Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1905-07-30
BOOkMAKER WHO HAD
A FEROCIOUS TEMPER
Man Who Would Fly Into Rage Over
Trivial Matters and Who Had a
Unique and Picturesque Flow
OF InyeCtive


who died in New Orleans Of a cancer
GUS affection of the tongue the other
day, was an example of an unusually
clever and, at bottom, lovable man,
who permitted himself to DC destroyed.
by an ungovcrnabe temper" said one
ofEthe veteran layers of the Mctropoli-
tan Turf Association (the bookmakcrs'
club. Carroll had no more control
OF his temper and his tongue than
have of the meteorological conditions
of Egypt.
Once having worked himself into Il
passion-and the most trivial annoy
ance sent him oiT-he was absolutely
the most violent man | ever knew. lie
really tried to control himself, tool
am sure of that. But he never sue
cccdcd in downing his habit of break
ing into tho most marrow curdling cX-
prcssiOns of rage.
AT such times his vocabulary of
vituperntion and scOrn was as unique
as 1t was appalling. He would storm
like mailman, the veins III his fore
head swollen like whipcords and his
whole frame trembling with bound
less wratl-and all Of this over little
annoyanccs of the most triling sort,
such rs most bookmaicrs have to OK
periencu and do experience, Il dozen
times every day, with Il smile.
Carroll finally sacrificed the friend
ship Of scores OF associates and fellow
layers who could not understand him
and who had tcmpcrs of their own
His violence told heavily upon his
prosperity, which was very great at
one time. upon the esteem in which
he would otherwise have been held,
and ain Suro that it told upon his
health, too, for he was the mcrest
nervous rag after one of his outbursts
More allowance would have been
made for Carroll had he been all ordi-
nary type of bookmaker. But he
wasn't ordinary in any sense of the
word. lie came of noted family, the
rolls, and up to the time when he went
in for bookmaking he had never been
required to do a days work in his life
HE was graduated with the very
highest honors from the University of
Virginia, SO fur ahead OF the rest of
his class that he had no competitors.
Then he studied law and was admitted
to the Louisiana Bar. He never prac-
ticed, but driftcd into the horse game
through natural love for it.
After he became IA bookmakcr on Il
big scale Il thousand and one stories
OF his outbursts gained wide circula.
ton among turf followers. a good
many of these stories were made out
of the whole cloth The time came
when every story of Il savage conflict
between any bOoimakrr and bcttor
was fastened upon Carroll.
lie got iiiru any number Of fights
with bettors who took offcnse at his
way Of ilaring up over little slips of
carelessncss Oh their part, and on sew
eral occasions he had to take bcatings.
But he would fight like n tiger, even
when it was plain that he was out
classed. and it made no difference to
him IL the man upon whom he round
ed was nine feet high, he'd go as far
as his strength permitted and then
take his medicine. On several occn-
sions his life was saved in these mix
ups only by the intervention OF the
ring police
N"Snch n beating came his way down
in Washington at the Benning track.
nine or ten years ago. AS he sat on
his stool he was approached by tall,
lanky countryman, Marylanlcr from
ono Of the Eastern Shore counties,
and those Eastern Shore fellows are
tough men to become engaged with.
The Marylandcr, being now to the
racing game, wasn't certain which
horse he wanted to bet on, and began
tosrlm his big forefingcr up and down
the names Of the horses on CAROLS
price program. Carroll grew purple
with wrath, without the slightest rca-
son, and directed torrent Of abuse at
the countryman.
The Marylander didn't say word.
bur stood gazing, opan-moutlicd and
stunned over the surprise of the thing,
at the boolmaker Carroll had reach
ctl the emu of about his tenth phrase
OF denunciation when the Marylandcr,
without waiting for any more of it,
reached out his right i:and, pulled the
layer from his stool, and proceeded to
give him a busting eff that it hurt q
fellow to look at.
81 believe that East crn Shore man
Would have broken evcrv bone in Car
rolls body had not three or four OIL
GERS rushed in and grapp'ed with him.
They had all they could do to pull the
Marylander away, and 1t took the
Drawn of three or four of the biggest
District of Columbia policemen on the
grounds to get the man to the track
cooler.
When the Marylander was brought
up I'm the Washington police court on
the following day and told his story to
the judge he was released. The Judge
said that herhad henrfl and read OF the
violence of Carrolls temper, and that