48 TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL, YEAR BOOK— PART II. 



The following concessions come under this head: Shooting Galleries, 

 Baby Doll .Racks, Cane Racks, Knife Racks, Huckle-de-buck. The Keg 

 Game, Swinging Ball, Spot the Spot, and Large Cat Game, but in 

 every instance the above games can be made crooked so that the most 

 skilled could not win on the same. For instance, in • the cat rack and 

 knife rack, when the concessionaire gives a demonstration of throwing 

 the wooden rings over the cane or knife, whichever the case might be, 

 he uses a large open ring, and the same can be changed to a small ring 

 with which the player could not possibly ring the cane or knife in ques- 

 tion. In the case of the ordinary old style baby doll rack, concessionaire 

 may lock the rack so that it would be impossible for the player to knock 

 any of the cats over. The swinging ball on which they use a large 

 or small bowling ball and a large ten pin, is one of the worst games 

 which has ever been permitted, and the player has no chance of winning. 



In giving a demonstration of the Swinging Ball the concessionaire in 

 order to show how the ten pin can be knocked over with the swinging 

 ball places the ten pin either to the right or left of the center and knocks 

 the ten pin over every time. When the player attempts to play the game 

 the concessionaire places the ten pin in the center and the ten pin can- 

 not be knocked over. 



In the case of the game, for example, Huckle-de-buck in which the 

 balls must be thrown in a keg or pail, it is very easy for the conces- 

 sionaire in demonstrating to use a small ball which would not have 

 any interference in alighting in the keg or pail, b'ut he also, if he so 

 desires, can switch the balls, giving the player a larger ball than he 

 used when making the demonstration. The large cat is used as a ball 

 game, in which the player is given three or four balls to throw. The 

 cat can be fixed in a lock so that no matter how hard the player hits 

 the cat it could not be knocked over. The game of Spot the Spot using 

 a number of tin circles, is absolutely a "skin-game" and the player Gas 

 no chance of accomplishing the feat of completely covering the spot 

 with the tin circles, which were furnished him by the concessionaire. 

 Another game that is absolutely a crooked one is a "roll-down" or r 'add- 

 a-ball." In many instances the player is really the winner, but the con- 

 cessionaire outcounts the winner in adding up the numbers. The same 

 thing happens when they use the Arrow Dot, shooting the arrow at a 

 board background containing a number of numbers and adding up the 

 same, the concessionaire, if he wants to be crooked, can outcount the 

 player. 



A good many states permit the operation of wheels, such as the doll 

 wheel, candy wheel, blanket wheel, etc. In my opinion, a wheel termed 

 a "merchandise wheel" is one that should be permitted to operate at 

 fairs. By a "merchandise wheel" I mean a straight up and down wheel 

 on which a number of paddles are sold to the players, each paddle con- 

 taining at least five numbers and before the wheel is turned the con- 

 cessionaire must sell all his paddles. When the wheel is turned some- 

 one of the players is bound to win the prize. I am against what they 

 call an "intermediate prize." For example, a wheel operating on which 

 there is a large doll in which small and large dolls are given as prizes, 



