The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-03-13
BIG GAMBLING ON
PACIFIC MAIL
STEAMER
A TRAVELLER BETWEEN SAN FRANCISCO
AND HONOLULU, SAYS THE WASHINGTON sTAR-TFE WAR OF
THE COMPANY AGAINST sHARPs LEADS TO LAW
SUITS

An Official of the Pacific Mail Steam
ship Company was telling of the in
vasion of the Pacific steamers by the
professional card sharks who have
been driven from the Atlantic liners.
"A campaign has been started a.
gainst the operations of these swind-
lers on the Pacific steamers" he said,
but the fellows are hard to dislodge
couple of months ago the San Fran
cisco agent of company operating a
separate line of steamers to Honolulu
refused to sell transportation TO a well
known card sharp who last autumn
was finally driven from the Atlantic
liners. The sharper was politely in
formed by the agent that he couldn't
ride on any of that line Of packets.
Fine calmly replied the swindler
But why?'
Because replied the agent with
all the ciyility in the world, you're a
professional manipulation of the cards.
This company knows all about you. Al
ready we've had number Of COM
plants about you. The company will
no longer furnish accommodations to
fellows Of your sort We're going TO
wipe your tribe out If it costs us
million dollars to do it. That's lucid
talk, isn't it?'
Greatest kind of talk complacent-
ly replied the swindler, quite undaunt-
ed, but it's also defamatory. I'll sue
you, you see. You can't as a COM
mon carrier, legally refuse to furnish
me with transportation. III sue and
let the courts decide the matter. You'll
have stable case on your hands, and
I'll promise you that Tir peat you out
Go ahead and sue and win, II you
can replied the agent. We want
You to sue. That's why / am refusing
you observation-disclosures the COM
: pany expects and hopes that you will
sue. And If we don't lick you out or
> court It won't be for lack Of trying
It,
This neryy swindler was as good as
his word. He entered suit against the
company for refusing to sell him trans
portation to Honolulu on one Of its
steamers without good and sufficient
cause, and he put in another separate
suit against the steamship agent for
, defamation OF character. Those cases
have not yet been called, and there is
a lot Of speculation out in San Fran
cisco as to what the outcome is likely
to be. Most Of the speculation con-
y geals around the point as to whether
the steamship company will be able
to produce as witnesses against the
l. sharper men who have been bitten by
g him on ocean voyages. think | may
:, state that such witnesses will be pro
: duced.
J. when the professional gambling
II evil on the Pacific liners first became
}. manifest, a number Of more or lesi
J. feeble efforts were made to shut of
Z the sharks, but none Of these effort
u embodied the idea Of refusing trans
u portatlon on the boats to the swind
= lers The companies were afraid 0
y that method. One Of the schemes t,
knock the operations of the sharks OF
the Pacific liners was to instruct tn
higher officers-captainb, pursers, frs
= and second officers and surgeons
n pass the word quietly around anon
n the male passengers when know
a. swlndler turned up as a passenger o.
n one of the steamers. But this pla
4 was never fully successful, for neV
of sharks, hearing about the richness 0
D. the Pacific steamer graft, were show
lg ing up all the timv, ana were, OF cours
lr unknown. It takes considerable watch
10 fulness on the part Of steamship on
t: GERS to get one Of these newcomer
DO down 80 pat as to be able TO tab an
" label him as a professional shark. y
Oh 1t happened that that class Of FOOLS
70 male voyagers who permit themselSe
IN to be inVeigled into card games wit
~ men they don't know got 1t bad bC
" fore the steamship companies realize
&c how great the evil had become. {
=. course, the victims themselves rarel
~ squeal, but often their friends and fe
low-voyagers who don't play caro-
n themselves do the squealing for tn
~ soft marks.
a. Nor are the Victims wives char
a. about squeallng. Most Of the Paclf
steamship companies have letters @
file-pretty violent letters too, son
of them-from the wives Of men WI
have been badly done by the sharks G
be the steamers, After a man has bee
he picked clean in the course OF an ocea
nd trip by a man with whom he has ha
no shore acqualntanceship, and WI
appears to be unknown to all the re
of the passengers, he sometimes a
tually has the wisdom to conclude +