BOOKIES BILKED.

NZ Truth, Issue 264, 16 July 1910, Page 2

BOOKIES BILKED.

The bookmakers, who arc just now generally reckoned to be practically "goners," did not have things all thenown way m the old tote shop days, and the genius who first introduced the "no reply" system of betting must have been heartily cursed by himself and other pencillers on scores of race days, m those days the money used to be just taken off the bookies, and they were nothing more or less than benevolent institutions for the "heads." The latter class were very versatile m their methods, and used to have a fresh one for the unsophisticated Tommies every weeK. When Elevation won the U.J.U. Challenge Stakes, over a hundred pounds was j)«t gu the little chestnut m Wellington after the news came through that he hud won. The proceedure adopted was as iollows : The bookmakers doing business m town g°t their starting times from an agent, who attended the meetings. Through an accident, the wire which was sent i-ne day previous fell into the hands of one ot the Philistines before it reached the telegraph office, and the latter altered' cdv c* the times which made I'Jlcvation's race start twenty minutes later than was actually ,Uie case. After this the coutoOor-

ales m tnc Empire City were advised, and, to make matters doubly secure, two of them went anrt sat m a bookmaker's o/Ticc and arranged with the telegraph authorities to 'phoni; his wire through to him at number so and so, which was a bookmaker's office under a lictitious name. The wire contained only one word, viz., Elevation, and, alter hearing aright, the take down started to gabble into tho machine something about the person who was ringing up being on tho wrong number, as there was no one of that name tlua'o, etc., etc. The schema worked well, and the suspicions of the Tommy were noti aroused. Shortly afterwards, when peering over the card, the take down stated that he liked Elevation, and was promptly met by a challenge from tho Tommy to back it. The punter demurred, but he allowed himself to be bounced into a tenner, and, on a further challenge, he came again. Next he put the Bar Von up a tenner, and was put back again. This made forty googiies on a known winner. "Very bad," chuckled the punter to himself, as he proceeded downstairs, and went to look up another "head" who had been grafting similarly elsewfcexe. The second leg had been equally successful, and, m a minor degree, a third accomplice had also got set. Meanwhile, the sender of the wire m Christchurch, who had done his work so well by being into the -office as soon as tne horses had passed the post, got his result wire away, and then put m a lot of dummy wires to block the way af the result getting to the bookmakers, was m a blue funk to know how things had got on, so that nigfct he despatched a wire of interrogation. To the everlasting disgrace of the successful placers of the Elevation stock, it must be said that they bilked the sender of the wire which did all the damage, though they got p]aid m full themselves. Shortly afterwards the whole thing leaked out, and the place became too not to how ttoa aforesaid punters, who are now m other lands.