The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1912-03-22
''HELL0" GIRL GETS
WIRE into POKER
PARTY|NY. I'm. CA.
And Expulsion OF Regular
RoOmerS Follows In
Short Order

Philadelphia March 22-The tele-
phone operator at the Central Young
Mems Christian Association tried i'll
vain Tuesday night to put out a fifth
floor light on her switchboard. The
line was not being talked over, she
knew, but the light burned SO steadily
that finally she opened the wire.
1.-TWO kyards," said a remote, husky
voice.
"I'II stand on these said clearer.
but still remote voice. A thoughtfui
pause ensued, and then the wire sound
ed again with:
"And two bucks more"
The telephone girl turned to the
clerk.
Can you stand on two cards?'' she
demanded. The clerk turned pale, but
rallied when it was suggested that he
listen to the extraordinary things that
were coming from the fifth fioor.
What he heard left no doubt in mis-
mind that poker was being played
four flights up, and that the game had
some blood in it, even if the pot had
| only 81.
Today nine of the $50 young men
| who live at the Y. M. c. A. were ask
| ed to vacate their rooms at the end
of the week. They started to protest,
/ but General Secretary Walter M.
Wood and H. A. Pickel, the house
manager, referred pointedly to some
/ things they had discovered since yes
terday morning and the young men
hastily agreed to go. Half a dozen
others have received intimations that
! cir cum pect behavior alone VIII save
| them from similar notice and there is
a palpable atmosphere of making
good as we'll as of being good about
| the big building.
Secretary Wood would not say last
evening why the notices to leave had
been given.
1--WE never get to the end of our
waiting list he said. Every day we
! turn away ter or twelve young fellows
who really need what we can give
them, and when we find that any one
is not keeping our standard where we
have a right to fix it, we simply ask
him to leave, and give his room to
some other who will be better fitted to
the surroundings here.
! II am sorry that this must be pub
lished, for / don't want any of these
boys to be hurt by what Wee had to
do. But we did have to do 1t, and the
nine will go on Saturday They Will
go in spite of the fact that a petition
has been presented to us asking that
they be allowed to stay"
!. The fifth floor poker game" has
, been talked about at the Y. M. G. A.
for the past year. 1t is said to have
had alcoholic trimmings at times-the
trimmings coming sometimes IN Dorties
and sometimes in vessels at least
. twice removed from the bottles. The
authorities have heard these reports
!. but their inquiries have never led them
to any definite conclusion.
/, Gossip has it that the game began
: as a foursome and that while it con-
tinued SO nobody else suspected Its
> existence An outsider was finally
:, asked to take the place Of an absent
: member Of the group. and when the
y absentee returned the newcomer would
not agree to Icing left out. The cir
Gle grew in that way until the game
ran every night and it is said that ONE
of the original four added a banker
e box and a kitty to the Punishment o.
: his room.
8 Even at that, however, the gam'
: might have continued improved, If no
3 unsupported, If some one on Tuesda.
: night had not forgot to put the tele
phone receiver on the hook.