Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-09-03

'nc huAhUeIs went up after the first
race. He swung me for the price Of the
ten or dozen that he hurled in during
the couple o hours that he was around.
and this went on for FIVE or six days.
Although I'd had a lot OF experience
with the b~ooze-graftlng railbirds, 7
didn't figure that | was doing The m
on for this sazoob, for he was up in
his lines. and he sure got me planted
right.
About ten days after l first met UP
with him I was down the line one
afternoon, visiting a mate that used 10
work with me. and sat down with him
in an aleove to talk 1t over. / heard
some voices in the next alcove. and
when l heard the eroak of this bum
that I'm telling you about, giggilng
over the story he was telling his bunch
about the barkeep he had puttied up
for all the suds he could handle in his
business. and then more, | felt like
rapping him a few On the eonk.
But kept it down and let out nix
a eheep, but the next morning when
that booze-grafter, that not only graft
ed but Dragged about 1t, got around |
was Arehie-at-the-turnstile and had
his finish framed up. | passed him the.
handshaker's salute, but when he
pushed that cocktail that I'd rugged up
for him into his face | had to let out
the croaks and give the snap away.
There was enough assafoetida in that
cocktail to chase a gas-house dog off a
garbage wagon, and he got about half
OF it down; the rest he split all over
his face and clothes in throwing the
glass away. l bought a few in the
Leather Trust and helped him to the
door that way. He smelt wore'n the
bone factory in the Newark marshes
or the Hackensack River, and / heard
afterward that as he headed up the
maine lane the bunch on the sidewalk
took the middle of the road and beat
ed for Board o. Health Sexton.
You'd be surprised to know how
many professional booze-grafters there
are who make out that they're travel
ing representatives of whisky firms.
This kind of booze-grafter drifts in
carrying a satchel in which there's a
bottle that you're supposed to believe
Is a sample Of the whisky manufactured
by his firm, and he's dead confident In
his way of addressing the barkeep.
Say he says to you, L hear that
you're using some of that new blend Of
~Se-and-So's. How does it assay. heyY
| haven't tried any of the goods, but III
go you any old bunch you name that
it isn't one-two-six with the new blend
my firms marketing now Pass 1t over
and I'll take a smell Of It.
The barkeep hands over the bottle
Of the goods called for by the fake
whisky drummer, and the booze
CRATER pours out a stiff drink of 1t,
smells of 1t with his head on one side,
sips it, smacks it critically, rolls some
Of it around on his tongue, and winds
UP by gulping the rest of Il down.
"'Um,, he says, 'fairish, but, as /
said, it won't do with ours
"Then he makes a bluff Of taking his
phony bottle out of the satchel, but
happens to suddenly think of an ap-
pointment down the walk, and digs out
with the crack that he'll be back and
show up his goods in a minute.
Now, this sounds so raw hat you
wouldn't believe SO many Glass A booze
grafters could get away with it, espe-
cially when they go up against wise
barkeeps, but they do, all right, and a
plenty, at that. I fell to the dodge
myself quite a number of times before
| finally crawled off to a dark place to
think it over, and there are a lot Of
bar men up and down the line who are
not text to the game yet.
"One of these phony whiskey men, a
stoutish, well-dressed geezer, tried to
get it over the plate with me a couple
of weeks ago, but when lit got around
to the time for him to make his little
run out for a minute before coming
back to show his samples, | lined up in
front of the door and told him several.
including one to the effect that he was
going to be just fifteen cents to the
bad inside of eight seconds, or that 1t
was going to stand him at least s4.85
for arnica and court plaster. He pulled
off a suffering you-wrong-me-Phyllis
play. but it was a wild pitch with me,
and | was just getting ready to Irvine
his throat around the main knuckle OF
my left mitt when he dug the little
three-ffths of a quarter and swung out
of the gate like a commuter busting for
a ferry.
Another kind of booze CRATER that
occasionally tries the you-for-the-emp-
ty-bag rajamataj on me is the boy in
a hurry. He comes %ploughing in under
a head of PIP pounds o steam, makes
two hops of 1t to the bar. and says:
.D-zu 80 tha old ct,ff ouipkf Cot to