Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-07-04
Wives Of Wejssensee
and the B0okmakerS
special Correspondence of The Star.

@EVEN short miles from the heart of
this sleepless city. amid Towering
meadows, dream the sister suburbs
of Weissensee and New Weissensee. Pref
ty rocco villas and less pretty 1athouses
rise cltff-like from the Towering mead
dows there is a round. translucid lake
edged with daisies, q park, a topping
schless, neat little avenues fringed with
innocent plane-trees, and delightful deep
sea-eyed children. And happy homes in
Vulnerable! At least so men imagined.
But as Eden had its serpent and the
Hesperian gardens their dragon, the
Weissensees were plagued by the old
enemy of virtuous men, who has hap
PLY. however, at last been put to flight
by the redeeming devotion of wifely
hearts.
His Sulphurousness laid out near Wes-
sensee an excellent race course. and Of
fered tempting prizes for the fastest trot-
tiers. The venture threatened to fail. Re-
spectacle Weissensee never had heard of
trotters before, and at first regarded with
just suspicion the evil ones contrivance.
But sport burns in all blood; and Weissen-
see succumbed. 1t began to attend the
races. At first 1t attended furtively in
twOs and threes, with hats pulled down
over eyes or in Disgusting blue spectacles.
But as the seduction grew this shame dis
appeared.
Weissensee came in tens and twenties;
then in hundreds, and at last wholesale,
SO that soon it's whole male population
spent Sundays and holidays watching the
intoxicating sport. The churches were
empty Skittles lost their charm. There
were no more idyllic walks with wives
and sweethearts down the plane-tree
avenues. and tears over absent fathers
n ho
The fact is the Weissenseers bet
and lost ignoring the permitted ito
talisator" system. which swindles you
slowly and honestly. they laid their
money with betting men from Berlin. who
unlawfully made books on English and
American lines, and. of course, started
for home each evening with beamfng
faces and inflated wads. Very different
were faces-and wads-in Weissensee.
Every one was hard up.
Husbands had no money for theaters:
children played without toys; the UNI
brageous beer garden went bankrupt, and
summer hats dwindled like Halley's
bands. has gone to the dogs" What was
worse-in the bookmakers' wake came
enameled lacies from Berlin, who smiled
to the erring husbands. and soon it was
shl iveied. the enameled ladies' hats wax
ed in radius and radiance. Things were
becoming black.
1t was the fault of the devil, his race
course and the cOrruotions of the Baby
lonian metropolis. Griselda herself would
have lost patience But the hour of de-
liverance was nigh.
The wives OF Weissensee met in council
for selr-defense- DlssenSions were
gotten, and ladies who had never hitherto
r xtc CO
ardently that powder filled the air. What
was to be done?
Expectations. curtain lectures. cozen-
ings and threats, it was agreed, had been
tried sufficiently and in vain. 1t was re-
served for Fran Leiner. local doctors
wife, to PROFOUND a remedy. AS the hus-
band. she opined. had succumbed MOI TO
the innocent trotters, but TO tue allure
ments Of hazardous bets. the only solu-
ton was to send the bookmakers to Jail.
IF the police can't catch the book
makers. how can we?" asked a dissen-
tient.
The police can't wash babies, but We
at least I cam snapped Frau Leiner.
And the meeting, she cOunseed, should
elect an espionage committee, track down
the iaw-breaking bookmakers and then.
having shown its finesse in detective
work. for the coarser work of capture
call in the police.
At first the amazed meeting gasped.
But lovely woman is receptive to ideas.
A moment later the despairing wives
wavered: next they jrdicially discussed,
and finally they unanimC approved
OF the unparalleled proposal. Amid
shower Of kisses and powder the meeting
dispersed.
no clues. But the resourcecul wives en-
listed youthful advocate, who had been
only once on the lace course and was
not wholly lost He was deeply in love
with Frau Leiner's rosy daughter and
with one of those overwhelming caressos
for which good men pledge their souls
and poor men their overcOatS-t ra ue in
won him into the plot. Thus We're Sc
cured the initial fac s. 1t took time TO
find the rest.
In midnight silence, while snoring hus-
bands dreamed of backing winners for
million. their guardian angels slipped out
of bed and stole their pocketbooks,
searched for the bookmakers names,
copied suspicious addresses and scru-
pulously analyZed every ambiguous note.
They found incidentally, 1t is said, scent
ed notes from Berlin'S erameled feminin-
ity but this was suffered in silence for
the sake of the common cause.
Once week the committee met and
coIlated the material and so on in
dustrously until the identity OF the SIN
full bookmakers was known thoroughly.
Then after a month of unremitted labor
the blow thunderousiy fell.
4
\ memorandum signed by twenty dis
tinguislled wives of Weissensee reached
the police, with names. addresses, de-
scriptions and beauty marks of the
bcokmakers and lists CT their crimes.
Next Sunday the Weissensee rae course
was more than usually thronged.
In addition to the local males and the
usual Berlin concourse, there were a
score Or so of sharp-nosed strangers who
seemed to take the keenest interest in the
races for they sought OFT the law-break-
ing bookmakers and asked them to lay
them odds In the excitement no one no.
ticed that fifty fierce whskered po-
icemen had tramped onto the course:
and when the favorite ''Schnellzug"
trotted VIGOROUSLY to the finish the
sharp-nosed strangers tapped the book
makers elbows. and said: You had bet
ter come along quietly And half an
hour later three-andtwenty breakers-up-
of-homes were entrained for the capital
to be lodged in inhospitable jails.
And all ended like a novel. In court
Frau Leiner and thirteen triumphant
sisters swore the boOkmakerS' liberties
away. An impressed judge paid them
compliments: an impressed jury. thrilled
by feminine ingenuity, forgot to yawn.
But how did you get the address OF
the prisoner" asked the judge.
"Oh, 1t fell out of my husbands pocket
when he was asleep was the answer.
And the impressed judge smiled, and