Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-20

MS, however, OOeSn worry Inc
conductors or motormen any, FOR the longer
IL takes the car to poke through the crowd
the better will be the chance of the CON
ductor and motorman to get the result OF
another inning and find out how their bets
are going.
While the figures by innings are going up
the handbook men circulate through the
crowds in front of the bulletin boards. open
ly doing business. and they will take bets.
with rearranged odds. right down to tho
| finish of game. This practice breaks both
ways. of course. Last fall, while in Cleve-
iand, had chance to see II work out very
neatly In favor of bettor who was in pos
| session of pig-headed jag. The only game
the result of which wasn't in was the
| Washington-New York game, on account
OF the later beginning of games here. The
| Washington club had lead of several runs
on the Yankees up to the eighth inning
| and the picked bettor thought that the
| chances of Griffiths outfit looked pretty
good at that stage of 1t. He said so out
| loud. and. of course got the laugh all
| around He offered to bet on his conten-
| ton If somebody would give him the right
| odds, and handbook man circulating
| through the bunch offered him 80 to / that
the Washington team would win the game.
The soused bettor took so worth OF that.
and he walked away with $500 of the hand
book mans money, the Yankees grabbing
the game in the final inning.
Before the Bulletin Boards.
When the results Of games are coming in
| newspaper bulletin boards might easily i'm
agine that a national election was on The
crowds stretch all the way across the
streets, and there is generally big outer
| fringe of shopping women who are them
selves financially interested In the outcome
of the games.
Every time a figure goes up on the boards
yell or wall goes up from the bunch.
The bettors who have wagered against the
chances of the local club make mighty little
noise. however, when the chances are going
| against them. The bulk of the crowd is
generally taking the end OF the home club.
and they won't stand for any roofing
| against the home team on the part of those
who have taken the other end of the propo-
sitiOn The sharp form players who bet
against the home club when the dope makes
1t look like that to them are supposed to lie
low and say nothing.
There Is always plenty OF opportunity for
| the combination bettors to LAY off, their
| wagers as hedging on the ticketsris called.
I observed the working Of this scheme In
Chicago one day last summer. man in
one of the big bulletin crowds had a COM
bination of Chicago. Cleveland. Washington
and Boston to win, getting 20 to l against
the ticket. including as il did, two of the
rear teams Washington and Boston.
Cleveland. Chicago and Washington all
won before the figures on the New York
Boston contest had got beyond the NTH
inning. So the bettor had a $40 note on "A
20 to ticket that looked as good as in.
organized Boston club was away out in
| front of the Yankees. A number Of men
| in the bunch near the bettor tackled him
| for pieces of the bet but he laid 1t all off
| in a pile by selling his 500 to $40 ticket
! outright to the handbook man from whom
| lac had bought it for a pat 1920. thus pull
| ing down $40 on his combination trans
action. Then the Griffith troupe forged to
| the front and nailed the game from the
| Boston outfit to Sin the last Inning,
smashing the combination ticket. However.
1t is needless to observe that the handbook
men beat these transactions a great deal
| more often than they lose on them
There all kinds of ticket batering in
front of the bulletins. too on account OF
| changes In pitchers A dopester will take
even money during the forenoon say,
against his pick for the days game. hav-
ing followed the regular pitching order or
heard that certain pitcher was scheduled
to do the fiinging. When he reaches the
bulletin board he finds an inferior pitch
er's name chalked up as the HEAVIER. and
then. II he wants to. he can sell his ticket
in the crowd. for there is always some
body around who will buy such ticket ut
considerably cut rate.
Returns for the Women
In one of the big arcades in st. Louis
the scores by innings are put up in front
of many of the separate establishments for
the information Of the throngs of shopping
women who are base ball wild. The games
are placarded in detail. too, in the loung-
ing and retiring rooms Of department
stores in several of the cities where bet
ting on the game is a feature. and these
rooms during the playing of the games are
thronged with women sitting about wait
ing for the finishes. Busness-ike women
handbook makers circulate among these
throngs of women and take their bets be
fore and during the progress of the games.
In Chicago one afternoon toward the
close of the ball season I met an old friend.
Come up to the fiat for dinner he
said to me. There may be meat. or some
thing to eat. anyhow. I haven't had time
to notice the score of todays game. but
you might as well come along-I hope
there'l be something fit to eat
inquired. naturally enough. what the
base ball score had to do with things to
eat at his fiat
1T has hull lot to do with it, my
friend replied, with the greatest prompt
ness. 'Y'see, before leaving the fat every
morning i slip my wife So with which TO
do the days marketing. and on And
she's plumb crazy over the White Sox I'M
derStand? Well if the SoX cop. there's
all kinds of things to eat for dinner but
if Comiskeys troupe drops one-wel, the
three bucks so with the drop, and the din
ner is made up mostly of the left-overs of
the previous day. What's that? Score
is to l in favor of the Sox? Oh come on
up-we'U have all kinds of a feed today,
and you're in on it,
CLARENCE l. CULLEN.