Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-10
When Humorous Operators
Called Off the Races,

x x q X y x
against Negligence. which was to /, and
when the horses price came in from the
track at to they all felt that they had
the proprietor of the room asleep at the
switch and dashed to the mast
There they sneak at old St. Loo! sung
out the operator, while all of the Negli-
! gence players hudded in close-rooting
groups, and deep hush fell upon the room.
Negligence is the first away. spinning with
that piece of frontage de brie Titus second,
the lumberjack Tonic third, and the others
close up.
Well, were on our way, all right NUT
tered the Negligence folks, happy.
Negligence glides over the first stick by
six times the length of his pairson, the
Edam thing, Titus, being there for the place
by length, and Tonic a-scudding like a
Studebaker wagon in an off prairie breeze, ;
was the humorous operators next call, and
the Negligence people hustled over to get
into line at the pay-off window.
They We're smiling greasily at each other
ana remarking that 1t was a sin and a
scandal to accept the kale.
That gay gee-gee Negligence skins
over the next bunch of pickets by fifteen
lengths, with the laboring galleon as far
as you could hit a hen in front of the
announcement
why. it's just like swiping a piece of
sheet music off the piano, amt it?' bawled
sawed-of man who had slapped $500 on
d L price,
and all the rest Of the Negligence bunch
cordially agreed with him.
negligence, said the operator then
with tantalizing grim quite neglected to
lift up his feet for the final jump, prefer
ring the level path for hisn, but his jockey
went over the hedge by himself and is now
being picked up tenderly. The hodcarrier
Tonic pulls it down by forty lengths, with
Titus taking his time for the second end,
and the third one not yet heard from
THE Negligence push voted that the OPP
orator had mighty fresh way of putting
1t, and strolled down to the old Tiburon en-
wrapped In gloom that couldn't be broken
with pick.
There was a noted kidder working in a
Louisville pool room a few years ago who
had way of shooting SO far over the heads
of his auditors that few of them could get
hep to the fun of his announcements
was in Louisville one day when I got a
wire from the owner Of the horse Philan-
thropist telling me to go to it with the
kitchen stove and whatever 1 could get on
the mantelpiece vawzes. Philanthropist
was entered In a Chicago race in which
there We're some shfty platers, and the
owner told me in his wire that there'd be
a price.
II had heard a bit before that that PHI
lanthropist had been working like a Hin
doc after long rest and so l went to the
Louisville room to take peek at the prices
when they got in and to think 1t over
Phllanthropist was sent to the Louisville
L
at that figure. ] had no sooner grabbed nv
ticket than the horse was flashed down to
80 to !, and then the crowd in the room
seeing that maybe there'd be something do
Ing on that one, began to take IL in Jumps
By post time Philanthropist was an s to
shot and the Louisville room wasn't taking
much of that in good-sized lots-only the
chicken feed-for the house already stood
10 lose $4,000 II the Philanthropist thing
should connect.
Il had been so hypnotized by the price |
saw against Philanthropist that 1 ham t
even loohed at the other entries in the race
and hadn't been very anxious to consider
the chances of the other horses ANYHOW
for fear that l might argue myself out of
making bet on my Chicago friends good
thing. SO. when the race was off l hardly
knew the name of a horse in the race that
Phiianthropist was pitted against
They've flew the coop at Washington
Park, droned the kidding operator of
the Louisville room. George w. Childs
Is the busy one to show first away with
Totem clomping along and freight the
next
We'll, that didn't make me nervous any
to speak of. although I'd like to've had
my horse Philanthropist get away on the
right foot. seeing that it was only a six
furlong sprint.
The canny Andy Carnegie arrives at
the quarter, buck-jumping mouth open.
ears pricked and tail a-swishing, by six
lengths of open daylight. with Fire,ipbt
In trouble length ahead of you-Iose
Totem. was the operators next line of
call talk.
Now, there's one that l never even
heard of-Andy Carnegie said 1 to NV
self beginning to get some worried Il
wonder where that ones been tending
bar that he's got away from me- and now
he's SIX lengths to the good That horse
George w. Childs must be rank Texas
quarter-mutt to have chucked IL so sud-
denly after getting off in front This
Phllanthropist mule that I'm PLAYING
wants to bunch to the fore some now or
that Andy Carnegie terrier will be able to
take dream or two on the way and still
cop
Peter Cooper at the half by five
lengths. and under double reefs in ty-
phoon or his own making, freight doing
the best she can four lengths in front of
the proppy Totem! drawled the operator
and then / pulled out my $4,000 to $50
ticket and gazed at 1t with gloom I
would have sold 1t then for two bits
worth of beer checks or n last years
! straw hat. had never heard of the Peter
Cooper horse either but / hadn't been
following EN- closely as they were run
ming at Chicago. and l reflected that /
had overlooked that one too as I had
the Carnegie plug. ] was pretty thick I'll
own, In not dropping to that Louisville
operators gag, but / wasn't familiar
with his way of doing 1t then as l be-
came later, and SO he had me going
Peter Cooper wins, e-e-easy, by If
teen lengths. pulled double and with his
head In his boys lap" barked the opera
tor. and right then / began to frame up
the letter that l was going to write that
night to the owner of Philanthropist for
| handing me wired tip on steam roller
that had never even got call at any
stage OF the route
Il was nudging along toward the exit
door OF the pool room when got wal