Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-09-05
new YORK CHAFF
The Sappers' Squad and It's
Performances.
THEHORSE-BETTINGBUG
WHAT THE ERINITES SAID AND
DID.
The Fate Of the Man Who Sold Vel
low Birds at So
Apiece.
Special Corresponding of The Evening Star.

NEW YORK, September 4. loOJ.
1t has come to pass now that the Sap
pers' Squad, armed with axes, battering
rams and John Doe warrants, Is the busiest
outfit Of the Greater New York police de-
partment It's hash of a weekday when
the Sappers' Squad doesn't storm half
dozen pool rooms and reduce the buildings
In which they are located to a dismal debris
Of scrap iron and spinters. Up to date
they've besieged and raided the 9th avenue
pool room of the veteran The. Allen just
397 times, and this in spite Of the fact that
the persistent Theodore's establishment is
SO armor-sheathed and belted that 1t has
all but the power of resistance Of a battle
ship. Mr.. Allen Is constantly making I'M
provements in the defensive capabilities OF
his establishment, however, so that the
time is about at hand when the Sappers'
Squad will have to borrow some OF the
eight-inch disappearing guns from the ar
tillery posts scattered around New York
harbor in order to batter down the Allen
bastile. Most of the huge men of the
Broadway squad have been transferred to
the Sappers' Squad. The storming and es
calading of pool rooms is work for giants.
Strolling through the downtown streets.
you come upon building after building, most
of them strong and pretentious Of conStruc-
ton, that look as If they had been wrecked
and twisted by earthquakes, or wrecked by
subway explosions. or Quilted by fires, or
hammered into junk by bowling rioters.
Whats been coming or here?' you ask.
in surprise, of the Waterman.
"Oh, nothtn' Special" the Waterman re-
plies, in his matter-of-fact way. "Greenes
Guerrillas was around yistiddy after lit
tie horse bettin' layout. that's ALL"
The campaign against the handbook men
goes on with undiminished vigor. too. The
Shifty-eyed chaps who hover near the tick
ers and furtively accept the dollar wagers
n q nj ara Qin dod IN no
Sing in sets of tours.
In the meantime. those Greater New York
Societies for the Improvement Of the Breed
of Horses are doing. as they always do, q
mighty business down on Long Island. in
the suburbs of Greater New York. A so
ciety fer the Improvement" etc., 10 the
management Of a New York race track.
The arrangements of the various New York
race tracks are composed almost exclusive
iy of millionaires the Belmonts, the Whit
neys. tho Keenes. the Mackays, the Hag-
gins, who like to see their colors flash to
the front. The supporters of the Society
for the" etc, the people who pay the
freight, and pay 1t through the nose, are
the persons afflicted with the horse-betting
bug. Every week day these easy marks
In numbers ranging from 1000 to &C, 0O0
all but break blood vessels in their eager
ness to get out to the race tracks, where
they are allowed to dig up 81 at the gate
for the privilege OF entering the track
grounds and handing their hard-wrung
money to the bookmakers. II they didn't
do this, then the millionaires who run the
racing game could not long enjoy the spec
taele of their jockeys colors flashing to
the front. All hands have to contribute
toward the racing fun of the milionaires.
Even the stakes for which the horses run
come out Of the pockets Of the more or less
owners Of the inferior race horses-and the
horses of the millionaires annex the stakes.
Now supposing that 1t be granted that
there is any shadow of credit or honor COM
fncr to q mill af 70 m "a n "a
posseSsor Of Hamburg or a Salvador or
Tenny, or to get down to the present day,
of a Hermis or Waterboy or a McChes-
ney an Irish Lad-even SO. could any
thing be much more absurd. not to say idi-
otto, than this maintenance OF the diaphan-
Gus pretenSe that the thousands and tens OF
thousands of deluded and unhappy people
who really kept the racing game alive have
any interest Whatsoever in 1.-The improve
ment of the breed Of horsesr
Nevertheless this Is the sort Of silly hog
wash that common-sense people are asked
to swallow by the defenders of the race
tracks. all Of whom. as a matter Of course,
exude PeckSniffian excavations of the pool
rooms when somebody asks them to state
in what respect the race tracks are any bet
ter than the poolrooms. 1t Is marvel that
these people are able to keep their faces
straight when they complaisantly drool that
the race tracks are maintained for the pur-
pose of improving the breed OF horses.
and yet they do It, What would be thought
of the claim of faro bank proprietor or a
manipulation Of the policy slips who based
his benevolent business upon the statement
that he was giving mathematical students
the opportunity by bucking his game, OF
developing their theories as to the maturity
Of chance7 He would be laughed at as a
lester or scorned as the most brazen sort
contention would be no whit more ridicu-
lous nor more impudent than this fantastic
declaration that the race tracks are main
tanned for "the improvement of the breed
of horses"
Their Joy In Life.
Solemnly asked to gulp such nonsense.
one wonders how much interest Whitley
Iangdon, or Joey Yeager. or "Solly'
Lichenstein. or Johnny Ryan. or Steve"
L'Hommedieu, staggering and bediamond-
ed plungers who bet $4,000 or $4,000 on a
race and whose chief Joy in life consists in
"openin' wine" for their idolatrous follow
ers-how much interest do these currency
riffling. "out-for- the-dough'' batters Of the
betting ring take in the Improvement Of
waiter from Beefsteak Bits alI-night res
taurant on the Bowery. who shoves over his
dog's-eared dollar to the contemptuous
bookmaker. lose any sleep worrying over
the Improvement in the breed Of horses7'
Do the voluptuous fgurantes Of the merry
merry. yclept show girls" instead Of
chorus women" nowadays. who. on their
fifteen dollar-a-week salaries. frenziedly bet
$lU0 ana even Sl'OOO DiitS Ou HuHCHeS Ut
the race tracks-dO they bother their hope
lessly hollow, IL artistically millinered,
heads over the Improvement in the breed
of horsesT' Do the shabby old crones and
hays, the cast-up driftwood among wo-
men who hike their ancient bones every
day to the race tracks to bet their chicken
feed silver on the 100 to shots-do these
sorry old creatures care the bat of an eye
whether Africander is liable to prove a bet
ter sire than Irish Lad. or Eugenia Burch q
better dam than Molly Brantf Did that
wealthy New York woman. the mother Of a
grown family. who was caught stealing in
New York store the other day to cover
up her heavy losses at the Saratoga race
track. care the snap OF a finger whether
Hermence. the sire Of Hermis is liable to
prove more effectual in the stud than Mac
duff. the sire of McChesney? Do the addle-
pated young chaps who are being galloped
to states prison day in and day out on &C
count Of their offerings that enable them
to visit the race tracks care a whoop in
Hoboken which of the two-year-olds Is liza
BILE to be crowned the best one Of that age
at the close of the season. And when 1t
comes to that. are the millionaire racing
people themselves 80 ALTERED solicitous as
to the "improvement In the breed of
horses" except as the same shall tend to-