Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-09-29
RACE TRACK SUPERSTIT1ONS
ABOUT MONEY-HOW CLIPPING
OF 81 BILLS WAS STARTED

| double aces Now I gotta scheme to take
| the sting out of en-
| There were five two-dollar bills in the
| $40 winnings paid out to him by my cashier,
! and he tore the corners off of all of these,
! a grinning but decidedly impressed crowd
of pikers looking on while he did II, ana
| then he slouched up to my stool again with
the five cornerless two-spots In his hand.
He named a 10 to / thing on my slate as
his pick and showed in the five clipped
two-dollar notes on that one.
And that one, too. came home all by
Itself. The gang in the ring who had been
watching the corner-cllpping curves of the
| waiter took the hunCh The waiter put a
| eco dent in me that day, and he grad
| uated then and there from the pikers'
| roster. He got into the owning game in
| the following year and still has bunch OF
! good platers and big bank roll to send
| along after them.
That's what started the clipped two
| dollar bill thing The pikers in the cheap
| field who had noticed the luck of the
/ waiter with his corner-torn two dollar bills
! instantly went TO the gag themselves, and,
| luck following them by some curious kink
| at the outset, the thing quickly became a
! spreading habit
| II "iS an cNtI tIIt biG illib d!tti u Sp'ii,
and it got so that lot of the layers hated
! to see the cornerless twos fitting their way
| Some of the hunchy layers fell for the
| superstitution themselves soon they
found out about 1T. and they took to cut
ting the corners of all of the two-dollar
notes that came their way.
And il wasn't long before, in all sorts
of places away from the tracks. l began
! to hear about the unluckiness of two-dollar
! bills. For instance, a few months later
| I was with friend who was buying a lat
| for himself He got a two-dollar bill as
part of his change from the salesman. lie
| gasped when he caught sight of it and re-
| fused TO SO much touch the thing.
| None OF those boys for mine, if you
/ please he said to the ast0nished hat sales
man pointing to the two-dollar note. A
! couple Of one-things, or silver, even If its
| all in d!mes-or even a hatful of the cop
| per junk; but none of that two-stuff I'd
get hit on the oblongata kickeetis by a
buzz-gig before going block If I had one
! of those Jonah slips in my nankeens.'
| so that now, as YOU see the knock
| against the two-dollar bills is everywhere.
| \ great many chaps refused to take them
at all in change, and the superstitious ones
!
! tear or snip off the corners of them before
lacking them onto the rest of the bank
| wad.
| "A little while ago at Saratoga l dropped
! into the Garfield plant with a friend who
wanted to spin the marble bit. He passed
| the marble twirler a 500 note and asked
| for a little stack of whites, worth $50
| enough to last him for the minute or two
| he had before going out to make some
| hotel calls. The spinner in handing him
| change from the drawer slipped him four
! tens and five two-dollar notes. My friend
! looked very fallen around the chops when
| he observed the five two-things.
| We'll, it's all over-Ive changed my
! mind he said to the roulette wheeler, with
| whom he was we'll acquainted. Guess IL
| cash. and he slid back his $50 worth OF
| chips and got his lO0-dollar bill back. Then
| we came out.
"A little fine-ladyish, that stuff of yours
| wasn't it, l said to him when We got
outside. It's a wonder you don't pack
| around.a fan and some smelling salts
| why, didn't you pipe those five two
| spots he handed me-? he came right back
| at me, apparently surprised at my thick
| ness.
"'Oh. yes, l saw EN-, l said, but you
| didn't have to take them-and you hadn',
even put mitt one of them-the man
just placed the change on the counter in
| front of you and you didn't even touch it.
| Doesn't make a particle of difference
about that was his solemn reply. The
| hoodoo works out the same way If the
| two-dollar stuff Is even offered to you
| I've found that out
Got that clipping 'em doesn't work
| any more them l asked him.
Not with me-, he replied. All any
body's got to do Is even to offer me a
| two-dollar note and I'll step on a third
rail or fall down an elevator shaft OF
something like that before night. l know
| because I've watched it,
Now even the women have got that two.
dollar superstition. l occasionally chut
OF an evening playing nickel-ante with
some married friend of mine, where hall
of the sitters-in in the little game Of
amusement are young matrons. The wifi,