Oct. 22, 1898. J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
339 
Confabulations of the Cadi — IX. 
The Sticker. 
"Tn our weary pilgrimage through this vale of fogs and tears," 
said the Cadi to his respectfully attentive circle of associate 
philosophers, who were gazing 011 him with a look of contempla- 
tion which might be interpreted to mean either affection or mental 
vacuity, "we are all suckers under certain favoring conditions. 
We at times give up our money recklessly^ with no substantial 
return for it or without any particular inquiry into whys and 
whtrefores as to why yr.e part with it. This no doubt as a state- 
ment contains nothing new, since many years ago it was said that 
a fool and his money soon came to a fork in the road. Still, when 
a man parts with his money liberally, it does not necessarily fol- 
low that he should be considered a sucker, nor does it seem right, 
that those who are beneficiaries of his open-handedness should 
sneer at him and, treat him with contempt — always behind his back, 
be it understood. 
"I was in a certain town some year's ago in Arkansaw on a day 
when a circus had pitched its tent for the amusement and edu- 
cation of the people therein and thereabouts. A circus in that 
country was not an incident; it was an event which ranked with a 
war, an election or a dangerous comet. Men with pounds of 
unlaundried whiskers on their chins, and more pounds of bushy 
hair on their heads, came in from all points of the compass, horse- 
back, mule-back, country wagons, prairie schooners, ox-wagons, 
with their Hopie Janes, or other Janes which they had hopes 
Would be Hopie Janes as soon as time and tide would permit, 
and all arrayed in their best bibs and tuckers, which in most 
instances were the same bibs and tuckers which they wore every 
day and every year. The saddles were seemingly made of scraps 
fjf leather and bare trees, while the horses and mules, whose office 
it was to draw the wagons, had corn husk collars and harnesses 
consisting of about three pieces of leather, while cheap pieces of 
bed cord served for driving reins. If all the paraphernalia of the 
horses had been east into one pile the whole would hardly have 
equalled the cash value of the amount spent for circus tickets, 
peanuts and the bright and winsome pink lemonade which brings 
such disaster to the wallet of the country swain and such joy 
to the palate of the country belle; but the circus and peanuts were 
the necessities of the moment, emergency necessities as it were, 
while the former were every-day luxuries. 
"I wore a citified suit of clothes, and on that account I pre- 
sume one of the star performers engaged in conversation with 
me. Affecting a blase air, I viewed with calm indifference his 
diamond ring, when he inadvertently, as it were, flashed it into 
view in many different lights; so that he soon came to consider 
and treat me as his equal, than which no higher honors could 
be found in his standard of measures. An air of excitement and 
expectancy pervaded the groups and changing currents of humanity 
which moved to and fro around here and there, but all intent on 
the ticket wagon, front which they drifted in a steady stream to 
the tent entrance. My new-found friend, in a tone filled with a 
happy ring, remarked: 'Just see the suckers pile in. They are the 
biggest lot of fools that I have seen on our route.' I felt a 
bit of annoyance at the ingratitude of the remark. From the 
standpoint of the circus man, the people who patronized the 
circus, and whose dollars gave him a means of livelihood, were 
suckers. He meant it too in an ill sense. He considered them as 
being his dupes or gulls, and that he was getting thoir money 
under some allurement other than what gave an honest return for 
the money received." 
"Well, what about it?" said Moke, with an inquiring look. "The 
sucker was a useful thing to the circus. He had a look into the 
tent, some peanuts and pink lemonade for his money, and all 
he remembered was that the clown said, 'Here we are again,' as 
he turned a .hand-spring in a blithe manner in the middle of the 
ring. The circus man had some cheap money. One had only 
a memory; the other had good money." 
"Don't you consider that the audience was well amused for the 
time being, and had a certain relief from the every-day cares and 
troubles, * which amply compensated for the outlay?" queried the 
Cadi. 
"What cares and what troubles? I have none; and if I have 
none of my own, how can I imagine any in the world?" replied 
Moke. 
"You are bright, very bright, sweet Moke, Just for a moment 
, consider that your name is Peter, and that the poet had you 
111 mind when he so feelingly wrote: 
" 'Peter was dull; he was at first 
Dull— oh, so dull, so very dull! 
Whether he talked, wrote or rehearsed, 
Still with this dullness was he cursed! 
Dull— beyond all conception dull.' " 
"That sounds very pretty, but I think I can see into a brick 
wall quite as far as the next one, all the same," said Moke, some- 
what peevishly. "If the people chose to be duped, it was their, 
own lookout." 
"Although the circus man had an opinion that his patrons were 
suckers, he did not proclaim his opinions from the house- 
tops," continued the Cadi. "In the trap-shooting world, the poor 
shot has been given to understand, with little attempt at con- 
cealment, that he is a sucker. Indeed, not a few of the experts 
have been forward in frank expressions of their views concerning 
what: were- suckers, not infrequently in such places where the 
sucker, so-called, could hear the aforesaid expressions, and thereby 
learn the esteem in which he was held. Now, mayhap a man 
may be a sucker once or twice, or even a few times more, but 
the average man learns very quickly what are his mistakes and 
what are not. If a man is really a sucker he cannot know it too 
quickly. There is a great injury done, however, when men, who 
can afford to shoot, and whose means would enable them to look 
upon the day's loss at a tournament as a mere item of expense, 
are led to believe that they are looked upon in a way as fools, 
which is but the more generic term for sucker. A sensible man, 
who shoots but poorly, will not shoot long if he is looked upon 
with contempt for being unskillful and as easy to pluck. 
••There was a certain disregard of consequences in the past, for 
it was the theory of a few that if the sucker crop was exhausted 
there would be a new one to follow, or as it was more technically 
expressed: 'A sucker is born every minute.' It was a mistaken 
assumption, as it was also a mistaken policy. It was a mistake 
as a policy to pretend to be out for sport when the practice was 
that the big fish swallowed the lesser. A sucker is not born every 
minute in the trap-shooting world, nor was he ever so born. Even 
if he were so born,, a sucker is not a proper element to cultivate 
and levy upon as a part of a gentleman's sport. Such belongs 
to another sphere of action, to which a clean sport should have no 
affinity. . 
"Considering the merciless manner in which the poorer shots 
have been beaten year in and year out during many years past, the- 
real cause for wonder is that there are so many trap-shooters as 
there are. The poorer shots have faced the traps on equal terms 
with the experts through many years, and have had the lessons of 
adversity well pounded into them. We should congratulate our- 
selves that trap-shooting is on such a good footiug as it is. Its 
present condition really speaks well for the genuine enthusiasm 
of those who still support it. However, if we continue on the old 
lines, we cannot hope for any success greater than that which 
obtains at present. If the future is to be made prosperous in the 
trap-shooting world, the conditions should be changed so that all 
will have an even chance, and this can he done by establishing a 
system of handicaps." 
Ethical Juggle Systems. 
'•'But the different systems accomplish that," objected Ephraim. 
"Not in the least," mildly replied the Cadi. "Systems in most 
instances apply only to the divisions of the moneys and not at 
all to the equity of the direct competition. To such as have not 
shot well enough to be in the money, all systems are practically 
alike. Without a handicap, the poorer shot cannot be any nearer 
a winner under one system than he can under another, no matter 
what the rule may be for the division of the moneys. This harp- 
ing on systems as a cure for all the evils which beset the shooter 
of moderate skill reminds me of a story of the old country doctor, 
who had become so habituated to giving an emetic for every 
disease which came under his treatment that he once prescribed 
an emetic for an ulcerated tooth, on the theory presumably that 
in the general upheaval there would something happen to the re- 
lief of it. The juggling with conditions on the surface does not in 
the least affect the real evil of the situation. 
"Take the equitable system, for instance. The poorer shots, who 
cannot shoot well enough to break at least 12 or 13 out of 15, or 17 
or 18 out of 20-target events, accordingly as there are three or 
four moneys provided in either, is not benefited in the least by 
the system. It no more provides a proper equity among the shoot- 
ers than does any other system. As it refers to a division of 
the moneys, it is far inferior to the Rose system, of which it is 
a bastard offshoot. It abandons all idea of a competition, and 
the term tournament is a misnomer wherever this system is used. 
Men are merely paid so much for breaking a certain number 
of targets if the number exceeds a certain minimum, much 1 in 
the same manner that a laborer contracts to chop wood by the 
cord, or dig ditches by the yard, or any other matter of job work. 
There is nothing either direct or implied that there is a competi- 
tion between the shooters, nor is there any need of it under this 
system. It is merely a matter of piece work. As there is no 
application of competition, there is still less of sport. The pro- 
position, stripped of its few fictions, is: You, as party of the 
first part, pay in a certain stipulated sum to qualify in the con- 
tract, and agree to break over a certain number of targets, which 
is duly specified in the programme. For breaking over the certain 
number the party of the second part agrees to pay a certain sum 
apiece for each target broken. If the party of the first part fails 
to break over the stipulated number, the party of the second part 
is relieved from all obligations in the matter, etc. Now, my 
friends, is not the breaking of targets at so much per target great 
sport and great competition? Isn't it sport to lay bricks at so 
much per thousand, barring the fact that the work is a bit harder? 
Isn't business sport? 
"The equitable system is a misnomer, for there is nothing equit- 
able about it as applied to a competition. First of all, it does 
not recognize the shooters as being first, second and third, as is 
the ease in the Rose system. Each man is simply an individual 
who broke so many targets at so much per target. The ratios 
too are variable. In the Rose system the ratios are invariable 
and each shooter is recognized as a contestant. Under the 
equitable system, in a 15-target event, if there are shooters who 
break 15, 14 arid 13, then the ratios are accordingly 15, 14 and 13. 
But if some one should break 15, others 13 and still others 11, then 
the ratios would be accordingly 15, 13 and 11; so that the ratios 
vary each time according to the number of targets broken, instead 
of according to the relative standing of the scores as a matter 
of competition. Whether 15, 14 and 13, or 15, 12 and 9, or any 
other numbers were broken, under the Rose system they would be 
classed as first, second and third, and the ratios of 5, 3 and 2 
would govern accordingly. The Rose system thus recognizes a 
competition, while its bastard relative recognizes only job work. 
"Under the so-called equitable system the man who breaks the 
least targets gets almost as much as the man who breaks them 
all, in which again there is no equity whatever. 
"To make the matter clearer, let us suppose that in a 15-target 
event, $l.o0 entrance, twenty men enter. This would make a total 
of $30. Deducting $6 for targets, there are $24 left to be divided 
among the contestants. Let us suppose that one man breaks 
15, one 14 and one 13. Then under the so-called equitable system 
and the Rose system the moneys would be divided thus : 
Equitable. Rose. 
Broke. Broke. 
15 targets at 60 cents $9.00 15 targets, ratio 5 $12.00 
14 targets at 60 cents 8.40 14 targets, ratio 3 7.20 
13 targets at 60 cents 7.80 13 targets, ratio 2 4.80 
"Let us suppose that 15, 13 and 11 were broken, then under the 
equitable system the results would be as follows: 
Equitable. 
Broke. Broke. 
15 targets at 61 cents per, $9.15 11 targets at 61 cents per, $6.71. 
13 targets at 61 cents per, 7.93 
Under the Rose system, the latter would have paid the same as 
in the former instance. The equitable system as. a matter of job 
work pays the contestants practically the same amount. The Rose 
system recognizes a competition, and its ratio works with mathe- 
matical accuracy at all times. 
"From the most ancient times to the present, whether in peace 
or war, sport or business, the men who excelled were honored and 
rewarded much above their fellows who did the poorest, and yet 
the modern equitable trap-shooting system requires that the men 
who break over a certain number shall be all paid practically 
alike; that is, so much per piece of job work. But whatever 
system is used, as I have reiterated, it only applies to a division of 
the moneys, and not to the equity governing the poorer shots as 
compared with the experts. There can be no permanent gain 
unless there is a handicap to support it, as fairness requires that 
there should be." 
A Universal Panacea. 
Lc Loup, who had been busily engaged writing on the bottom 
of a soap box, rapped on it with his pencil as a signal that he 
wished to have a hearing. "Worthy Cadi," said he, "you are as 
far from being right as a man can be and still stay on earth. No. 
handicap is necessary, for you never heard a shooter, composed 
of the right stuff, who claimed that a low score was due to his 
own lack of skill. Every time such shooter misses a target there 
is some good reason for it other than fault in himself. I have taken 
some pains to compile the following, which T offer in lieu of a 
handicap, and which I think will give more general satisfaction, as 
there is nothing in it which will offend the amour propre of any 
shooter. In this respect it differs from a handicap, which neces- 
sarily implies that he who receives it is not as good a shot as 
are some others. To illustrate by example— a shooter goes to 
the score, shoots and misses. Then he turns to his neighbor and 
says, 'I am shooting a new load. I never would have missed that 
target with the old load.' Then the scorer marks it as a broken 
bird. No. 2 shoots and misses. He says: 'My pattern opened and 
let the target go through it. I never held a gun more correctly in 
my life.' The scorer then says in a fatherly way, 'The pattern was 
to blame and we will score that a broken bird.' And so the shoot 
goes on. 
"The following is a list of reasons which are in common use, 
sanctioned by many good shots, and which all shooters should 
paste in their hats not only as a substitute for a handicap, but as 
a universal panacea for all kinds of bad shooting, and to be used 
as in the above example: 
"Some one shook the platform just as I shot. 
"A fly lighted on my gun barrel and disarranged my aim at the 
moment of shooting. 
"The target was hit hard, but was too tough to break. 
"The powder did not act right. 
"There is something wrong with the primers. 
"My gun stock don't fit. 
"The shells arc faulty. I never will use them again. (This is 
peculiarly apropos if you have tried to get the shells for nothing 
and been treated to a refusal.) 
"The targets are thrown too fast; too slow; too high; too low. 
"A tree in the background swallowed up the target out of sight 
at the moment ! pulled the trigger. 
"The wind jumptd or ducked the target as 1 fired. 
"I have a bad cold. I ate too much breakfast; too much dinner - 
too much supper. The cabbage, soft-shell crabs, roast beef, cold 
water, etc., affected my nerves and sight. 
"T had a nightmare. 
"A cross-eyed boy looked at me just as I shot. 
"The trap-puller pulled too soon; too late; and I was balked, 
balked, balked. 
"The referee called a broken bird a lost bird. 
"The people talk too much. 
"The grounds are laid out wrong. 
"There was too much sunlight; there wasn't enough; it was loo 
cloudy; it wasn't cloudy enough. 
"If one does not care to go into specifications, he merely say: 
in a scornful way, 'I am not in my usual good form.' 
"In all these instances, and many more, which are to be left 
to the ingenuity of the shooter and the discretion of the 
referee, the shooter missing the target has it scored to him 
as broken, and in that way there will be a more equitable 
division of the money under modern ideas of what is equitable 
than there can be under any system of handicapping which can be 
devised, or for that matter any equitable system of division. Each 
target will then pay just the same amount for each shooter, for 
every one then will break straight, and the nearer every one re- 
ceives the same amount, the greater is the equity of the system. 
What do you think of it, fellows?" 
"But where does the sport come in?" queried Ephraim. 
"Who's talking of sport," said the Cadi. "When we are breaking 
targets for so much apiece, we are talking of 
" ''Gold! gold! gold! gold! 
Bright and yellow, hard and cold.' " 
Bernard Waters. 
Buckeye Gun Club vs. Cincinnati Gun Club. 
King's Mills, Ohio, Oct. 10. — The scores herewith are of team 
race between the new Cincinnati Gun Club and the Buckeye Gun 
Club, of Dayton, O., which took place on the afternoon of Oct. 
7. Rolla O. Heikes was captain of the Buckeye team, and I was 
captain of the Cincinnati team. The match was shot on the 
grounds of the Cincinnati Gun Club and was really an opening 
day, or house warming, for the new grounds. The day was very 
dark, and made the targets very difficult to see, which will ac- 
count for low scores. 
The race was close, and we had a very enjoyable time; the men 
marked D are the Buckeye Gun Club, and the men marked C are' 
the Cincinnati men. 
We shot them in mixed squads, so that there would be no pos- 
sible chance for any unfair dealings; you will see that it was 
anybody's race almost until the last shot was fired. 
We expect to shoot them a return race in the near future on 
their grounds at Davton; 
Mumma, D 10011111011111001001111111011111111111011111111101-— 10 
Keifaber, D 11101000110110111011011111011111111111111111101011—39 
Raymond, D ... .11110111110010100100111110111110111111011111111111—39 
R Trimble C ...11111101111011011111011111111101111111111101101111—43 
Du Bray, C 11111111011110111111111111111011111111111111111101—46 
Wroe, D 10111111111111100110011110110101101111111010111101—38 
Stark D 11111101110101100011110111110111111111101111010111—39 
Glaser D 01111110111000001111011011001101111111110110100111—34 
Dick, C 01111000011110011101111111111110111111101111010110—37 
Frederick, C 11101110110111001101100101000010100111111001111101—31 
Craig- D 11111111111101011111111100111111111111101011101101-^2 
\chev D 11001010010110101101011011011111111111111110001101—34 
McDonald, D . . . .11011110111101110101111011001011111011110101011111—37 
L Ahlers C 11100111110001100111100010111110000101111011010110—30 
Bob White C. . . .00111110110110010111001110111110111011111101101110—35 
\dnms D 11011111101101110111010111011011000101111111111110—37 
Makley D 01111111111010100110111101111111110111111011111001—39, 
Heikes D 11111101111111111111111111111011111111111111111111—48 
^ee C 10111111111110111011111111111101111111101111110111—14 
Tav' Bee C 11111100100111111100001110001010101001111100001011—29 
E Trimble C. . . .11011110111111111111111111011110111111110111011101—43 
Wilson D 10111110100110011010011110111001111001110111011111—34 
"Protsmkn D 11110011111000111001010101011011101010001010101010—28 
Waddell C. .... .10011111001101110011111100111101101100101110001001—31 
Mackie C 11011100011110101111101111111110101100111000011010—33 
Cnvle C 01111011111111111101101101111111110101101110011111-40. 
Shwind D 10111111100110011101111101101101111100101111010111—35 
\Hisk d 00111010011100000011110111110010111101001011011110—29 
Aeklev C 11110111000111111011001101111111111111100011111111—39 
So. uiers C 011110111101111111 00111110111111101111110110010011—38 
Goodman C 01111111110101110010100110301111111101011111001010—33 
Soli uman ' D 10110110001111101001110111011111111111111101110111—38 
Rike D 10101111111011101111001011111111111101111101111111—41 
Lind'slev C 01111111111101110011101110011111101111010111110101— 3S 
Small C 110111111001110110011011111.10100011111111111111111—39 
Penn,' C 01111101110111111111101001111111111110111110111010—40 
The total scores were: Dayton 671, Cincinnati 669. 
Milt F. Lindsley. 
Under date of Oct. 11 Mr. J. Arthur Belden writes us as follows: 
"In the issue of Oct. S, Forest and Stream, column "Drivers and 
Twisters," you have J. A. Belden's score 10 birds straight, which 
is correct; in the score of Hell Gate Gun Club contest you have 
the score. 9 killed, on same page. Will you kindly correct the 
error in the column of "Drivers and Twisters" in your next issue. 
The reason I ask you to correct this is that I had a small wager 
to be decided by Forest and Stream. The Brooklyn Eagle and 
New York Sun of Sept. 28 both had my score 10 straight, yet the 
party would not accept that, as the wager was to be decided by 
your paper." Concerning the foregoing, we cannot assume the 
responsibility of passing upon it, as the score sent to us was a 
manifold copy, which had a figure which might be taken for 0 or 
1, and the total was written both 10 and 9, one over the other. 
It was one of those scores in which the maker knew all about 
them, but all others knew very little. 
The Eureka Gun Club, Chicago, will give a handicap target shoot 
on Oct, ??, 
