Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-12-28
TALKING AN ARM OFF

tne way, nave you met up with
ID Mr.. Gabbsky? Because he's around
again. At the noon hour recently he
wandered into an 18th street lunchroom
took chair at the table of an acuuaint-
ance without any urging. and inquired:
say, whatcha got there? Chicken cur
ry! Looks good to muh. Guess I'll fall
for some of that. too. Yep, it looks good
to me. You're looking pretty good yourself,
DO. By the way, that word good sort of
| sticks in my mind this morning. Heard
Jake Punkluck get it off so often last night
Little game of one-bone limit at Jake's
faiths wffes away visiting her folks for
the holidays-and. say. Jake nearly got
cancer of the pipes saying That's good.
And that isn't the only thing he came
near getting. or got. He got Brazilian
crouch on along toward the wind-up of
the game-whee! but wasn't Jakey the
sore butcher. though! Queer gag. for a
1elier 10 make show of himself right
| around his own works that way Why
say, after Bill kleenup. sitting behind a
mean little office hours straight-ace to
hve-had gouged Jake out of $40 potsky,
with Jake tanning himself behind three
bullets, l sure thought for a minute that
Jake was going to order the bunch of US
to beat 1t out of his house. he was so
pinkly around the neckband He finally
got so sore that he'd barely say a word
10 any OF US. and then. when it was up to
MIN, he'd pass blind. Once he did this on
big jackpot that nobody could open.
Wen, like mark. Jake. after passing
| blind. and nobody opening it, looked to
see what he had in his mitt. and he had
a pat ten full. Say, you could have heard
| him grit his teeth out in Glen Echo, I'll
bet a hat. What's that? You didn't know
| that Jake Punkluck is the worst rag
chewer In poker game, when they're not
running his way, that lives in Ill OF
Washington? Huh! thought everybody
was jerry to that 1 never played with
Jake that he didn't act like a bug. and
"Oh, say, talking about bugs. have you
| heard that Ned Whimsy's wife has ap-
piled for commission to sit on Ned and
have him declared subject for the nut
colony? Hadn't heard it? Say. when did
you move out to Rockville? Now. mind
you. 1 don't know that the story is abso-
lutely on the level, but that's the way it
was handed to me, and 1t wouldn't seem
a little bit funny to me If it were straight,
for say, you've noticed the way Ned s
been acting and looking the last few
months, haven't you? Why, say, I I'M
derstand that Ned's wife has lost fully
| thirty pounds the last few months just
| worrying about him. But / guess it's
pretty universally accepted these days
| that these things are hereditary, and that
| aunt of Ned's-
Say. dye mean to tell me that you
didn't know that Ned Whimsy's get an
aunt in the bughouse over in Marylind?
| Why, sureSt thing you know! She's been
a raving maniac for ten or fifteen years,
| tied up in straitjacket. And. say, they
tell me that Ned's dad himself was kind
O. - well, you know -batty up aloft. l
s'pose the next thing we'll be hearing is
that they've dragged poor old Ned off to
| the lid factory. and it's an even bet that
| if they once get him there, why
"Oh. say, look here, talking about
| bets. have you heard anything about
| Tim Goodchap welching on a bet with
a friend? Nix? Reason I'm asking is
| that 1 occasionally have some business
dealings with Tim. and If this story S
right about him doing that n-clching
stunt-well, O. course. thatd make a
| difference. But I want to get the thing
| right first, of course, you see. old pal.
The duck that told me about it is rather
| a chfnny mug, and / hate these 2oSSlpy
sIobs and never take much stock in
there with such a circumstantia] yarn
that. of course I couldn't altogether
disregard what he said. He said that
| Tim and a matey of his got sore all of
sudden on the rum thing one night
when they were out together I couple
| Of months ago. and that they mutually
agreed to forfeit fifty bucks to each
other If either of 'em took a drink for
twenty nights later it was. Tins pal
that he'd made the bet with caught
Tim tossing in a cocktail at an avenue
| gin mill. and, of course. he handed Tim
the fifty bucks. Tim. of course, was
caught right with the goods, and he
said that he'd be there with the coin
in a day or so. And, they say, he's
WEIGHED. OF course, as 1 say. the fell
low that told me this is one of those
guffers-I sure do despise that kind of
| people-and he may have built the
story up somehow or another. So may
be you'd better say nothing about 1t
till I tip you off that it's right, see,
for 1 certainly am going to get to the
| bottom of it. 1 don't like to have these
yarns going around about my friends
Tins a friend of mine in sort of
| a way-especially when the yarns are
| toted around by these hammersmiths
that don't care hang what they say
about man, and, say, If l was the
| doctor, why
SAY, by the way, mentioning that
word doctor reminds me that there S
another thing 1 want to ask you about,
| DO. Is that story on the level about
| Frank Passout having been practically
slaughtered by our friend Doc ALL
hearing. I'd like to know the right of
| it, 1 sure would. 1 always considered
Dr. Alright pretty fair sort of a
medical sharp. didn't you? But if this
is right about the way he handled poor
Frank Passout's case, why, b'see, 1
| think it only fair that folks should be
| put next to it for their own protection.
| IT'S a pretty serious thing for saw
| bones with Doc Al1right's reputation
| to be running apound killing people-if
| this story's on the level, but. of course.
| I wouldn't believe the story without
yerification. l thought maybe you
| might have heard something about it.
| Well as long as you haveno heard
| anything about it. better not make any
| cracks about 1t, see?-only. as l say,
If it's right. it would be only tair for
| folks to know
.Hully mackerel, here it's nearly 1
o'clock and look how I've been sitting
| here allowing you to talk an arm off
| take any Korean change for any of
| those new gilt sawbucks. hey?"
Deaths From Alcoholism in France.
| From the Hospital.
Alcoholism in France is held to be enc
| of the most terrible scourges of the pres
| ent day and is also apparently one of the
| chief causes of death. Two years ago the
| Academic de Medicine invited members
| of the medical societies to collect statis-
| tics of all deaths in their wards.
NJ. Fernet has communicated a sum-
mary of these statistics and finds that
| during the last fifteen months among a
| total of over 15OO deaths occurring in
| eleven different hospitals and asylums
| alcohol played a part in the cause of
death in one-third of the cases. 1t was
| the principal cause in one-tenth of the
deaths and ii was the accessory cause in
more than two-tenthS Alcohol showed