The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1908-03-28
FIELD TOR CARD SHARPS
They Have Turned of Late to
the Pacific Steamships.
OLD METHOD PRACTICED.

hca'y uuiih tnc yoai Juot poooou' "hN
there is large tourist drift toward
Australia, which includes, on this
steamship trip from San Francisco,
stops at some of the picturesque is
land groups on the South Pacific"
says an attachee or this line. THE
victims of the card sharpers fall
much easier on the Pacific boats than
they ever did on the Atlantic liners,
for up to within very few years the
Pacific boats had the reputation OF
being entirely free Of travelling gam
blers, so that the victims on the Pa
cific liners rarely suspect until 1t is
too late that they are being done by
professional sharks.
"Some great sums have been crook
edly won already by the Pacific boat
| sharks-much larger sums that ] ever
heard of being dropped by the victims
of the sharks on the Atlantic boats.
"The first gun in our anti-shark
| campaign was fred couple of months
ago, when a company operating line
| of steamers to Honolulu refused to sell
transportation on one Of its boats TO
| q well-known shark, wto. after work.
in the gulibles on the Atlantic lin
| ers for more than twenty years, took
| to the Pacific boats ubout two years
| ago. This man is said to be worth
half a million dollars.
when this shark applied, about two
| months ago. for a cabin on one of
| the Honolulu bound steamers, the
agent of the line was summoned to
the desk by the clerk who recognized
| the professional gambler The shark
was politely informed by the agent
that he had taken his final ride on
any of the steamers of the company.
Fine perkily replied the shark.
But why?'
BECAUSE replied the agent, wlCh
all the civility in the world, you're
professional manipulation OF the
cards. This company knows all about
you. We've had great many pri-
vate complaints about you. The com
pany is no longer going to furnish ac-
commodations to fenows of your kind
We're going to wipe your tribe out,
so far as travel on our line is con-
cerned, If II costs us a million dol
lars to do it. That's lucid talk, ISM
it?'
"Great talk" replied the shark, un-
daunted, but it's also defamatory. III
sue you. you see. You can't, as COM
mon carrier, legally refuse to furnish
me with transportation. I'll sue and
let the courts decide the matter. You'll
have a sizeable case on your hands,
and I'll promise you that I'll beat
you out
"'Go ahead and sue, and win, II
you can,' replied the agent. We wan,
you to sue. That's why I'm refusing
you observation-disclosures the COM
pany expects and hopes that you will
sue. And II we don't lick you out OF
court 1t won't be for the lack o.
trying
"That nervy shark was as good as
his word. He entered suit against
the company for refusing to sell him
transportation to Honolulu on one OF
It's steamers without good and sutfi'
Client cause and he put in another
| suit against the steamship agent fol
defamation of character
n 'SWhen the professional gambling
evil on the Pacific boats first became
\ manifest a number of more or less
feeble efforts were made to shut of
N the sharks, but none of those efforts
embodied the idea of refusing trans
H portatlon on the boats to the swind
lers. The companies were afraid o.
III that method. One of the schemes Il
II knock the operations Of the sharks
on the Pacific liners was to instruc
the higher officers of the steamers
captains, pursers, first and second OF
fieers and surgeons-to pass the wort
quietly around among male passenger
Y when a known shark turned up as
passenger on one of the steamers.
This scheme was never fully sue
cessful, for new sharks, hearing abou
the richness OF the Pacific steame
\ graft, were showing up all the time
and were, OF course, unknown. 4
4 takes considerable watchfulness on tn,
, part of steamship officers to get one
OF these newcomers down so pat as L
be able to tab and label him as I
professional shark
$50 It happened that that class o.
} foolish male yoyagers who PERM
themselves to be inyeigled into carr
games with men they don't know. go
1t bad before the steamship companie
realized how great the evil had be
come. OF course, the victims them
selves rarely squeal, but often thei
friends and fellow voyagers who don
} play cards themselves do the squeai
ing for the soft marks.
Perhaps the largest sum ever drop
ped on steamer to shark was los
by profilgate young chap from Lo
Angeles to professional on a rld'
from San Francisco to Yokohoma
Ihe story of this gouge never 60
/ into the papers. The young spend
thrift, who, until his relatives got hol,
of him and put him In rum cure in
stitution, hadn't, on his own admis
| sion. been quite sober for eight years