Bets for A President.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7705, 6 January 1905, Page 3

Bets for A President.

SOME "FREAKY" ODJDS. The mort diverting feature of the Presidential election in the -United States is the "freak" betting. Americans are,of course, found of extremes, , ami in tliuir election bets they have found a means of indulging in the most ludicrous, exaggerated, and astonishing gambling. This year the betting is one-skied, so that the man who put his faith in Roosevelt was obliged to give heavy odds; and it therefore happened that the Roosevelt men were saddled with the most onerous obligations. Tha man who bets that he will not shave again or have his hair cut until his candidate is elected is, of course, as common as potatoes. His freaks no longer interest the public. Besides, it is a matter of record that he docs not keep h-is -word. This year the freaK bets were much more complicated because, as I have pointed out, it was necessary to give long odds in favour of President Roosevelt. For instance, two men in Wichita, Kansas, made a bet which made it' necessary for the Roosevelt candidate to wear paper clothes through°i U J i t ' lu , w ' n '- ei ' f candidate was defeated ; while tlie Parker man onlv cngagctl himself to crawl through t lie mud on all fours through the main street of the town from 10 a.m. until 6 p.ill with a sign on his back bearing the legend, vj am an idiot." At Jlath, -Maine, a shipwright agreed to drink sea water for 21 hours with his meals if Parker was elected, and his opponent took upon lumselt the duty of appearing in his wife s clothes. A sugar refiner from ,Ncw Jersey met a cloth manufacturer at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York They began to talk election, 'and of course, in three minutes there! was a heated argument as to the merits and demerits of the respective candidates, and naturally the inevitable bet followed. Then the sugar refiner took from his pocket the latest accountant's report, showing that, the profits of his establishment had been £O2 000 for last year. ' I will -bet you my stigiar refinerv which is worth £(>2,000 a vear agninst your dirty little cloth shop," he cried, "and I don't care whether you are making money in your business or 'not. AH 1 know is that Roosevelt will be elected." The cloth manufacturer retorted with an acceptance, and when thej came to compare figures it was found that the! cloth manufacturer was making exactly £I2OO a year, which was particularly long odds on Roosevelt. ' The most remarkable bet comes from Ilion, New York, where thev make typewriters. The Porker candidate in this case undertook, in case of defeat, to live in a pigstye for one *week, while the- man who pinned his faith on the Republican party proposed to cover himself with oil and ashes, and to stand in an open lield while his opponent threw rotten apples at him for one hour or until he was tired. I am not sure whether a bet made in Chicago is not even more remarkable than the above. A policeman wagered that he would have all the teeth in his upper jaw removed if Roosevelt) was elected, ■ while his opponent woultj! wear a golden ring -through- his nose for a muyf.fr H fee last.—'lke Paily. Maili