The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1903-05-16
STEAMSHIP TAKERS
Cheating Card-PlayerS Who Fleece
Passengers En- Route.
Trnvel In Pairs sad Under the o~fSs
of Men OF MoaeV travelling for
Paeasare-A Police OmcAAl's
AcooanA.

Just how many million DOLLARS
year Is won by cotere OF gumolers
and sure thing" men who tnfest
ocean steamships and transcone'
rental railroad Ines it Is impossible
accurately 20 estimate. but
Scarcely big ocean liner which en-
joys a fashionable vogue reaches port
either on this side Of the Atlantic or
the other without furnishing tale OF
high gambling carried on during the
trip in the smoking room. writes .
New York correspondent Of the In
bune.
great many Of these tales end also
with a statement that there was more
OF less suspicion If not actual prooS
of CROOKED" play. and the number OF
instances would be much greater II
Il were not for the fact that the VIC
tins are selected with discretion. and
are In the vast majority of cases men
who would rather lose few hundred
dollars than face the publicity which
would follow their accusation Of un.
fair play. The police know nearly all
the operators who fleece ocean pas
Sengers in the smoking rooms, but are
seldom able to put them where they
belong" This is owing TO two rea-
sons, one Of which 10 the difficulty OF
getting a complaint made against the
raScals while within the jurisdiction
Of the metropolitan police. The other.
and more startling reason. is the ac-
eusations from Capt. Titus, the CHIEF
Of detectives, who says that many Of
che stewards of the liners stand in
with the sharpers, even carrying a
supply of marked cards, and the
porters do the same on the railway
hines.
The 'blackleg" players are divided
into two classes, "deepwater gam
blers" (the steamship operators) and
the Gross road fellows" (the railway
train gangs). In both cases poker 10
the principal game, the stronghold,
although other games may be resOrted
70, by way of variety, when the Sus-
picions of the victims are aroused.
These men are all capital entertain.
ers. They are the life and the soul
Of travel-dulled company They dress
we'll and look well-better than they
do in the police pictures, where they
appear under the stress of disadvan-
tageous circumstances, and in the
easy, good comraderie which prevails
aboard slip, it is easy for them to get
acquainted wi,L the jovial good tel
low" type of man who makes the
easiest victim to fleece. and the one
least likely to 'Tguea" when the oper-
ation has been completed.
John II. Allen, assistant in the .bu-
Yeau or records at the New York police
headquarters, has made study of the
gamblers.
eve are glad to have an opportunity
Of airing this matter and of warning
the travelling public" he remarked the
other day. "Of course. the public
won't heed the warning, but we can't
help that Some fools seem to enjoy
Being heeced. 1t is only once in
while that we get 'squeal. and
where one victim complains hundreds
DO not. About year ago the presi-
dents of the steamship lines INDUCED
in some talk about stopping the swim
ding games. but l don't think any
thing came OF it but talk. One of the
suggestions made then might well be
carried out. 1t was that the detective
bureaus of this and Of other countries
should furnish to the stea mship lines
photographs of the professional card
sharpS, simple but effective, for each
steamer should have the 'rouges gal
lery'
1.-THE first thing these professional
gamblers do when they get aboard
ship, or aboard the train (they feel
more secure aboard ship, is to become
acquainted with the crowd. They gen.
orally pass for high rollers or sports,
or for first-rate business men with a
load of money, who are off on vaca-
ton and willing to pay for little fun.
One of them some time ago repre-
scented to his fellow passengers that
he was the king of the Klondike, and
many of them believed it, The sub
1ect of little game was introduced
by them cautiously, by suggestion
more than plain hint.
81 may state that they never work
yingly. They work generally in cou-
uies, and only one Of them is winner.
The other cusses the luck and Won
ders at his pals winnings just as hard
AZ any of the real victims do. and he
draws the crowd off the scent if they
suspect anything wrong, But he is
an expert dealer, and on his flimfiam
feals his partner wins every time. He
Arrows him the cards, you see, even il
he himself has nothing but bobtailed
Aush or an ace high hand of rags and
oddities. The dealer in the working
combination never wins the money.
The rogues will take turns about at
winning or will work it judiciously,
10 as to win without arousing suspi-
eion too suddenly If the man that
dealt were to win every time, then the
crowd would vel! foul right away;
but who is going to suspect the poor,
innocent dealer, who has given him
self the worst hand in the bunch 2
Usually they do notify to make but one
coup on voyage, but that one will net
them from $500 to 5000 TO great many
thousands The man who represented
himself to be king of the Klondike in
1900 swindled real, bona fide count
who had been finishing his musical
education on the other side. 1t il
astonishing even to us experienced
policemen TO realize what amazing
fools some mortals be The king Of
The Klondike made bum out Of that
count all right He was stranded in
New York"
ILLIoNS PUT TO WORK.
Tho xronderful activity of fha naxv