. The crowds that ire quent race track are naturally sup posed to be composed of very shrewd men, yet there is not a class of people in the country to-day who are victim ized so often and so repeatedly, and yet submit without word, as lot of race track people.
 Every one takes a turn at buncoing the racegoer, and a trip to any of the track with a crowd of hersemen will furnish the best verifcation in the world of the swindlers statement. In the first place, as soon as a race track opens its meeting all of the railroads which connect with it immediately raise the price of tickets. Where it usually costs but forty cents to go to and from Coney Island it now costs fifty cents for an excursion ticket to Grave. send, which is only about two-thirds of the way down. Coney Island visit ors can still get tickets at the old rate, but if man happens to be going to the race track he must pay extra money. On the little elevated road which runs from Weehawken to the Guttenburg race track the fare all the year round is but five cents. When the race track was open, however, it cost ten cents to get to the track, unlesa you happened to be one of the natives, and then by explaining to the ticket sel Ter just who you were you could oh- tain passage at the regular rate.
 Then, again, the admission to a race track is exorb bitant. It has been shown that with free admission the associa- tions can still make a tremendous amount of money, yet they charge one dollar and a half for badges, and with out paying that much one cannot get inside the grounds Once in, everybody takes turn at the poor speculator. At every pump and water faucet on the grounds or in the buildings there is man who insists on drawing water for you, and then calls your attention to 8 cigar box with slit in 1t which is aus- pended near by. In the toilet rooms it is case of tip half dozen people or get abused like ruf1an, while in the matter of meals the prices are simply fabulous. What money man has left after running this gauntlet the book makers get, nine times out of ten, and all in all the average man is a decidedly diSeonsolate individual when the last race is run, and in his haste to get home he jumps into parlor car only to find that there is not a seat left in it, and then is obliged to pay twenty five cents for the privilege of standing up, where he might have had seat and saved the money by taking an or to show what easy victims men are who belong to class which is supposed to be exceedingly shrewd.
 But these swindles are mild com pared with the games that are run on the Bay Ridge ferrybody which carries the racing crowd from the foot of Whitehall street to the train at Bay Ridge. This trip consumes about half an hour and gives the gang of swim dlers who infest the boat ample time in which to hook a few victims. It will be hard for great many people to believe it, but the game worked on this boat successfully is the old, thread bare, time-worn shell game. The same old franu nf <bs..1 I,I ar noa,c ,,1aI to catch drunken sailors and soldiers fresh young clerks on the Bowery have had the temerity to carry their game right into crowd of gamblers, and judging from what Sun reporter saw the other day they are meeting with marvellous success. Every one knows the old shell game, yet there seems to be fascination about it which men cannot resist. With the same old cry of Come on, gents; pick out the little ball, the principal shell man cama walking across the cabin manipulating the shells on little cloth-covered board, which was suspended by string around his neck, and followed by three or four eappers. who were betting and winning great stacks of bills. It was five minutes before the first victim came to the front He leaped from his seat as the shell man passed him, and placing his finger on the center shell said: 'I'll bet you five dollars it's un- der there.''
 Take yer" said the swindleri ''get up yer money"
 The young man took his hand of the shell for 2 second to pull 8 fve-dollar bill from 8 big roll that he had with him. and in that second the shell man, with lightnirg-like movement, had changed the position of the shells. Of course the young man lost. He seemed surprised and sat down, while the rest = sss> ~-e-ae su the cahin hurst out