Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-17

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a 4&lN which Star reporter
ii EM7@I was one, 1.-The green
Hl N1S1&E4kRFD goods men of New
iii Ny FXIIT{!TE York and New Jersey
MINNIE have a wellnigh per-
E<4 JIMMY" feet organization, but,
~ iErr!4.!.. tell you, the best
~ = organized gang OF
confidence men that ever existed was To-
Gated right here in Washington about six
teen years ago. Who were they7 WE'LL l
am not going to give any names-f DO
they will be fictitious ones-for these men
are now leading honest lives.
There were just four OF them In this
gang proper. all married except the young
est-a handsome young fellow Of about
twenty-five, with the smoothest tongue
and gentiest manner you ever saw. what
was their game? Oh, yes. forgot. II was
the regular old fashioned bunco trick. with
three-card monte as an accessory. and
while this game Is now worked to death.
and almost dead all over the country. will
wager that this same gang would be able
to catch many a sucker even At this day.
Every man in the party had special
part to act, and each one looked his part
to t. The thing that always struck me
was that these men were all sober, ap-
parently without vices of any kind. Every
morning at half-past they left their re-
spective homes to take up their posts, with
all the regularity of an honest man 60
ing to his daily employment. They had the
most implicit confidence in one another,
and am told that there never was a hitch
in any Of their arrangements, SO perfect
We're their plans.
The youngest acted as the 'capper,' and
his post was about the Peace monument
and there you would find him any morning
with his keen gray eyes on the lookout for
stranger who bore external evidence OF
being good game. Eventually such a one
would come along, and in ninety cases out
of a hundred he would stop to admire the
monument. This was the capper's chance.
He would approach the victim with his
most suave manner and ask II he wouldn t
kindly tell him the name Of that monu-
Hent. OF course, the stranger would say
that he was unable to do So that he was a
stranger in the city himself and probably
volunteer much more Information. which
the capper would store away for future
Tint Arlington Monument.
Mr.. Capper in exchange for this would
tell his own little story Of where he was
from, where he was stopping and that he
was there waiting for a friend who had
procured passes for admission into the
Lee mansion on the occasion Of the I'M
Yelling Of statue which would take place
that day. Would Mr.. Stranger care to go:
He was sure the ceremonies would be well
open all the time while the unwilling of a
statue with real live President pulling
the string could not be seen every day.
THE cappers arguments usually prevail
ed, and once the victim consented to the
arrangement he became the sucker
THE next step was to notify man No. z,
or the steerer, who had been intently
watching the pair from his post of observa-
ton over by the corner Of Sd and the ave-
nue.. This was usually done by Mr.. Cap
per taking from his pocket a freshly laun-
dered handkerchief and hopping his FORE
head. Upon receiving this signal Mr..
clerk of family. neatly clothed and bust
ness from the wcrd CO. would step out
lively and approach the capper and his
victim in the most matter-of-fact way.
His usual salutatiOn was:
Good morning, Charley, see you are
here. Had deuce Of time getting those
tickets. Senator Morgan had given his all
away. and I was just lucky enough to
the Office. It's all right now. though. and
We had better hurry All the time casting
furtive and suspicious looks at the VIC
tim. which was really part of the play,
stranger that he was an interloper.
Mr.. Capper would take this opportunity
to introduce the pair in q careless, good
natured manner. telling the steerer he had
invited the gentleman to accompany them
to the unwilling Of the statue and that he
had promised to Co. The subject Of tickets
of admission would. of course, come up
again. and. after debating the matter. it
was usually concluded by the steerer mag
chances with the crowd and allow his
friends to use the two tickets he held to
secure places for themselves among the
notables of the day.
Everything being now arranged, they
would adjourn to a neighboring saloon for
a drink. Here they would permit the suck
er 10 pay for the order, for the purpose OF
discovering the size Of his roll and also
estimate his capacity for mixed drinks.
Should he Indicate fondness for the lat
ter, his desires would be gratifled to q
large extent. though in no instance would
they permit the sucker to become really
drunk One of the men told me that they
much preferred to handle q sober man. as
there was less danger Of such 9 one max
ing a kick. though man but partially
under the influence Of liquor was much
easier game, because his moral sense be-
came more and more blunted as his load
of whisky was increased. I don't give you
this as my own observation, but that Of
Mr.. Steerer, a man wonderfully well in
formed, who had made a study of human
nature for his individual profit.
Entertaining Companions.
1.-THE next step in the program would be
to board an avenue car for Georgetown.
and In those days Of slow transit 1t GER
tainly was long anc tedious ride. But
the sucker was not allowed to think SO.
Steerer kept up a flow OF conversation
suited to the intelligence Of the sucker
and I've no doubt but few Of the victims
ever listened to more beautiful and inter-
esting conversation than that Of these two
bunco sharps. Brainy fellows, both Of
them. Arriving at sd street they would
go toward the river, where a man In a
small boat was awaiting them. He be-
longed to the gang, but In minor way.
His duty consisted Of simply taking the
men over to the Virginia side to a point
nearly opposite to the extreme southern
gate. and then wait for what was known
as the grand rush. He did not take any
percentage Of thu gains OF the robbery,
but instead drew a salary of $75 per month
for his part In the affair.
1.-THE meeting with the boatman was just
as natural as I'm talking to you now.
They would haggle over the price. and
jaw about extortion and all that sort of
thing, but of course. a bargain would be
concluded. and In ten minutes they would
all be on the Virginia side, making their
way along the Arlington road, leisurely
enjoying the scenery and the many objects
Of interest in sight. And right here would
come in the finest piece Of acting ever