The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-02-19

Johnson says the plunger never lost
an election bet. On the other hand, he
never won a prize. fight bet.
Johnson made a statement recently
concerning the operations of Hostetter
that reads like a romance of Monte
Carlo.
1.-THE whole story is right here" said
Johnson, "and everybody who knows
me will back me up in what I say, be-
cause people in sporting circles know
all about my acquaintance with young
Hostetter. If he lost a million dollars
in gambling houses here I don't know
anything about it, and, before start
ing to tell the story, want to say first
that he was about the Iuckiest and
nerviest gentleman plunger that 1 ever
saw.
Il became acquainted with Tod
Hostetter eight years ago. He was a
very young man then, with all kinds
Of money and the instincts of a sport.
He would bet on anything from a dog
fight to boiler explosion, and he bet
them as high as the cats back.
II became 'Tods' representative in
sporting matters. I was his betting
commissioner in a majority of his
sporting ventures, and he trusted me
as a friend. 1 regarded him as one of
my best friends. When he wanted to
gamble with me I gambled with him.
l matched pennies with Tod at the
Waldorf-Astoria for $1,000 a SPIN
When Tod was away from New
York he used to wire me to place his
bets for him. Often he has come into
the harbor on his yacht and skipped
up to the Waldorf, where he would find
me. 1t might be late in the evening or
after business hours and he would be
fiat broke. Then it would be a case Of
touching me for all the way from 5000
to $4,000. If I didn't have the money
handy l would have to hustle around
and get it. He depended on me to keep
him in cash when he couldn't get to
his bankers.
81 admit that Tod gambled with me.
/ would give him any game he wanted,
and it was hard matter to trail along
with him, because, as I said before, he
was lucky.
I'm the last national election he won
100000 from me betting on Mckinley.
The bets were made on states and ma
jorities, and he won every one of them.
He won a pot of money on the
yacht races, he was lucky on the track
and he was lucky at gambling games.
The only thing he fell down on invari-
ably was a prize fight never knew
him to cash bet on fight, because
he always picked the loser.
well, when Tod died he owed me
$115,000. Purely for my own protec-
ton and without the slightest idea Of
taking the matter into the courts,
put my claim against the estate in the
hands OF Howe & HummeI. They sent
the claim to their correspondents in
Pittsburg, with instructions to present
it and get q settlement. 1 want to
make it plain that I did not intend to
sue, and I want everybody to know
that would rather have lost the money
than have taken the matter into court
/ don't think 1t is sportsmanlike to col
lect such debts by law.
After putting the matter into Howe
& Hummels hands paid no more at
tention to 1t until heard that suit had
been brought in Pittsburg That was
the first had heard of the claim after
it left my hands and 1 was good and
hot. Without consulting my lawyers 1
communicated with A. H. Clarke, Of
Pittsburg, attorney for 'Tod's' widow.
I'VE came to a settlement without
any difficulty. 1t is not true that there
was compromise. AS 1 said before,
most of the money due me had been
borrowed from me, and it was a debt
as legitimate as any business debt
could be. But there were gambling
debts in the account and for that rea-
son I would rather have lost the whole