The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-01-14

the strength of a good racing stable,
has established a standing in the east,
had his turf beginning in the dark and
,mOldy basement Of a noisome drum in
the unspeakabie section of State street
IN Chicago He did not start there as
matter Of choice. He was the victim
Of circumstances. A supplemented
German, a lot Of wiser fish, older in
years and still older in crime. picked
him out as the right kind of material
out of which to make a fall guy. Now
he has money, horses, stock farms, a
set of bookmaker's tools and good
health, while his former partners have
accumulated nothing but the expert
ence.
It was fifteen years ago that the pos
sibilities of warbling the song of first
past the post in the ear of the pliable
sucker first appealed to a few tele-
graph operators who had seen service
in the racing game. The man who
could read message before it was
translated into English In those days
was considered marvel by the gaping
crowd who hung upon his every word
In the reeking poOlroom.
1t was the time of the beginning Of
the now obsolete wire tapping game.
Gutenberg was running and poolrOOms
hourished throughout the land. Three
telegraph operators framed up an elab-
crate scheme to entrap the unwary.
With the connivance of the proprietor
of the aforesaid noisOme drum, they
established headquarters in his base
ment. They had 4 mile and a half of
wire and a layout of instruments cal
culSted to make a deep impression on
the' average mortal who was in pursuit
Of something for nothing. They angled
for big fish and eventually landed a
west side brewer with a large, red face
and large yellow bank roll. To the
now wealthy racing magnate was as
signed the part of translating the siren
song into the brewers native language
He did it nicely and the brewer fell
The brewer was invited to attend sew
eraI dress rehearsalS. 1t was demon
strated 10 him that he had been vast
ing time and money playing the races
before he had come into conjunction
with this system. Of course, the wires
that were supposed to break in on the
poolrOOm information did not reach be-
yond the plaster on the wall.
The day of the final ribbing up came
The brewer and a west side druggist,
TO whom he had tipped it off, assem-
bled in the basement and waited for the
word. Along about the third race at
the track where the horses were run
from the barroOm and whispered
through a small hole in the door that
Jack Point was in. That was the office
to Unbolt The secret was slipped to
the brewer and the druggist, and they
tore off a couple Of thousand and hand
ed 1t TO the operator to be placed on
Jack Point in the neighbOring pool
rooms Ten minutes later word came
back that the money had been placed,
and two minutes later than that it was
announced that Jack Point had won.
The brewer escorted the entire party
10 the room above and proceeded to
open wine in basket lots. He staked
the German interpreter to the price of
several suits of clothes and slipped the
leading operator $500 for his bit What
did he care? He had won 50 900 on a
TO 1 shot that already had won, and
ne could afford to be generous By and
by the trusty messenger from the floor
above came down and whispered that
Jack Point had been disqualified. When
the brewer and druggist awOke they
were all alone.
a week later they ran across the Ger
man interpreter in a west side palace
Of chance, and they stripped him. He
had silver watch, a horseshoe pinS a
pair of gold cuff buttons, the suit of
clothes that the brewer bought, and IS
In money. All Of these were taken from
himI and he was turned loose to freeze.
BY f. strange shift of fortune the brew
er Eventually became his patron and
gav6 him his start on his way to the
place at when he has arrived. He had
no part in the s.. GOO loot, but that was
not his fault. He was willing, but his
partners in crime held him too cheap
lie now is heaping Goals of fire upon
their heads by occasionally stalking
them to a meal.
One of the unrecorded trotting horse
records is that of an ElectiOneer horse
! In San Francisco, that pulled the sup
4ply wagon Of the convent of the Little
Sisters of the Poor One-half mile in
ia or Whereabouts. He was equipped
with working harness and was driven
by one of the sisteThOod, who proba bly,
does not know To this day that the
horse had a history.
One of the most lovable characters
on the turf is a ST. Louis man who by
industry and close attention had built
himself model establishment and had
added a great deal in the way of
brains or money to the cultivation of
the thoroughbred in the west. He had
q modest commencement as clerk in
a store where they spoke all kinds of
languages. He drifted into the racing
business, and his luck was phenom-
email. Barring the fact that ne made
money rapidly applied il to useful pur-
poses, took good care of the poor and
lived decently, he might be called the
black sheep of the family-that is, con-
a trasting his life with the natural bent
81 his relatives.
He took TO San Francisco in the early
'S0s a stable of race horses, and those
who made racing out there in those
days rejOiced at his coming. His favor
tie sister happened to be the mother
superior of a convent whose mission is
to take care of the old and infirm. The
St. Louis turfman made it a point to
visit this sister of himself and Of all
/. humanity every week. She knew that
he was rich in horses, and one day she
said TO him that the convent was badly
in need of an animal to draw the wagon
that daily made the rounds of the
markets picking UP the victuals con-
tributed by the merchants to the fur
therance of the good cause. The ami
/ nal that was in use was of uncertain
age but of certain decrepitude. He was
slated for an early retirement The
good sister ENORMOUSLY suggested that
the brother might send one of his
horses to take the place of the one
whose finish was in sight
I've got nothing in my stables" said