The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-05-16
Rogues on
Ocean Liners

gambling evil, the win or lose instinct
still exists and many thousands of
pounds are annually lost and won on
the ocean highway. Indeed, the ingra
tiating, though inscriptions, gentleman
who is ever anxious to .take a hand
continues to flourish, as, ingenuity COM
ing to his aid, all sorts of lodges are
now ENTHUSIASTICALLY with great
success-to victimize sea travellers who
seem to have more money than wisdom,
says Tit-Bits.
Quite recently an officer on one of
the largest mail steamship lines be-
tween London and America informed
the writer of case where a young
heiress was nearly trapped by one of
these scoundrels. It appears the girl
was returning with her maid to rela-
tives near New York, and on the boat
became acquainted with man who had
every appearance of being well to do.
Attracted by his manner, the lady
did not attempt to discourage his at
tentions, and by the end of the voyage
the two appeared to be fast friends.
Arrived in New York, the scamp-for
he was nothing less-made violent love,
and then incidentally touched upon
matter of business he had in hand.
Eventually he persuaded the girl to lend
him a large sum of money, and had it
not been for the timely Intervention
of the solicitors, who called at her hotel
and hearing the tale, stopped payment
of the check, the confding lady would
now have been several thousand pounds
TO the bad
Again, good haul was made not
long ago by two of these gentry-who
often work in pairs-on big steamer
in the South Pacific Almost without
exception the passengers on large boats
arrange sweepstake on each day $
run, which eliminates toward the end
of the voyage in an "auction sweep,
the chief difference in the latter from
the ordinary sweepstake being that the
allotted holders are obliged to dispose
of their numbers again by auction. For
this purpose ole of the passengers is
chosen to act as auctioneer, and the
most fancied ssruno often fetches five
pounds or more.
On this occasion one OF the rascals
conducted the proceedings, but, on OBJ
tanning the miles run from the captain,
Immediately placed the number against
the name of his confederate upon the
list IN the saloon. In the meantime the
latter had induced the lucky holder to
exchange numbers for the stsport of
the thing. and in this way the scoun-
drels came out of the bargains over
100 pounds to the good.
On another occasion the passengers
on steamer bound for Australia were
ingeniously duped. One of the first
class passengers. who had every ap-
pearance of responsibility, represented
himself to be the secretary of char
table institution near London, and
gave out to all on board that he was
visiting the colony for the purpose of
opening branch in Australia.
Whenever concerts were arranged in
the evenings the bogus secretary OBJ
tanned the permission of the captain
to place his collection box upon the
saloon table. Almost every passenger
contributed handsomely toward what
appeared to be so worthy a cause, and
by the end of the voyage the dona-
tions aggregated a large amount
Not till too late was it discovered
that the tale about the institution was
pure invention, the collecting box,
which seemed perfectly genuine, hav-
ing been specially obtained and label
ed for the occasion. But once the man
set foot in Australia he was never seen
or heard of again.
Similarly, the ingenuity of a rogue
on one of the German boats was well
repaid. Aboard the vessel were sew
eral hundred emigrants bound for
South American port, who, of course,
were anxious to obtain work the mo-
ment they landed. They considered
themselves lucky, therefore, to find on
the same ship man who said he was
the agent of an employment bureau in
the Argentine. and gladly paid the
fees he asked in return for certain,
apparently lucrative, situations.
Though armed with full references
and credentials-all of which were
false-the man turned out to be an
impostor, as no agency of which he
pretended to be the representative
existed at all. Thus nearly all these
people were duped in heartless fashion.
and their not overwhelmed pockets
suffered accordingly.
Only few weeks ago the case was
reported of an English accountant who
| obtained a position as purser on board
a swedish vessel sailing for the Black
Sea. One evening, shortly before the
ship arrived in port, passenger pre-
sented himself in the purser's cabin
and requested the latter to change a
| Russian bank note for a large amount.
| This the purser agreed to do, and the
money was duly handed over.
| On presentation, however, the steam
| ship company learned that the note
was an exceedingly clever forgery, but
on questioning the purser were unable
to elicit the identity of the passenger
to whom change had been given. as
| the former appeared to have forgot
| ten Several days later the purser
signed off Eventually clew was
obtained and it transpired that the
purser and passenger were confeder-
ates. and well known to the police in