Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-02-08
to be imposed on by the press agent was of
a distinctly caioric character

distinctly caioric character.
Inc press agent of a lightweight prize
tighter who is training for contest In
| quarters of his own that abut upon the
property of a couple notable in New York
society, got himself into mess with his
principal, the snappy little pugilist, a couple
OF weeks ago. The press agent contrived to
get printed yarn to the effect that The
flghter. having been invited to spend en-
afternoon with house party at the home
OF the society couple, diked himself out In
IuXedo suit covering an ornate sweater.
with a pair of tan shoes and green golf
| cap and thus got up fit to kill had pre-
sented himself to the bowling swells at the
mansion near his training quarters. The
press agent portrayed the fighter as spend
| ing the afternoon with the "nobs." talking
! to them in the Chimrnie Fadden patos
showing them, lin the drawing room" how
| he had put this or that one to sleep, and so
| on When the fighter. who is a decent and
| exceedingly retiring little man, perused this
| story he seen red as his trainer remark
| ed, and one of his wise handlers telephoned
| to the press agent that it might be a good
| thing for him to run down to Philadelphia
| for few years, until the thing had blown
over. The sensitive little scrapper induced
| his manager to write denial of the story
and to dwell particularly upon the fact
| that he didn't talk Boweryese
To Make War on PanhandIers
The present police chief has suffered so
much personal annoyance at the hands, or,
idtLSi, tHe OF the nOrQeS OF pam
handlers with which New York is infested
| that he has announced his determination
to visit severe punishment upon policemen
| who fail to arrest the nuisances of this
| sort on their beats. A number of special
| lists in the panhandling line have been OPP
Grating successfully over here during the
past couple of months.
weakened, thinly clad old man has been
manipulating queer but lucrative graft
| on Sd avenue between 18th and sd streets
| since the beginning of the cold weather
ne slouches along, very much bent, and
| with his eyes upon the ground Suddenly
| he sees crust of bread or a piece of apple
| or what not on the pavement and he
makes dive for it and picks it up. He
| looks neither to the right nor left as he
| does So but begins to devour his find like
hungry dog. 1t will readily be perceived
what an almost certain winner this scheme
| IS Men and women who see the old mans
| play invariably feel a clutch at the throat
over his obvious hunger and misery They
have no means of knowing that the crafty
| old mendfcant has furtiVely chucked the
| piece OF crust or apple or whatever it may
| De onto the pavement himself, and none of
| them who see his move fail to go into their
| purses or change pockets for coins The
notwithstanding old chap courteously re-
moves his battered hat. showing his snowy
| hair and thanks those who give him money
! in weak. piping voice. man who
watched him throwing out his bait from
18th to I'D street one afternoon not long
aSo says that the OiQ Fellow went through
ms little performance six times, and that
ne couldn't h. We taken in less than a couple
OF dollars In the execution of his scheme.
fahnandlers who are also capable dialec-
tlclans are becoming quite common on
broadway. For about three months past a
huge rough, who looks like a 'longshore-
man, has been working that part of Broad
way which lies within the TenderIoin with
considerable success. He braces men ex-
clusively in as broad a Scotch burr as was
ever heard out of Scotland. His tale is
that he Is sailor, who. after a bad fall at
sea, had been removed to a hospital upon
the arrival of his ship in New York harbor
and upon his discharge from the hospital
had found his ship gone and himself
stranded: Men rolling up and down Broad
way, and particularly the Tenderloin
broadway, don't know how easy It is for
able seamen to get blets on ships al this
port and they wouldn't care If they did
know. The man looks his part and he gets
the money In nine cases out of ten. Some
of the men he tackles keep him talking for
quite a while for the fun of listening TO his
almost comically broad Scottish burr Not
long ago Pedestrian who had been tackled
twice by this fellow on Broadway followed
him to Bowery barrel house. The pam
handler didn't use his burr at all in his
commerce with his barrel house nails hut
talked the ordinary tough New-Yorkese 1t
Is certain, however, that he must have
spent some time in Scotland or he could
never handle the burr with such absolute
technical perfection.
"oFNs the Sockney English Patois.
or similar type is a panhandler who
regularly works 9th avenue after night
fall. This fellow has got the cockney-
costermonger patois down so pat that, with
your back turned to him, you might read
lily fancy that you were listening to a mon
ologue by Albert Chevalier He never
saw London. however, as he quite frank
ly admits when the question is put to him
by man whom he knows is ION to- his
iv,ra
face and flaxen curls that sit tight on his
head, and he looks the low-bred Britisher
for all the world. This chap tells the man
he braces that he is in search Of the Brit
iSh consul.
Now. very few men in New York know
where the British consulate is, although
most OF them have a vague notion that
it's somewhere down around the Battery,
looking panhandler tell him that that's
their idea of the location of it, whereupon
the panhander's face falls. He haint
the bloomink car fare, having worked his
way over to New York on steamer that
was to pick UP load Of American horses
for the Boer war, and having been left
behind by the steamer. which had pulled
out suddenly for New Orleans while he
was ashore. This fellow doesn't ask for
the price of the ride down to the Battery
to look up the British consul. He doesn't
have to- Most of the men he stops to in
quire about the British consulate go into
their change pockets and hand him coin
because the panhandler really seems from
his talk and manner. to be completely
out Of place and helpless and lost on the
streets of New York
The regular run Of panhandlers in New
York, however. are so lacking In versatil-
ity that most Of the professionals stick to
their established lines of graft until the
same are worn threadbare For example
there is a tidy. nice-looking little old
woman who has been operating at the
14th, 18th and 23d street corners of 9th
avenue for at least three years and who is
sorely in need of new game or at least
a change Of base.
This One Asks for Car Fare.
This little old woman has refined coun-
tenaDce and an appealing grandmotherly
look about her. She dresses in plain, neat
black, and wears a comfortable-looking
coat and a suitable black bonnet. She
probably doesn't drink, for there is no sign
of it either in her appearance manner
Her game is to tackle shopping women for
car fare. She sidles up to them, and, in
low, pleasant, well-modulated voice, and
employing deity chosen words, she tells
them that she has lost her pocketbook and
that she wants to ride up to her daughters
III Harlem. She doesn't ask outright for