The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-12-17
LUCKY BALDWIN
 HAS GOOD HEART Was Kind to Friends When
 TheyWere Down AN OLD TURFMAN TALKS Report That Baldwin Is Going Blind Starts Train of Recollections in
 the Mind of Race Track
 Follower.

From the Washington Post.
 'If Lucky Baldwin has gone blind. as the report from California has 1t, I'm sorry for one. and if I could I'd freely give him a bit of the strength of my lamps" said a lurfman at the Benning meeting wko. af- ter good many years of ups and downs. now seems to be pretty snugly anchored in the waters of prosperity. When Lucky was active in the racing game he was the best friend to the smudged-out folks that ever watched field turn into the stretch.
 "They had me rocking for fair along toward the wind-up of one of the Chicago racing seasons, and there were days when supper money looked big to me as a seven-foot 1ongshoreman on a mixed-ale souse.' l was making the bluff that I was there with a bank roll, but, all the same, I was gum-shoeng around the Washing ton Park ring, making crabby little B and 8 bets with the dead-line layers and trying to nudge long shot or two over that would start me in bushes again for the winter meetings.
 "One stake race day at Washington Park I was sinking around in the middle of the big betting ring gang. trying to get to 1 against the favorite In the main handicap. l had only three bucks left and l wanted to get to on the favorite. The horse had opened at that figure, but had been cut to 2Ia in most of the books.
 Finally I drifted up to the stool of one of those swell-headed layers who are in the habit of bawing al people who nudged up to their high chairs to get bets down there are some like him left around the New York tracks yet. The thing had been batting me around so hard that was in a sort of a daze. or I'd never have allowed myself to be swirled up to that layers stool for the purpose of making s3 bet, much less or asking for a bit of a hunch in the price for that amount of money.
 Fact Is, I had held out my mitt hold ing the $3 almost before I noticed who the layer was that had drifted to. I had gone too far to stop, though in extending the money to him, and I took the chance that, as he knew me perfectly well, and as I had bet big money on his sheets when they were running straight for me, he'd have a decent enough kidney not to try any of his gutteral knocks on me.
 Tn passing over the three aces named the favorte.
 "Iet's have to 1 on him., I said to the layer.
 "'Aw, noddin' smaller dan five-spots go here he ripped out, stalking me to one of his scowls I don't want none O dis gashouse money and he pushed my three one-spots back at me.
 .I fell back, feeling like a torn-off piece of the supplement of last Sundays paper that's been used to wrap liver in.
 When I got back to the outskirts of the crowd I felt a slight tug at my coat. I turned and the man who had done the Ta dyyin great ring prowler. even on the days when he didn't make bet.
 Lucky had overheard the dab the layer had handed me, and his eyes were danc- ing with anger. He had his black cigar tilted at the usual sixty-degree angle in his face, and he was chewing on It hara'
 Just take this he said to me- hand ing he something that I couldn't see for minute after he passed 1t to me, the crowd was so dense, and go and slap 1t at that suuarehead, and see If he's game enough to take 1.-the favorite. at 2bs to 1, his price. And if he doesn't take the whole bundle show him up like he did you'
 '.I looked at the paper things Lucky had passed to me The paper things were ten 5000 bills
 1 q drilled through the crowd and got | myself directly in front of the stool or | the layer so that he had to notice me, !, and he was Just about to unloose ms lace 1, spring and open up another line or two l about that s3 thing of mine when l slip ped the ten 5000 notes into his grab hand.
 The favorite.' said l.
 l 'The layer looked at the s10O0O with pair of fallen jowls. The whole crowd | around the stool, most of whom had ob- served how he'd stabbed me about my measly little s3 in change. watched the incident carefully to see what was going to happen.
 | "'Vell. stuttered the layer, I'll dake |, five tousan' of It. and he looked like q ! ninepin that hadn't been set up yet. | "'Five thousand, hey? I said to him. | All rightS Five thousand at 2la to l. Now. what are you laying for the other | five thousand? Talk up! Don't crawl into | your hole! You're the big store here ain't you? Well, spin 1t out! What are