The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-01-18
RuNco MEN.
Special Effort Made to Explain
Their Methods of SrindIing.

Their Methods OF SSSindIing.
So many people at the hotels and in
other public places about town have
lately been victimized by sharpers that
yesterday large cards, containing a
warning, were issued by the police de
partment and sent to the hotels. These
have been placed in the most eonspicu-
Gus places, usually at or near the desk
where the registering is done
AT the Grand hotel there are several
of these placards, and at the Palace,
California, Baldwin, Lick and Occi-
dental a greater or less number are
displayed. The department has also
sent cards to the myriads of smaller
hotels. The army of confidence men
that have arrived in the city during
the past few weeks are hanked by
sharpers of more or less note from diff
ferent eastern cities. They hope to
reap harvests from visitors and resi-
dents.
The notice of warning which has
been issued and posted at the hotels
is as follows:
Strangers are hereby notified to be-
ware of bunco steerers, short-card play
ers and confidence men. These men
infest the corridors of hotels, the
vicinity of railroad ticket offices and
hotel wine rooms. They obtain from
the hotel registers the names of guests
and places from which they come,
meet them on the street with a cordial
good morning or good evening, and
calling them by name, say 81 knew you
at" mentioning the place where they
are FROM. The man being in a strange
place, and unused to the ways of these
&c 0ra1xr ~ .
person who may claim that he knew
him at his home. Then follows a
friendly drink, and an invitation to
take walk, and finally he is ushered
into the back room of a saloon where
a game of cards or dice is in progress.
On the pretense to pass the time the
steerer takes a hand, be it cards or
dice, and wins some money. He then
asks the stranger to play, often divid-
ing his winnings with him as an in
ducement. This invitation is rarely
refused. After a little time he is dealt
a hand at cards; he then finds that his
opponent has a hand that beats him.
If it should be a dice game, he is also
invited to participate, which he does,
resulting in his losing his money, prob
ably all he has in the world
The bunco steerer invariably extends
sympathy to the victim and wishes
him better luck next time They leave
the place together, but the victim is
soon shaken off, when the steerer re-
turns TO the saloon to get his percent
age OF the winnings so obtained by
fraud.
Shun all strangers who approach, in
sist and claim to know you. If you
DC not you may repent it.
1t is doubtless a good idea to post
the notices., said one hotel man YES
terday, but if they don't read the
papers, and see the warning daily. I
don't know how this will reach them
The public is very peculiar sometimes.
especially the travelling public. While
this class of people are usually better
INFORMED than any other, they read
the papers and straightway forget,
thinking they can take care of them
selves
"As a fact those who really know
much about the world, can take care of
themselves, but it must be remembered
that probably a majority of those at
the hotels travel but little. Thev are
mere from the country towns. and
from their stores and ranches. and arc
not always awake to the wiles of these
confidence men,
Different hotel proprietors say that
curing the past two weeks they have
mad to keep constant watch for card
sharps and bunco steerers. who come
IN, seat themselves, and try to draw
strangers into conversation. = San
Francisco Chronicle.