| Show IN NEW NEWYORK YORK By PAUL UL HARRISON NEW YORK June Some Junel 16 Some of the theelder theelder theelder elder gentry around the fringes of Broadway night life declare theres there's nothing new new about the tat racket ack t. t It t has been known they sa say ever since ince the days of Bowery music halls hails Others though claim it was devised recently and will even cven name the tinhorn tinhorn tin- tin horn lorn gambler gambler who's who's supposed to have discovered the schemes scheme's possibilities Be that as it may there are a lot lotof lotof lotof of tatters and around town own now and apparently plenty of ot suckers who hav haven't nt heard anything at all aU about the tat racket which goes like this A pretty girl maybe an work out chorine or even a poor stenographer looking for entertainment manages manag to meet the sucker who invites her herto herto herto to a theater and night club At the latt latter r place she spies a man mar who she says is isher her boss or perhaps an uncle He is invited to join them and there are a few rounds of ot drinks Pretty soon she says sas well well-f well for heavens or sake look and picks up a little die from the floor Right away the the dirl dirl wants to gamble Her boss refuses so she rolls her escort for a few dimes Finally Finally Fi Fi- F- F nally the tho tatter says he will back the girl to see which man pays the night nightclub nightclub nightclub club check The escort refuses such sucha a generous gesture but the girl in in- in So the sucker is handed a tat which is a die with only the numbers 1 1 2 and 3 on its six sides He rolls at best a 3 The tat is palmed and the girl rolls another die with only 4 45 5 and spots 6 on it She cant can't cant can't lose After Alter that the game begins in inear ear ear- nest Its It's all aU so silly and casual that the victim seldom seldom- gets suspicious He can only see three sides of ot a die at a glance and Jf if he cares to make a close examination the honest die is always left on the table between rolls The sucker wins oc occasionally but always loses the doubled bets When he has lost 50 or more the tatter is called away to an urgent appointment and the victim escorts the distraught little girl to her home S S S Another example of ingenious gold digging came very verr glaringly to light the other night Just before curtain time at the musical comedy Strike Me Pink An evening gowned young thing approached two men waiting before beor the ticket window She showed them two seat stubs explained that thai her mother had just been taken ill and that they were vere obliged to leave The Attendant dan said Jad Q stubs i. i tub b cr good so the men paid the girl Sirl for or them and entered Their usher found a man occupying occupying occupy- occupy ing ng one of the of-the the seats scats and asked for his hische che check k The man replied that his companion companion com corn panion had the checks but that she would be back in a moment Then it t was necessary to break the distressing distressing distressing dis dis- dis- dis news that his companion would not be back th that t she had sold the seats and fled S S S SAmong Among other petty swindlers plyIng plying plying ply- ply Ing the Broadway belt are sleight sleight-of- hand land peddlers called switchmen One darts out furtively to pluck your sleeve and ask whether you'd be in interested interested interested in- in in buying a watch A lOA good watch buddy worth ten bucks anyway anyway any any- vay way and I got a lot of cf em cm I admit they're hot stolen so Im I'm em over for a dollar apiece Look at atIt it Inspection shows its it's a good watch all right right but but its it's not the penny toy that the sucker finds in a box after the salesman has scuttled off into the crowd |
