Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-23

IVY NH! es2s:a:.sg
that Of South Sea stevedore addressing a
crew of Kanaka longshoremen. Then you
humbly squeak the name Of the plug you
are bent upon going to.
"Whatcha NUMBER" grunts the patrician
layer. whom you have seen loiling back
in his benzine buggy the size Of freight
car, while you hung onto q strap In the
trolley on your way to the track, and you
like second-story man doing his bit and
giving his number before he gets his plate
of hash, and then the bookie bawls at you:
"AH right-g'wan now, git away from
there an give tn, bettors chance"
feeling like half a dimes worth Of chit
lings in a paper bag. and you wabble out
feebly to the lawn to see how the race is
going to happen.
You've got nothing whatever to show for
your coin. The money Is in the layers
satchel. and his sheet-writer has got your
humber. maybe-the sheet-writers don't al
full-and the only thing you can do. if
you've got the energy left. is to root that
you'll get something back-what you
showed in, anyhow-ine case your horse does
win.
Supposing-we are stretching magma
ton to the utmost here-your horse does
cop, the chances are about even that, in
your excitement. you've failed to note the
exact spot where the beokmaker who took
your bet is doing business. and then you
prowl around back of the pay-off line, ask
ing this pay-off man and that IL his boss
book is numbered such and such and the
pay-off men all treat you with vituperation
and scorn and ask you how much you've
bet, eighty cents, hey. and tell you that
your bet Is not on their sheet, and maybe,
after long. miserable hunt. you find your
bookmaker. and then. again. just as maybe
you don't; whereupon you are instructed
by somebody to dig up the ring arbitrator.
which you do. and the ring arbitrator.
while you are narrating your little dump
full tale. looks upon you as he might view
some new and curious species OF tree toad.
and maybe you'll hear from him on the
next day II you look him up-always sup
posing that you'll ever be able to find him
again-and Perhaps, with one OF those up
per case P's. IL you please. you get your
money and then again Perhaps you do not
It's the bully system. though. and we run
thus glfbly over the knobs OF II just to
between the New York race track pro-
prietors and the poolroom projectors.
Raging With Violence.
The war between the race track people
and the poolroom folks has been raging
with particular violence during the past
two years. The race track people put the
that furnished results to the poolrooms.
and the poolroom service was Cancelled.
That put the poolroom crowd up tree for
bit, but they hit upon the scheme of es-
tablishing a telegraph system of their own
over leased wires established outside the
gates and having the results sent to the
rooms by employees who left the track
after each race.
The Pinkertons were set upon these run
ners, however. and they were totally ex-
cluded from the tracks
Thereupon the pooroom people began to
stick their employees in trees and on tops
of buildings near the tracks, and from
these precarious stations the results were
signaled to the operators in the shacks
built below.
The track folks met this scheme by
stretching immense rolls Of canvas on their
fences in front of these coigns of vantage.
shutting out the view completely.
Recently the poolroom people leased
patch Of ground owned by a florist close to
the Belmont Park track. and overnight
steel tower. seventy-five feet in height. was
erected. On the top of this tower, against
which no canvas could. of course. avail,
the poolroom employees perched themselves
and got the results to the rooms for
couple of days.
But Sunday morning last the cute-looKing
steel tower was found to be a wreck, twist
ed into just so much junk ana scattered
all over the ground.
Dynamite" said the poolroom people.
'The wind did it, said the Pinkerton
people, without q blink. although the OFF,
cial wind figures for the preceding twenty
four hours gave the greatest velocity as
something like four knots per lunar hour
And now the poolroom people are cudgel-
ing their alert and acute brains for some
new one, with the odds pretty keen in favor
Of their finding It.
In the meantime the scrap Ia inhering
enormously to the disadvantage Of the rae
ing game around New York The SYM
pathy OF the town seems to be markedly
in favor of the poolroom crowd. The view
IL taken over there that the racing authori-
ties are endeavoring to hos the situation
People who by no means whatever admire
the poolroom business take the ground that
Peter De Lacy took a good many years
ago-ie, that IL gambling Is allowed on
one side of the fence it should not be
legally taboed on the other. All of the agi-
tation initiates against the racing game.
The attention Of powerful elements wholly
opposed to racing tn all OF us prancnes -
attracted by the echoes of the night ana
already these elements have combined IN
a move upon the New York legislature to
have racing cut out in New York state al
together. The move came perilousiy near
succeeding at that. and the racing people
won out only by the skin of their teeth,
and then only by tossing a big sop to the
aerfculturists of the state in the shape OF
bonuses from the race track gate receipts
donated to the state fairs.
And now the racing authorities OF New
York are talking of charging IS next year
for admittance to the main inclosure OF all
the tracks. in order, as they say, to stop
men who can't afford to lose from visiting
the tracks"
Men who can't afford to lose will be Wis
iting race tracks as long as there's morse
left in the world to run. all the same, or as
long as the gates of race tracks are OPEN
give dollars to get in. heyr said local
follower of the game when he read OF that
contemplated charge. Say. 1t nd be worth
while for TELLER to buy hisself a badge
horse when the fall meetin' at Bennings
closes, won't it? think I'll stake meself to
one badge horse then. l can buy plenty OF
'em ON the day before the close of the Ben
nings meetin' for a dollar an eighty cents.
HOW PITCHER NEWTON