The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-08-09
From the London Globe.

(0 gambler, and any and every
 occasion for trying his luck at games of chance Is sure to ma nm ready to challenge fortune. For some years past the cafes of France nave been encountered by automatic appa- ratus of more or less honest descrlp- tion, which, in most cases, are llltle less than artful devices to rob the pub
 lie of their coppers. The public prooa-
 bly, knows that quite well, but the nersistent confidence or hopefulness or
 the man in the street in his LUCK en- ables the makers of the penny-lh-the-
 slot machines to reap rich harvest py
 trading on public credulity. remem-
 Der some years ago, on wet aaS' after lunching with some friends Ill suburb of a Normandy seaside resort trying my fortune at one of these auto
 matio catchpennies. 1 seldom touch +ha foolish things. but 1t was too wet
 to venture outside and there was noth-
 ing to do but to sit in the care. 30 nut a penny in the slot backed green and pulled the lever. Out came tWo- pence. I put the money In my poehe''
 Then I placed a penny on red and out cane flyepence The game began to pc not only interesting, but prohtaple'
 After two or three lucky shots, the
 people in the cafe gathered around ne and handed me their pennies with the request that I would play for them. did so and in most cases was success ful. won for myself, put in money for the children of the proprietor dlu the same for the maid who had served
 us. and finally as the landlord seemed ! to be looking rather glum. I put in nennv for him and brought out seven pence. By this time the rain had , cleared off and left the cafe have l since reflected that such prodigal luck | as was mine that day is not without | danger. It might have turned my head and if I had become penny-in-the-slot | fend what a horrible end l might have come to! Happily I was saved from
 such a fate and in spite of my phe-
 nomenal good fortune in the Normandy | cafe I have never-or hardly ever
 tempted the fickle goddess since.
 | But there are others. Go into any 1 of the small wine shops or cafes In
 Paris and you are almost certain to | see in a conspicuous part of the estao- lishment the familiar automotic tempt
 CT. They are of three kinds. First the
 annaratue which distributes counters they are no longer allowed to distrlp-
 ute money-in accordance with the ln-
 tentions of the individual who regulates if: second, that in which the fortune
 of the day" is fixed in advance ano'
 third, the machine in which the shiil i of the player seems to determine lhe
 result. I say seems" for that Is ohiy
 another method of gulling the gooo'
 ooneaino nuhlic. In the machine of the
 first type the player puts in his pen
 nv-that is indispensable in all the
 apparatus. Then he turns handle anu
 wins or loses The machines are regu-
 lated in such way that winning ana losing series alternate by turns. put
 the winning series, by which the TUT l tunate player obtains counter repre-
 senting twopence, which he must spend 1 on the premises-that is where the
 vina shop keeper comes in-is much
 
 | series The automatic man is not III
 the business for his health mus you
 may play a franc and not win more
 than one or two counters say four
 nence. or YOU may lose. If you strike
 . had series you may play 20 "coups
 at penny time and come away Wlth
 a couple of twopenny> counters which
 won must take out in liquor, whether | YOU like it or not.
 Tn the second type of these mechan- 1 teal devices for cajoling the puoilc the
 nlayer chooses in advance color, or
 A card. One system, for example con
 sists of two clock faces on which are
 mark ed hearts, spades, clubs ana dla- monds You place the hand or the clock on the card you are backing, put a nenny in the slot and turn the handle
 If you have been well inspired you WI" twopence or threepence, and the pros
 meet of winning threepence has
 wonderful effect in stimulating the en-
 ergv of the gamblers. The result IS that the taking of these machines IS very considerab modification or this system presents even fewer chances of success for the packer. It consists of an arrangement by which the
 "ioueur" backs one of three eolors, and if successful, wins penny, two pence or threepence. But the supreme attraction is that the stake is only balfnennv. instead of twice that amount as in the other machines Nobody minds risking a half-penny, especially as he stands to win in counter, or even two counters, worth threepence each. So it often happens that GUS toner plays 20 times, that Is, takes tenpence--to win threepence or SIX pence. He has in reality only one chance m four and occasionally his bad luck is aggravated by the appearance of a device reading: "Perservere and vou will make your fortune" or, more ironically still: Beware of thieves" The third type of apparatus is one in which the players vanity Is pan dered to by the illusion that his skill has something to do with the result. After dropping his penny in the slot |'the player presses on spring which when released sends metal ball
 spinning around a circle in sort of looping -the-loop movement. When it reaches the vertical plane on the top