The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-05-05
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! The POLITICAL GRAFT :
How II Won the Contrasts IN a :
; Quiet Game. :
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Chicago Inter ocean,


shaver man in the Auditorium cafe the
other night. that the contractors whc
do business with the city are not great
I ~ afflicted by rotation in Office One
1 reason OF it, l suppose. is that they are
business men, and have no real use
lof politics excepting is they can make
an asset OF their party affiliations
The moment new man is elected
/ or appointed TO Office, the contractors
/ Degin 10 study him as a a3siness prop
/ osition, and if there is a say of land
ing him they are pretty SIRE 20 find iB
! out. l remember a case some few years
/ ago when 1899 contracts were more in
! vogue than they are now in which 1
l landed snug sum III commissions and
one reform politician found out that
! principles and practice are not always
easy TO keep together" And the
smooth-shaven man chuckled.
/ Inere was new man in a certain
/ once, who was put there by a reform
mayor Tor the express purpose of cut
tlng down expenses, and naturally the
| nrm that had been supplying his de-
partment was a good deal worried. The
new man-I'l call him Jones, because
mat wasn't his name-had sent for the
/ firm and their confidential man lad
| had heart to heart talk with him
and had found out that it was going to
be doubtful about getting the 1893 con-
tracts in the future with the same de-
lightfui regularity that had obtained
Tor some years previously.
1t happened that this confidential
man was pal Of mine, and we used to
consult a good deal in difficult cases.
We were valuable TO each other be-
cause we moved in different circles.
"a TeNI Il
same night and asked me if I knew
Jones. did. / knew him very well.
Il used to play poker with him fire.
quently at a certain very private club
And | knew him for q careful, straight
forward player who was never known
to plunge, but who was a pretty steady
/ loser, not 10 any great amount. but
just enough to use up most of his sur
plus income.
His check was perfectly good If he
would give it, but we knew that he
hadn't any great balance on hand. How
did we know it? Well a man who has
much to do with a private poker club
is pretty likely to know considerable
about the other members of IL, If he's
wise. And being wise, he doesn't tell
| how he learns it.
so, when my friend told me about
Jones, did some quick thinking. Then
/ said:
-" How much do you want this bust
ness@ and he said:
We want it $4,000 worth
-" Do you want ii bad enough to put
up half the money blind, and the 9th
er half when you get it,?
." Yes he said, / reckon we'd do that
II we knew who was going 10 handle
the $1,000
so told him that If he was in
earnest I'd tackle the job myself, but
if / didn't land Jones, he wouldn't get
his $4,000 back, and he said he was sat
isfied.
There happened to be a man in town
Just then whom I had known very well
out west some years ago. He Travelled
the Mississippi river for a living and
played cards a good deal while he was
on the boats.
I wasn't doing much Of It at the
time myself. but / was onto most OF
the tricks Of the table. and I saw him
play two or three times before I made
his acquaintance. He called himself
Hyde then--Harry Hyde.
After ! had watched his play for
an hour or two I made UP my mind
that he was the slickest dealer on the
river. He never fumbled his cards, and
so far as 7 could see. he didn't mark
them, but 1 hadn't the slightest doubt
that ne knew every card around the
table every time he dealt
He was cagey about the way he
played, though, and never undertook
to press what looked ike his luck.
Most generally he'd study his cards
carefully after he'd got one good raise,
and then he'd call and show down the
winning hand.
1t was mOnstrous smooth playing
ana so far as 1 know il never got him
I in any trouble, but I saw great possi-
bilities In him, and as I always want
TO know men who may be valuable to
me, scraped his acquaintance one day
on deck.
we got cumming after he saw that
/ was wise, and I suppose that was
the reason he looked me I'D when he
came to town. He said that card
playing on the river was pretty well
played out and he had come to Chi
cagO TO see If there wasn't an opening.
He wasn't in any hurry and said he'd
lie low for a time and if I'd put him
next to something good I should stand
in.
Il was always pretty quick at put
ting two and two together, so the next
night after my friend the contractor
had made his dicker with me there was
I a new member Of the club I spoke of.
1 hadn't introduced Hyde there, be
fore. and I didn't propose to have him
there long, for I was well enough sat
sfied with the kitty and I wasn't GO
ing to queer the club with quick ac-
ton, but this was a special occasion,
and 1 only had a week to work out my
little plan.
1T wasn't a complicated scheme, but
] had two ways in mind. I was salts
fed TO let Jones have the most Of the
$4,000 and intended TO split the other
five with Hyde if the first proposition
worked.
1T only left me a quarter Of the
money, but I always go on the theory
that it's best 10 play a liberal game
and have everybody satisfied. You
may want 10 play again. But if the
first idea didn't work I had another
one up my sleeve.
4 never sat in the game myself. but
I was voucher for every man who did,
and 1 was always the banker. If there
was any passing of checks or I. O. US,
I always cashed EN-, never allowing
any paper to go across the table. so
naturally everybody in the club came
to have a good deal Of confidence in
me. and when / introduced Hyde as a
western man who liked sport and was
on pleasure trip, there were no ques-
tiOns asked.
We'll. Hyde certainly understands
his business. There were dye players
in the game that night, and the luck
ran about among oashr 40 oashrdlu
them. but Hyde stacked up against
Jones three different times on his own
deal, and lost about $4,000 on the three
hands.
The first time il was a jackpot with
about S35 or $40 in it before il was
opened. Jones opened it for S40-they
were playing table stakes-and the
other dropped out. Hyde raised it $50
and Jones came back at him with $50