Show THE GAME OP OF BUNCO CAPTAIN WILLIAMS TELLS ABOUT ITS HISTORY AND METHODS NEW YORK april 21 it la is hard bard to say where the word bunco was born it comes if not from the putter gatter at least from an origin of not better it if even ot of as moral copal character its first appearance to the best of my knowledge was in the early part of the seventies when it was added to the list of such sporting words so called as faro keno loto and the like at the outset it was the equivalent ol of confidence 66 0 operation eritt lon but after a brief W while lille it became became limited to express these transactions in which a swindler secures mosey money or valuables from a victim who willingly parts with his big property in the hope of securing a pretended reward of ludicrously enor moos proportions 10 the success of the first I 1 I 1 and hand shaker upon the ignorant and credulous brought brouil it imitators into the business these tried their hands upon men whom the original workers would never have approached to their surprise that education and knowledge of the world did not protect their possessors possessor 8 they continued in their experimenting until having bun coed charles francis adams the late commodore garrison oscar wilde the distinguished apostle of aesthetic culture and other men of prominence in various fields they concluded that every man was capable of being robbed in this thir ma manner miner provided of course that the right operator and right mode of attack were employed FAMOUS BUNCO MEN nearly all the famous men are well dressed mild mannered quiet speaking and companionable fellows many of them would be ornaments to a parlor and most would be popular and thriving business men if their talents were honestly and properly applied hungry joe who is now doing yeomans service for the state slate in sing sing would pass muster in many ot our clubs kid miller until his last fracas in which his bis face was seriously disfigured might be and probably has been mistaken for a theological student harry ashton who victimized commodore garrison looks like a prosperous wall street broker and talka as well as two thirds of that fraternity cigarette harry or harry desmond or harry Dres dressner who is serving a term ia the buffalo penitent a lawyer or a politician of the better type will hawley cultivates literature in his laisur hours and shows considerable ability as a newspaper man frequently when in bad luck or when desirous of getting a reference as to character lie has worked for the daily press and always done creditable work sig hess is a typical young hebrew salesman of the better class easy archie apes the gilded youth who follow the anise bag at rockaway and makes it must be admitted a very clever imitation sheeny doc is th the typical ghys phys physician iclal of a few years vears stand ing gand and it is sai said d did actually study a chore time in in 8 some ome medical institution professional METHODS like every other arttie bunco banco of today has innumerable variations the commonest form that comes to the me notice of the is as follows mr smith a WINI to do farmer or tradesman comes to new york from his native town smithville he carries with bim well filled wallet which being distrustful ua of hotel clerks and hotel safes he be carries in some inside side pocket near the brooklyn bridge the central park plaza madison or union square he Is accosted accosta d by a pleasant mannered man who shakes beasant his is hand band violently and says in the most friendly fashion brown browd dear boy how are you mr smith draws himself up and replies youve made a mistake young man im not brown my name is smith ephraim smith of smithville lalith county I 1 pa this is an all t the te hand shaker wants the mans name and address frequently ly in fact generally these are not given as short and pat as in the interview described frequently he half suspects the friendly stranger and a brief talk is needful needa at to secure the desired information when it is given the accomplice joins the bunco banco man who is not far away and who has at this moment in his hand a small bankers directory which contains a list of all the banks in the union by states the names of their president secre tary cashier and sometimes other information As the accomplice reaches the word he says pennsylvania smithville iville smith county and together they run down the entry it usually reads as follows smithville first catl jabez jaggs prest william A snow see sec john porter cehr I 1 smith county john and sec THE TRAINED EXPERT the bunco man trained in this work need not to write these ent ries down to remember them he runs them over twice and can then recall them to the letter at any time until the job is over he approaches the victim who has moved leisurely along in the meantime pleasantly bows as he reaches him coughs slightly and says why good morning mr smith it is a pleasure to meet you is in new york how are your folks and how is my uncle jabez jaggs he aay address him as squire judge colonel major and captain ile he i Is s certain to use a military title if upon smiths person lie be has seen a grand army button badge or other insignia he may use the indicia title it the victim looks as it if lie had bad ever been a justice of the peace court clerk constable or other official for to all such the words squire and judge have a strangely sweet and fascinating cina ting sound it makes but little difference what word sare used those wl which ilch are employed are pleasantly put and make smith believe at the outset that hgr here e Is some som e oue one who knows him am and A d h his is and ud who is glad lad to see mm him in th the e great grea W wilderness il de ness where he is already re a d y lonely a and mid unhappy there may be some mistake however so smiling at his newfound new found lie he slowly drawls out 1 I reckon youve got the best of me my friend I 1 cant place alace you to save my darned old eyes I 1 I 1 the victory is half won the bunco in a second has seen that the man is glad to meet an acquaintance and what is more important that he does not suspect he adds heartily well I 1 be surprised I 1 been there now tor for three years and the last time I 1 was on I 1 only stayed a week im charlie jaggs son of edward who is the brother of jabez the president president of your first national bank I 1 met you last talking one day on some loan or other business to Snow the secretary how are all your folks this ninety nine times out of a hundred more than satisfies smith in all probability he has a slight acquaintanceship ance ship and a profound awe for J jaggs aggs the local millionaire snow lie he knows better from having had slight financial operations with him As a result he be is delighted at being regarded in new york as the friend of a man who has intimate relations with the treasury at washington and the stock exchange in wall street he un bosoms himself to the bankers nephew and for a dreary quarter hour tells the interminable measles among his children nt nip in the chickens dry rot in the potatoes his daughters engagement to his als neighbors son and all the other details of bucolic life distinguished acquaintances the next step it to further farther impress smith as well as to please him the bunco man takes his victim to the bar of some first class hotel where merchants merchante chante politicians and prominent men congregate A popular delusion is that it is a low saloon or dark it never is except by the least skilful crooks up to the bar they gb 96 it if smith uses intoxicants so much the worse tor for him As they stand near the gleaming crystal and silver the bankers nephew points out the celebrities chauncey M depew bowing to some politician who faintly resembles the great wit and railroad and who bows eff effusively in return as nearly all new york politicians class are in the habit of dot doing ng I 1 ex mayor grace there drinking drinkin 1 champagne with his brother they are worth and never drink anything else that big man is the hotel detective he arrests e wery every criminal who dares to come to the house its a good thing bec because aue it protects a man from desperate characters arid and what makes this place so popular with wita gentlemen and business men VARIOUS GAMES so runs the glib talk of the bunco man it is calculated to deceive the best critics as the bank note re he porter appropriately phrases phrase fi it and it does deceive the listener whose horizon for years has been the boundaries of his town the audacity displayed is sometimes bewildering they nave have taken their victims into the rogues gallery into the mayora office the common council chamber and the court of sessions they have introduced trod him to editors hotel keepers pu public blie officials and on one occasion it is reported to the mayar himself confidence once gained the operator begins the second act of the drama this is to take his pr prey ey t to 0 the place where one or more colleagues are awaiting his arrival and where the actual swindle is perpetrated the scheme employed in this transaction varies infinitely sometimes it is the louisiana lottery sometimes a policy shop it may be the wheel f fortune kene ken sweet green goods dice poker rouge et noir rolling rolline the log three card mante thimble rigging the envelope game or heaven knows what not of the men who are swindled not more than one in five report their loss to the police and of these no BO two tell the same story mike alike the commonest trick is for the bun colst to give his colleague in the office a lottery ticket for which he is supposed to have paid 25 and to receive cash in return he counts it methodically while the victim sympathizes in delight at his friends good fortune the cashier announces that the special weekly drawing will be held in fifteen minutes and that will in every probability win in good money the stranger accepts or hesitates generally he has s only or about his person the bunco man comes to his help he will take tage a half risk and divide the profits the interest is bought the occurs and thep the selection election wins nothing or a small sum but it always comes within an ace of hitting bitting the capital prize at this point the victim sours sour 11 to use a slang phrase and often squeal a to use another comet sometimes mes his bis credulity is so great that he continues until bankrupt if when lie he perceives that he is being robbed he shows the white feather he be is beaten or scared into a silent and nasty hasty figac in any case the victim Is quickly disposed of peaceably it if possible forcibly it if needful THE ETIQUETTE OF BUNCO it is opposed to the etiquette of bunco to rob a man by forse force it is also much more severely punished by the law an action of this kind cost hungry ry joe oe his liberty and his bis prestige as the farst fj st operator ln lib the land the intended victim foolishly displayed a jar large e roll bf bills in his hand ban to J awk i and his partners after having g refus refused to venture a penny upon any scheme joe hungrier chah u usual suat snatched ched the money moddy and ran away committing robbery instead of the swindling he haa had contemplated another odd feature of the version of the bunco man mad to remain long iong in one place either the office where he does business busija ess or the house hou or rooms where he be resides it ts Is not nat from fear of the police as all or nearly all the worthies are known by face name and record to the force so constant are the changes that it would require a large volume to keep their record it might be supposed that the police would haye have difficulty in apprehending apprehend ink one in case he were wanted for some offense the very opposite however is the f fact act they we are gre gregarious carious ga rious in iii their habits more like wolves than inears nearly every one knows of the whereabouts of tile the rest and being aware of the difficulty of conviction for bunching bun buri coing has no hesitation in giving ing information as to a friend or pal A second mode of placing them arises arises f from rom their convivial and social habits they are de barred from good hotels and decent barrooms bar rooms on the one side and on the other will not patronize low saloons and cheap grog geries gerles the therefore frequent those sporting houses where a mans character has neither value nor meaning and where their company on account of their extravagance trava gance and folly is warmly welcomed these establishments are not many in number and are all familiar to the police THE OPIUM HABIT A third method of locating them is based on their singular addiction to the opium habit they are the best customers to the opium joints and since these were prohibited by law of the private opium clubs which are scattered throughout gnout the city of the live or six hundred affairs of this class it is fair to assume that two thirds are made up of crooks it is also fair to to ahsu assume me that three fourths of all the bun bunco comen men are victims of the habit hungry joe and especially two insignificant niti ant cant confidence operators who have adopted his name have been recognized by detective sergeants in such places times numberless harry ash tont monttie tie bogus harry ashton She heeney eney doe doc john palmer and lew martin spend twenty four hours at a stretch in hitting the pipe while cigarette harry sam goldstein philadelphia harry and jim jiin mcvicker have been known to lie off on a bank f orty forty eight and even seventy two consecutive hours on this account the suppression of the public joints increased de detective labor it was much easier than to search a few joints for a an n accused than it ids Is now to visit fifty sport houses and ancl a hundred clubs HOW TO SUPPRESS IT to the question that is so often put to the police why dont you suppress bunco and arrest all bunco mn men the only answer is to the question how can you do it they are never disorderly in their conduct their victims seldom baldom complain and when they do complain usually fail through excitement cit ement to identify the swindler when an old provision of law is called into play and they are arrested as vagrants it certainly is ridiculous to accuse a man maa of being without visible means of support who is the best dressed man in the court room and who almost invariably has more money and more valuable jewelry about his person than the judge or the district Attorn attorney ley the true remedy would be a statute whereby any confidence opera tor seen pursuing Ms his business who cannot prove that he is ia engaged in legitimate business should be adjudged a professional criminal or thief and fined or imprisoned in the discretion of the magistrate until then the only thag that can be done is for the police to use their discretion and often club and drive these thieves from precinct to precinct and in every wise both interfere with their nefarious trade and call public attention to their faces and characters THE DOWNFALL though the bun colst has fair seas and smooth sailing tom compared pared with other criminals he has but one end the state prison hungry joe is in sing sing and cigarette harry in buffalo lew martin and sheeny doc have just completed terms in Moya mensing and john palmer in new haven A dozen ottress of lesser note are out on en bail and all of them live in perpetual fear of arrest and conviction there is no more pitiable object than the bunco man who sees a detective or tolice police official approach him whom he knows fear cringing and abject hopelessness mixed with puny bravado despair and the hope that his turn has not come yet are the lights that shine over nia his cunning face there is another end tor for some of them death from these votaries vot aries of the eastern drug finally reach a stage when the sharp brain refuses t to 0 1 act lc t and the supple |