The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1909-10-13
Little Boys and the Pictures from Cigar
cite Boxes.

cite Boxes.
A number of papers have noticed how
the little boys have taken to the pictures
of famous base ball players found in
cigarette boxes. How the little fellows
Flip" the pictures to see whether face or
back will turn up, how they win or lose
their cards in this way. Some see break
ers in the distance for these little fellows
who Flip" the pictures, and seem to think
something ought to be done to stop it.
This craze is as much in evidence here
as any where under the sun. You may
ask any urchin you meet how many cigar
cite pictures he has and you will promptly
get an answer of any where from to 500.
They flip the pictures here, too, just as
elsewhere; there is where the fun comes
in. They block the sidewalks and fill up
corners Tipping the little cards. They
win and lose just as older people do at
games of chance.
It is the element Of chance that invites
these youngsters to this game Of clip"
but this is not the sole reason they are
interested in these little pictures. There
is a reward of $1,000 for a complete set of
pictures this helps as an incentive to collect
the pictures.
1t is funny to hear a great big old lease
hardened" sinner preaching about the
harm of these kids Tipping their pictures.
Old r%eprobates who have bought and sold
cotton that never existed, by the hundred
bales; who put up ';scad" on the home
team every time they play; who never
missed a horse race when the opportunity
to be present was offered; who drop their
nickles in the clock every time they buy a
cigar or drink a glass Of soda water in the
hope that they may get three; who take
chances at every rattle that comes their
way-these fellows, fitting their thumbs
and fingers together, drawing down the
corners of their mouths, and talking about
the harm Of the kids Tipping the pictures
is like unto a fool parent with a six-inch
stogie in his mouth telling his child it is
wrong to smoke.
You remember well the day when you
were a boy, when you with other boys
had pockets full of red halo, scaly barks
OF something Of the kind, how you took q
handful held it out to your crony, uttering
withal in a bantering spirit the word "hull
gull" hand full. How many? etc. You
were not prompted by a spirit Of gamb-
ling. You did yourself no harm by it. 1t
all in a spirit Of past time.
Such is the case with the little kids they
will get no harm to themselves, or any n
else, Tipping the pictures.
The Monroe Enquirer in commenting on
it says:
"Well what ought to be said about it?
Take one Of these little fellows up, who is
Tipping his picture cards in the hope Of
winning, and send him home with a report
concerning his doings and the chances are
that his nanny will be off somewhere
playing with cards for a prize or will have
a bunch at her house doing just what her
boy out on the street was dOing-fipping
a lot OF little old cards over and over,
hoping to win. No, sir we are not going
to say much about the boy gambling for
his picture cards, unless we open up on
SOult OUllGl HldUuOlS, anu Gild ullSHu C1uoO
talk. You have probably noticed that we
have quit telling about the fellow who was
caught out in the back lot gambling with
cards and was sent to the changing for
the offense. Yes, we have quit it. Pardon
US for saying that we hope we have, in a
measure, a love Of ~justce-just plain,
common fair play-at least we have
enough Of it for it to gag US to tell about
the nigger being caught out in the back
lot Tipping his greasy cards for a few
nickels, about his arrest, his trial in court,
his sentence to the chain gang, because he
played with his cards for a very small
amount and not tell about how Mrs.
Uppingee and a number Of her friends got
around q table and played and played with
little old cards for a prize, a thing worth
a whole lot more than Is the few nickles
the niger vas sent to the chain gang for
playing his cards for"
How about that? Has the inquirer an
alyzed the situation correctly? II it has
one of two things should be done: The
authorities should stop prosecuting the
negroes for Tipping their greasy cards
for a few nickels," or the good women
should be estopped in their games for
prizes.