South Bend news-times., 1915-09-10
BALL FANS HAVE
SLIM CHANCE IN
BASEBALL POOLS
Business Booming But Few
Players Get the COin-Men
Named Say They Were
Never Paid.
BY Frank G. Mcnkc.

NEW YORK, sept. 10.-A country
wide investigation into the workings
of the various baseball pools shows
that about 90 percent Of them are
crooked. It shows that the men who
are operating them are mulcting the
base ball fans OF the country for the
stupendous total OF 100000" per
wees
Every pool that is operating pub
fishes lists each week giving the
names Of the winners In many
cases il has been found that so per
cent Of the names on the lists are hc-
titi0us. At least five percent of the
names are those of actual persons,
but OF persons who never got dollar
from the pool and never played those
pools.
At a conservative estimate there
are more than 80 big pools operating
just the same. And business is boom
ing. because =. T. Barnum was right
There's a boob born every minute
Some of these pools take in over
100000 per week, and. as far as can
be learned, pay out only a few thou
sand, although their lists lead one to
believe that they pay out about 80
percent Of their receipts.
The man who plays a baseball pool
has just as much chance of winning
as a man has of drawing interest on
a FIVE dollar gold piece that he tOsses
into the ocean.
Paper Investigates.
The Buffalo (N. " Enquirer re-
Gently published affidavits 10 show
the crookedness of many Of the larg
est pools that are now operating, and
which had been under investigation.
The Enquirer said:
The Investigation carried on here
.f,,r r.r.T
Quoted through agents who were sent
to other sections, and upon their re-
turn 70 New York they revealed
these crooked pools in operation:
Great Eastern, open: Richmond,
Elm Baseball association; Perry of
Niagara Falls. Square Deal; Knicker-
booker. Toronto club; Metropolitan,
Fort Erins News beach and United
Premium association.
The Enquirer then presents many
instances to show the crOOkednesS of
the pool operations
one sheet recently issued by a
baseball pool concern showed that so
percent OF the names on the winning
list were fictitious and that about so
percent of the others were real names
but that the owners of the real names
never played the pool and never got a
dollar from the concern. although they
were advertised as having won from
SO 10 Sl,UOO.
The name of Harry r. Miller of
BinghamtOn. y. Y, appeared on the
list of the Great Eastern pool as hav-
ing been the winner of $500 for the
week ending July 3rd Miller makes
an affidavit saying that he never re-
ceived a dollar Further inVestiga-
tion showed that the names of six
winners in the Great Eastern. whose
addresses were given as BinghamtOn,
y. Y. do not appear in the city di-
rectOry, nor are they known there.
Never Got Dollar.
The Perry of Niagara Falls adver-
tised that Peter VOCAL of the General
Railway Signal Co. Rochester. " y.
won SIS during May. Nogel says he
never played the pool and never got
a dollar
Il never played the Perry pool and
never got q dollar from them" said
w +. Strong OF OswegO. y. Y. ad-
vertised in the Perry pool as having
won $500 during the last part of July
Herman Mertz. 14OS Rutherford st.
Pittsburgh, Pa. said he never got a
dollar from the Perry pool. yet he is
credited on the list as having won
$35.
NJ z. Bartlett Of Lima, o. listed as
a winner of S25 in the Knickerbocker
pool could not be located. J. NJ
Britz, supposed 10 have won $500 in
lne khlcAeEuotkeI pools coulu not ne
located. Neither could investigators
find y. G. Wallace, Rome y. Y, list
ed as a Knickerbocker winner foI
S16.65.
u. Weaver. Dewber ST.. New Castle
Pa. the winner of$560 in the Rich
mOnd pool could not lee located. j. L
Baldwin. Gerry ST., philadelphia. who
won" S10O in the Perry pool cannot
be located s Gunder. 1863 +. 6Stf
St. Cleveland. is supposed TO have wor
Sl10 in the Fort Erie pool No sucf
names appears i'm the Cleveland di-
rectory and there is no such street
number.