I came across this great Malini article and illustration in the May 18, 1912 issue of the
San Francisco Call, Volume 111, Number 170. The stories about Malini are legendary and this story illustrates why that is. I heard a similar story about Alexander Hermann making coins appear in eggs. It doesn't really matter where the money appears - the public resist the lure of lucre in groceries.
Detectives Start on New Chase! Seek for Money Inside Lemons
New Methods of Amassing Wealth Shown Before the Police Commissioners
San
Francisco's detective force has been taught two new and easy ways of
getting money, one by taking it out of other people's hands, and the
other by buying lemons for five cents at a fruit stand and then
extracting the $10 bills growing inside the fruit.
These new methods of
high finance were demonstrated before the detectives, the board of
police commissioners, Judge Shortall, Chief of Police White and others
by Malini, the magician, yesterday afternoon in the hall of Justice.
Malini proved that it was all very simple, showing Detectives Pat Cronan
and Fred Biermann that a plain clothes man could gather up plenty of
easy money without disturbance or discovery. For example, he rolled up a $10 bill and placed it in Cronan's hand.
Cronan
closed his hand on the money firmly, to show that it couldn't he taken
away. "That's a cinch," said Malini, and Cronan unclasped his hands to
find a crumpled piece of newspaper instead of the bill. "All you have to
do is to buy a lemon for a nickle, and here you are." continued the
Instructor in applied finance, pulling a lemon out of Cronan's pocket,
cutting it open, and showing the bill which Cronan had previously closed
his hand on.
The rest of the demonstration was shown to an empty
house. The detectives had all left in a hurry and were out at the fruit
stands in Kearny street buying lemons.
