Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-04-06

went up in the smudge together when the
game was fallen to.
After that some wise mug doped out tie
employment agency n pretty fairish kiHi
of a front of the-house stall and put that
one In motion. II was started away up on
Sth avenue. not far from Central Park. 1t
was an employment agency for men only
chefs, buffers, coachmen second men. FOOT
men and all that kind of stun. Regular
rig-up OF desks and chairs. and a couple or
girls and men clerks doing busy things with
Ink and paper out in the front works II
wasn't phony. either, that employment
agency end of tilt was really run a
stratghtaway course. and whole lot of feI-
lows have jobs yet that they got at New
York employment agencies that were
started as stalls for the pool rooms behind
or upstairs.
There was blackboard out in front of
the place giving a long list of places open
and Jobs wanted. Coachmauish looking
dubs, with close-cropped sders and leg
Eings. hung around out in front, picking
their teeth and giving the sure-enough as
pect TO it, and the whole stall was geared
on strictly scientific basis. The real
boys with the good things doped out from
the past-porformance charts nudged right
through to the rear OF the layout where
the soft-padded spring door closed on
Them and there they were in rocking
the ponies names and odds neatly marked
up. Nothing could be much sweeter than
that for the room keeper.
This one went for two months without
lmitators and then IL died. not OF imta-
ton. but because of a declare-in job. The
brother OF a politician in the ward was "A
pony player. He got in by mistake. but
when they found out who he was they al
lowed him. to streak along with the rest.
He wasn't picking 'em right. and finally
he waited around until the days work was
over. hemmed the boss of the plant in n
corner and essayed to declare himself in
on chunk of the daily rakedown on the
strength of being the brother OF the ward
leader. The man running the room didn't
see that shakedown thing. and the poll
ticlan's brother not making ii stick for a
piece Of the swag, went right out and tip
ped the bulls. They didn't find anything
but the employment agency a-going when
they made their swoop, but the fact that
they'd been put next to the employment
agency gag put that one on the tobog.
Free Doctors for All.
well. then one of them started a free
doctor shop, which wasn't so bad. consd-
ering that II worked for a good five
months. The dump rugged on 7th
avenue. Advertisements and hand bills set
1t forth that to advertise certain remedies
the free doctors were going to meet and
treat allcomers. men only, free for six
months. The front part Of the second
floor was rugged up for consultation Of
fees and five or six dressy young fellows.
with phony physicians certificates from
OtneT states SNelleu aEOtHu III lutSe VI
fees. stalking the yaps that came to big
words and tanning 'em along as IL 1t was
all meant. The horse room was on the top
floor back. and 1T was there with the rum
and the smokes and all OF the back dope
comforts of home a-plenty. But fellow
who lost his bank wad there did the
squeak about this free doctor dump and
1t went the way OF the rest Of the frame
ups
THAT big bull market of year or 50
ago gave number of foxy pool room folks
a chance to get In on the bucket-shop rig.
This dodge enabled them to start business
right downtown in the big office buildings.
The pool room man would start bucket
shop just like the real kind OF bucket shop
In every particular: including wire service
and all, the only difference being that no.
body bought sold anything on margin In
the dump. The ponies were the goods. The
bucket shop had the regular stock quota
lions, the boy to chalk up the quotations.
and ali that. but market players didn't
operate at these screen layouts at all.
The horse players sat around the room
looking at the board as IL they were sure
Interested in the way B. r. Il. or Amalga-
mated was fuctuating. but every little while
two or three OF 'em would be summoned
into a little side room, and there they'd be
told the prices and the horses in the next
race and get their bets down. Then they'd
slip out to the main room and tip of the
rest of the fellows as to the horses and the
prices and the horse players would stink
into the little side room in little patches OF
Two VI iiice anu PuihP III 'h.H NetS 49,,
after a bit, boy who marked the phony
bucket-shop board would sneak into the
side room, and when de came out all of the
players would be watching his moves. He
walk over to the blackboard, chalk the
names of the placed horses. one. two. three.
so that all hands could get the peek and
then hurriedly rub the names out. Then
the winners would creep in twos and threes
to the side room and find their wads wait
ing for them.
'There were other schemes a-plenty
I've only mentioned few as samples
Most of them have been worked now. the
pest-house placards being about the last or
them. I don't know what the boys who
like to hear 'em called of and who hate the
handbook gag are going to do to frisk
themselves of their spinach now that the
scarlet fever sign is down. l sure don't
The whole things a sad story. take 1t from
me- But they'll be cooking up new ones all
right, and you can take that from me. too"
CLARENCE l.. CULLEN.