The New York herald., 1922-03-19
BY WILLIAM J. FLYNN,
Former Chief of the United States
Secret Service.
CASE TX.

IL who used to make book at the
Gravesend racetrack will remember
the Betting Fool? And how many of you
who knew the Delmar. Sheepshead Bay
and Morris Park tracks eighteen and
twenty years ago can recall this same
Betting Fool, who was variously known as
Count de Cash, Hundred Dollar Billy, the
Millionaire Kid and Klondike?
Not so many? All, well, we do like to
forget the foolish things we did. Possibly
the name of Morris Kramer will jog the
memory. At any rate, whether they care
to admit 1t or not there are many of the
old boys who haven't forgotten him; never
will, either.
After all, it doesn't make much differ
ence whether they admit remembering or
not. The facts are the same Besides, you
can understand bookmaker refusing to
admit remembering he was ever so COM
pletely befuddled and generally buncoed
by dapper youth who looked like the
most guileless Of woolly lambs.
He would arrive at the track looking as
though he had been carried there in
dustproof container; a sartorial master
edged with black, the tallest collar in the
world, radiant cravat fighting for su-
premacy with waistcoat of noble design
Never the same suit twice at the same
track. His tailor must have been happy
genius.
His women folk, and / have in mind
one girl in particular, must have been
selected by him as adequate settings for
his own splendor. There were three of
four of them seen with him most. but of
this one girl l should like to speak at
length I shall not, because she plays but
a minor part in the story; but what a
beautiful thing she was! 1t was very diff
cult, l assure you, to believe that she was
one of Kramer's tools, and yet, although
we never arrested her, simply because we
never found her, it is impossible that she
wasn't as guilty as he.
How She Passed Bad Bills
With Her Dazzling Smiles
Poppy Edgerton, they called her, and she
used to have the betting commissioners
falling out of their seats when she would
come tripping in with a nice new $100 bill
to place on Mysotian or Nimble or Misun-
derstood.
"You are so kind" she'd say to the COM
missioner who appeared to have fallen
hardest. IF you don't mind, I think I'll
just place SO on Misunderstood, she's such
a beautiful lady horse and have hunch
that she is misunderstood and that she'll
win"
And the wabbling gentleman would hand
aer 500 change and mark her ticket.
Women were barred from the betting
ring so her prey we're the commissioners.
Thank you, so much" she would COO,
walking off with his perfectly good 500,
while he folded up her excellent imitation
or 500, which she had received from the
Betting Fool
But I'll get back on the track.
It was just about eighteen or twenty
years ago that Kramer appeared at Graves
end He would enter the betting ring
when the crowd was most numerous and
place $50 on the horse against which the
cdds we're longest. Usually he played his
horses to win He didn't bother much with
guesses at second and third places. Occa
s!onally he would play a nag for place or
to show, but for the most part he stuck to
picking winners.
Once in while he'd bet on the favorite,
but, to repeat, his favorite game was to
place his money on long shot The crowd
would be heavy, the work fast, the excite
nant high. He would receive his change
and ticket move on to the next stall and
hack another horse.
IT really didn't matter very much. Any
horse would do so long as it was in that
particular race. He would slip the book
maker or the cashier a 800 bank note,
take his change and-well, you cannot
imagine anything simpler. That excellent
Imitation Of a bank note would be lost in
circulation before the next race was run.
Almost Impossible to Trace
Once 1t Was Circulated
Eventually ii would be discovered.
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