The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-09-04

auaint and characteristics performers from that
country who have visited us Of late have been
a new experience and 4 welcome experience.
They have been keenly appreciated By their
audiences. they have been welcomed with, warm
hands OF friendship by their professional COM
rados.
"Mr. Richard Warner. with charaoteristio
astuteness, lays his finger on the weakest spot
Of the variety art when he echoes the complaint
Of an old stager; Why am / not going as well
to-day as I went three years agor Because
Mr.. Warner replies, you are doing inst the
sam business. Tho public 10 crying out Tor
novelty, which you cannot. or will not. supply"
The indignation long felt at the ruflanism
permitted to flourish with impunity on Eng
lish raeeu0urses seems at last to have come TO
q head. Amorning paper opened the subJect
and the response from public and pross alike
was immediate and unanimous. Any one who
IL familiar with English raoecourses, especially
those near London. who has frequented the
rings and Enclosures, and has had eyes that see
and ears that hear. will know what 10 COM
planned Of,
Many organised bands OF swindlers go from
meeting to meeting simply to thieve In one
way or another. and are ready &c use violence
on the slightest provocation, or indeed with
out any provocation at all. for many OF
them d. not wait for resistance. Many of these
gangs start their days work on board tho train
that takes them to the meeting. Cards are
usually tho chosen method. and the three
card trick is the favorite game. II
the swindlcrs cannot get money out OF
their victims quietly in this way. they
will often brighten It out Of them by threats and
violence, On the course itself different meth
DDS are pursued. ARang will either go about
robbinG with violence. or one will set up in the
ring as a bogus bookmaker. or welcher. while
his friends cover him. ready to lay out any I'M
fortunate hacker who should be 80 ill-advised
as to create any disturbance.
II cases of this kind we're few and far be-
tween the impossibility Of running a race meet
ing as decorously as q church bazaar might
well be argued. But the fact is that these ruff
fans swarm on nearly every course. For this
the Jockey Club and the police are blamed. the
former because it does insist upon proper
measures being taken to stamp out the evil at
every meeting. and the latter for idly looking
on or even connivinE at the game.
There Is one point that should help to make
it easter to effect SOM reform. These race
course ruflans are not occasional malefactors.
They form a regular professional class, and are
well known to the police, the racecourse ON
cials. and such mon as regularly frequent race
meetings. 1t is among the vast majority. COM
posed OF the occasional visitors, that they find
their victims. At every meeting a number OF
unfortunates arc WEIGHED or knocked on the
head and robbed.
At Alexandra Park, on Aug. Is. fourteen bru-
tai assaults were committed on the course. One
gentleman standing at Il refreshment bar was
hit on the back OF the head with a bludgeon.
fcllcd by a blow between the eyes. and then had
his pockets rifed while he lay half stunned.
This is a typical case. taken out Of scores SINH
lar. No arrests were made. In the betting
ring Mt the same meeting Two men went to
claim their winnings from a welcher. The
first was promptly laid out by the sharper's
gang. and the other preferred to pass on with
oatRsking for his due. This. too. liz no isolated
ease hundreds OF the sumo sort could be told
every season.
These weichers. as / have already said. are
perfectly vol known, but no attempt seems to
be made to keep them out Of the betting rings
and Enclosures. At the last Goodwood meet
| ing n notorious welcher was seen standing
| close TO u substantial bookmaker. occasionally
| pocketing an investment meant for the latter
and giving a bogus ticket in acknowledgment
| OF the deposit. The bookmaker knew. but pre-
ferred to hold his peace. Why. the following
| extract from a b~ookmaker's letter to the press
will explain:
Some OF your correspondents have not hes
itated to accuse the bookmakers of being in
league with these roughs, but my experience
Is that one and all OF us would be only too glad
to be rid Of these obnoxious persons. 1, per-
sonally, bet in the small or silver rings, and
know most Of these boys by sight. and should
they have q bad day-that is, the favorltes
| go down-they resort to any means to get a
Bit There is not aweek passes but what some
of them come and demand money from me.
| yvhioh 7 am nounnallad IN 0iya IN inanra my
safety in getting to and from the meetings, II
1 did not give. a crack on the head with q stick
and the rule run over me- would be my re-
ward. and l dare not say q word or give iDfor-
nation. or my life would not be SAFE"
The demand now is that the Jockey Club
shall use its power to make all managers OF
race meetings exclude these notorious win
dlers from all Enclosures and from the race
course itself. At a recent meeting no fewer
than twelve e~1-eonviets w~erecounted In the 10
shilling ring. and q considerable number in
Tattersalls. 1t seems quite clear that both the
Ratekeepers and police arc to a great extent In
the pay OF these men. TIL gatekeepers now
get only 4 shillinRs q day. whereas they used to
get q pound. Consequently admission tickets
are easily obtained on the basis OF a share Of
the swindlers' profits. The Field. referring to
the question, says that the state Of affairs at
the Brighton meetings L. SO abominable that IL
has discontinued SendinR q representative to
report the racing. and adds that doodwood lie
just as bad. quoting the case Of an inoIensive
visitor who was bludgeoned on the head at the
very entrance to Tattersall's ring.
Prof. Wardel Stiles. the agricultural and
scientific attachs to the Berlin Embassy. has
Just made some important statements concern
ing the alleged trichinous nature Of American
norL Mr. Htilea'a ohaaFYatiOna take the form
OF a reply to Herren Mailer. q firm of importers
that sent him a copy Of the Ostpreussisohe lei.
tuno. declaring that recent Investigations show
that half OF the cases Of trichinosis are due to
American pork. and that American pork Ia
thirty-nine times as dangerous as European
pork.
Prof. Stiles quotes oflclal records showing
that between 1888 and 1891 when the impor.
tation OF American pork was prohibited) 3.07e